Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Bondi Beach
Breakfast at the Buena Vista cafe(http://www.buenavistacafe.com.au/) in the Supreme Law Courts Building of all places. Had to go through security to the 14th floor for a wonderful inexpensive breakfast with the best capuccino and a great view of Sydney.
Off to Bondi Beach. It was about 85 degrees F but the water was cold.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Rays etc
This is one of the rays. He's also bigger than a person"
The blue-ringed octopus is the size of a golf ball, but its venom is powerful enough to kill humans. Here's a picture from Wikipedia:
Box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), the infamous lethally venomous of northern Australia's coastal waters, is the most lethal jellyfish in the world, and one of the most dangerous animals in the world.(Picture also from Wikipedia).
Wildlife of Australia seems to come in 2 varieties weirdly cute or very dangerous -- multiple species of poisonous snakes, saltwater crocodiles, cassowaries (people size birds with a 5 inch long dagger-like claw talon that they can use for defense), several species of poisonous spider and one animal belonging in both the cute and dangerous catagories -- the duckbilled platypus. Male platypus have venomous ankle spurs.
Staute of a duckbilled platypus at Taronga Zoo
Truly a unique and fascinating continent.
Dinner tapas at Casa Asturiana (http://www.casaasturiana.com.au/index1.htm) in the Spanish sectiona: Jamon Serrano, garlic shrimp, peppers and salad. Heavenly!
10/20 afternoon
After lunch at an Indian restaurant, we went to the Sydney Aquarium. Saw poisonous jellyfish and octopi. The best part was walking under(yes, under) a huge tank with sharks and rays; so you could look up and watching them swim over you. In this photo you can see one of the walkways on the right. The shark in the center is much bigger than he appears in the photo. He was approximately man-sized.