Symbio Wildlife Park

Sunday, June 30, 2012

After spending our first night in our apartment, we decided we needed to something fun for the day.  First we took the kids to Diggies on the beach to have breakfast.  It is right on North Beach.  You can watch the waves as you enjoy your breakfast.  Going out to eat is an adventure because the meals are just enough different that the kids don't always know what to order.  It will take some getting used to as well as an adventurous stomach.   I think fish and chips (french fries) will become a stand by or chicken schnitzel and chips. 

After breakfast, we went up the escarpment to Symbio Wildlife Park.  It is a really neat place.  We saw lots of animals from Australia.  There were koalas, kookaburras, lorikeets, cockatoos, Tasmanian devils, echidna, emus, wombats, kangaroos, crocodiles, and more.  The best part was that we were able to feed the kangaroos (as well as a few other animals).  We were a little leery of this not having done it before.  They ended up being pretty gentle.  You hold your hand out, and they eat just like a goat would at a zoo at home.  Their fur is very soft as Adam said, "They feel like a bunny." 

a wombat

Sydney feeding a kangaroo

Adam feeding an emu

Dagan feeding a kangaroo

Both days, we spent some time at the beach.  The kids went swimming, but it is a little cold for Adam and me.  The temperature is in the high 50s low 60s.  The kids said the water seems warmer than the air.  Doesn't that temperature sound like a Wisconsin winter?

First Days in Australia

We arrived in Australia on Friday, June 29.  It was strange for the kids to realize that we left Hawaii on Thursday, June 28 and ten hours later it was Friday, June 29 in the evening.  We didn't see much on our drive from the Sydney airport to Wollongong because it gets dark around 5:00 pm since it is winter.  We checked into our hotel, got some dinner and went to bed.

On Saturday, we were able to sign the paperwork for our apartment.  All of us agreed that we would rather stay where we were going to live, so we headed to the store for sheets, blankets, pillows and towels.  Our apartment came furnished which was nice.  We are still going to rent some furniture because we are missing things like bookcases, desks, a king sized bed, outdoor furniture, etc.  It was nice to put the things from our suitcases away. I think we will like living here once we get used to being in an apartment.

Our Kitchen

The view from our living room

Our Adventure Begins