Day 16. Africa and beyond.
With the forecast for the next two days being well into the 40s on the holy shit its hot scale, there was really no time like the present to visit the Taronga Western Plains Zoo. Today we FINALLY got to use the bikes we have slugged behind the caravan for the last 2000 kms.
With the morning ritual of feeding the vultures and getting ready, we headed out on our bikes to Dubbo Zoo.
A pleasant 2km ride from our campsite and we were greeted by the twin rhino statues at the main gates.
With tickets in hand, we headed out into the wilds of the zoo.
First stop the Hippo Talk.
With the zookeeper on hand, we learnt a whole lot of interesting facts about all thing Hippo, from their weird defecation rituals, foods they love, breeding and beyond.
Kids took it all in and were rather intrigued by it all.
From there we decided to take the Savanna bus into 'Bachelor Pad', where we were greeted by giraffes, rhinos and an assortment of gazelles and antelopes. It was fantastic to see them up close and personal.This is a wide open large space where animals are free to roam and mingle. All of these animals are males and are of 'excess' when it comes to head honchos of the pack and breeding. In the wild the king of the pack is the one and only male who breeds with it's females; therefore this isolation away from females is not unlike the wild itself. It was amazing to see these beautiful creatures wandering free; and safe from harm and premature death.
A stop at the cafe for some much needed rest, sunscreen, hydration and lunch was in order. By lunch time we had hit 41 degrees and were all getting very hot, however the constant supply of bottled water kept us all cool and safe from the sun's harsh heat.
An assortment of exhibits followed, with Lions, Tigers, One horned Rhino, Monkeys, cheetahs, Tortoises, Elephants and Zebras was to follow. The kids loved being able to be free and rise their bikes along designated tracks right beside the animals themselves; with plenty of bike racks to stop and have an extended look and appreciation if they wished.
With the temperature getting as hot as it was, many of the animals had headed for shelter so it was time for us to head home to cool off ourselves. We managed to stick it out till 3pm which was no mean feat; not once did the kids complain; and for Bella who isn't a bike riding fan - she did amazingly. This was Bella's first time on the new bike she received at christmas form Santa. She did a great job, mastering the use of the gears and front and rear brake. It wasn't a flat track at times and the kids took it all in their stride and rode on 41 degrees and all.
We arrived back at the camp and jumped straight into the pool, where we proceed to spend three hours- Relaxing, cooling off splashing and swimming. Oskar even mastered the big water slide all by himself.
After dinner we simply chilled out in the breeze outside, waiting for the temperature to drop so we could all finally call it a day.
Tomorrow we will likely return by car to the zoo and see a few more things we missed before visiting some more local attractions and prepare for our drive to Sydney the following day.
See you all tomorrow.
With the morning ritual of feeding the vultures and getting ready, we headed out on our bikes to Dubbo Zoo.
A pleasant 2km ride from our campsite and we were greeted by the twin rhino statues at the main gates.
With tickets in hand, we headed out into the wilds of the zoo.
First stop the Hippo Talk.
Kids took it all in and were rather intrigued by it all.
From there we decided to take the Savanna bus into 'Bachelor Pad', where we were greeted by giraffes, rhinos and an assortment of gazelles and antelopes. It was fantastic to see them up close and personal.This is a wide open large space where animals are free to roam and mingle. All of these animals are males and are of 'excess' when it comes to head honchos of the pack and breeding. In the wild the king of the pack is the one and only male who breeds with it's females; therefore this isolation away from females is not unlike the wild itself. It was amazing to see these beautiful creatures wandering free; and safe from harm and premature death.
An assortment of exhibits followed, with Lions, Tigers, One horned Rhino, Monkeys, cheetahs, Tortoises, Elephants and Zebras was to follow. The kids loved being able to be free and rise their bikes along designated tracks right beside the animals themselves; with plenty of bike racks to stop and have an extended look and appreciation if they wished.
With the temperature getting as hot as it was, many of the animals had headed for shelter so it was time for us to head home to cool off ourselves. We managed to stick it out till 3pm which was no mean feat; not once did the kids complain; and for Bella who isn't a bike riding fan - she did amazingly. This was Bella's first time on the new bike she received at christmas form Santa. She did a great job, mastering the use of the gears and front and rear brake. It wasn't a flat track at times and the kids took it all in their stride and rode on 41 degrees and all.
We arrived back at the camp and jumped straight into the pool, where we proceed to spend three hours- Relaxing, cooling off splashing and swimming. Oskar even mastered the big water slide all by himself.
After dinner we simply chilled out in the breeze outside, waiting for the temperature to drop so we could all finally call it a day.
Tomorrow we will likely return by car to the zoo and see a few more things we missed before visiting some more local attractions and prepare for our drive to Sydney the following day.
See you all tomorrow.
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