Thursday we debated between going to the museum and going to the zoo. The weather seemed clear enough, so we decided on the zoo. We got about two blocks before it started to feel cold and rainy, so we changed our minds and went to the museum. The weather for the rest of the day was perfect.
The zoo didn't have a lot of "things." It went more to descriptions, pictures, education. It did have a blue whale skeleton, some dinosaur skeletons, some mineral displays. What it did have was meteorites, tektites, and stromatolites! Yay!
 |
| Some of the meteorites on display |
 |
| Tektites! On pins! |
 |
| Stromatolites |
I didn't take a picture of the biggest meteorite there, but I did get a pic of a rock from the Permian Extinction. Lots of wiggly things!
 |
| Permian creatures |
 |
| Iron layers in the ocean |
 |
| A nice little room for relaxing in |
N
 |
Leaving the museum
|
Nothing in particular to do with the museum, but this next picture is between the buildings there. It's a"grass tree," a unique and immediately recognizable species.
 |
Grass tree
|
Friday we had reservations on a ferry to Rottnest Island. Clearly, one of the "must do" things in Perth is to leave it and go to Rottnest Island. (Actually, though, Perth is a really nice city.) That took up pretty much the entire day (or at least our spoons), which is why I haven't blogged sooner.
Despite the Dutch name, Quokka are not rats and they don't build nests, but they are on an island. In fact, they are on an island where they have no natural predators, so they wander around completely oblivious to people, unless they think they can get some food from you. They are diurnal at the settlements but nocturnal elsewhere; so despite the prohibitions against feeding them, they must have some reason to hang around people.
 |
| The ferry |
 |
| Quokka |
 |
How people behave around quokkas
|
 |
| Nothing in my hand, but you can lick my finger |
 |
| Just exploring |
 |
| Wild quokkas, seen on nature walk |
I was a bit concerned about one hearing aid. I had forgotten to take them out when I got in the shower the night before, and during the 90-minute ferry ride to the island I realized one of them wasn't working. So I spent the day with only one working. Apparently, though, it just hadn't charged properly during the night, because it's working fine now.
It's a beautiful island, mostly vegetation on sand dunes on rock. There are half a dozen inland salt lakes, saltier than the sea, but our guide said they have krill in them, important to the ecosystem.
We took a one-hour bus tour around the island. Didn't get off anywhere, just looked around.
 |
| On the bus |
 |
Taken from the bus
|
Today (Saturday) we slept in, then decided to go to the zoo. The zoo is in East Perth, across the Swan River. We went to Elizabeth Quay (most often pronounced "kee") and went across the silly serpentine pedestrian bridge there, which looks like a lot of up-and-down as well as side-to-side, but in fact is mostly level.
We took a $1 ferry across Swan River, then walked (or scooted) a couple of blocks to the zoo.
The zoo was the more modern kind, which is to say that we saw a lot more of animal habitats than animals. We did see some kangaroos, wallabies, and emus.
 |
| Bell Tower at Elizabeth Kee |
 |
| At the dock in East Perth |
 |
| Resting kangaroos |
 |
| A tree I would not like to meet on a dark night |
Paula had a near accident in the zoo. A major break in the paved path nearly tipped her off. That shook her up quite a bit, and we were both getting cold, so we came "home."
 |
Sunset from our balcony
|
Tonight we have to pack. We need to get up fairly early for the train. We'll be on the train for three nights, so I probably won't blog much.
Comments
Post a Comment