['excellent!']Australian fauna (and some other creatures that snuck across the border).


These photographs were taken at two zoos, the Taronga Zoo in Mosman (Sydney, New South Wales) and the Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens in Parkville (Melbourne, Victoria).

The Taronga Zoo, located across the harbour from downtown Sydney, is a beautiful park perched on a hillside. The grounds cover 74 acres (30 hectares) and stretch all the way down the hill to the water. When you disembark the ferry at Taronga, you can take a short tram ride up over the park to the top entrance. From the zoo you also have a beautiful view of the harbor and city.

The Melbourne Zoo is located a few kilometres northwest of downtown, a short ride by trolley. Derek visited it while on a business trip, and took a few photos.

(Note: All image files are approximately 50K in size.)

Let's get the crowd-pleasing stuff out of the way first...

'Roo Photos! (a.k.a. Marsupials I Have Known and Loved)
[lolling roo 1 thumbnail]
large gray kangaroo sunning itself
(Taronga)
[lolling roo 2 thumbnail]
different angle on the same 'roo
(Taronga)
[roo and joey 1 thumbnail]
a mama red kangaroo, with her joey
(RMZG)
[roo and joey 2 thumbnail]
mama 'roo and joey
(RMZG)
[roo on the move thumbnail]
a red kangaroo on the go
(RMZG)



Cuddly Koalas

looking over lunch
(Taronga)

chow time!
(Taronga)



Feathered Friends
[little penguins]
little (or "fairy") penguins
(RMZG)
[emus everywhere!]
a flock of large flightless emus
(RMZG)
[a proud luminescent bird]
a beautiful bird
(we forget what kind)
(Taronga)



Miscellaneous Mammalia
[king of the hill]
someone closer to our own order
(RMZG)

More to come as rolls develop...