at the zoo

Yesterday I went to the Melbourne Zoo. I loooove the zoo. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend are staying with us for a week and every visitor who comes to stay has to go to the zoo with us. House rules ;).

The Melbourne Zoo is something special. The grounds are gorgeous. The spirit is phenomenal. It really makes you feel like a home away from home. They’ve had amazing success at breeding endangered species and they put serious time and effort in keeping and upgrading the enclosures into the best they can be.

If I had to name my faves, I would have to include the butterfly house. So hot you can barely breathe. But it's stunning. The colour, the intricate beauty. The fact that they hardly live a life before breding and dying. So bittersweet.

Then there are the giraffes and elephants. Stunning. And the crazy snakes and so cute you want to take one home in your handbag meerkats. And the baboons are amazing. Huge red bottoms aside.

And then there are the orangutans. Hilarious! The baby is such a show-off. The mother indulgent and the father seems to think them both far too forgiving of the crowds going and gahing at them. The gibbons are just as much fun. The black male is such a show-off. He hung around by the tips of his fingers for a while before getting swinging enough to all but hit the glass we were watching him through. Cheeky monkey indeed! We stood there giggling for ages!

I could spend all day watching the Sumatran tigers. The grace, the markings, the power. They get my vote as most beautiful animal. (Though I have to admit the seal trainer was pretty cute ;)) I only found out when I got home that the tigers have cubs!!! So we are going back in a couple of weeks with my in-laws and my friend Sheree’s family for Twilight at the Zoo – an afternoon of animal watching followed by a picnic and a night of Jazz at the zoo itself!

How’s that for civilised?