Lions & Tigers & Roos - Oh my...

On Saturday we went to Taronga Zoo - and I think it's safe to say it was the best Zoo experience I've ever had. The zoo is Mosman, right across the Harbour from Sydney, so the views are breathtaking. Bron & I drove over to Loren's house and had breakfast down at the beach in Balmoral before heading over to the zoo around 10am. Lara & Dom were already at there checking out the elephants when we arrived.
Tiger - who paced back and forth (the very thin pane of glass only made me slightly nervous). After walking by some areas where the animals weren't outside, due to the heat - we were excited to see some action in the Tiger area - as Bron would say, 'Now we're cookin' with gas.' :)

Dom, Lara, Loren & Bron checking out the elephants.



Giraffe's had a great view of the city...
...but they were one-upped by the view at the Bird show.
Lara, Dom, Loz, Bronny & I - waiting for the Bird show to start.
Largest Bird of Prey - 'Leslie the Condor' - wingspan of over 3 meters.
Owl that was trained to buzz right on top of the audiences' heads. I got this shot, and then ducked. :)
Ian - Loren's boyfriend, is one of the elephant keepers at the Zoo. It was kind of like having back stage passes to a concert. Here we were watching the elephants get their baths before their show at 1pm.

Luk Chai - the new baby elephant - only 19 weeks old, and the 1st Thai elephant born in Australia. There are 2 more baby elephants on the way this fall, so he'll have someone to play with. Right now he runs around like a maniac little brother, always looking for someone to pay attention to him. He's like a 200 kilo puppy dog - very cute.

Ian with Luk Chai & Thong Dee - Luk Chai's mom, during the elephant show.

Koala Bear - so sleepy.

The Emu that Lara almost stepped on when we walked into the 'Backyard Bush' area - where Australian bush animals roam free...kind of like a petting zoo on steroids.

Kangaroos!! They were also roaming free in the Backyard Bush area. Everyone was laughing at me because I was most excited about seeing the Kangaroos and Koala Bears that day. They're so used to seeing them in the wild, and Kangaroos being a huge nuisance, but I thought they were adorable.