Dubbo's birds

All spotted at Dubbo Zoo, though only one of them was an official exhibit.

Here's an emu.



















And an apostlebird. Wikipedia tells me it's also known as a grey jumper, a lousy jack, or a cwa bird.

And the Australian white ibis. This one's widely known as the 'bin chicken', because of its passion for hanging out in and around rubbish bins, in Sydney parks and elsewhere. Some love it, but most of us do not.

How do you measure up? (....as a rhino)

Dubbo Zoo makes for a great day out, and the best way to navigate the place is by bike.

You get to see the rhinos and things from a safe distance, and you even get to size yourself up as one.















This lady is a Javan rhino

The Black rhino is slightly taller.

















This chap's a White one.

A zoo called Zoom

It's not only a zoo. It offers 'adrenaline-pumping activities' too, involving high altitude obstacle courses and zip line rides above enormous live crocodiles.

It's in a dome on top of the roof of Cairns casino, and it's much more fun to visit than the gaming rooms downstairs could possibly be.

The animals are mostly free to roam the place, or at least the birds are. They have their preferred areas and best friends, like this king parrot and koala.


Several crocodiles, and useful explanations about the freshwater and saltwater and their differences.

We watched  two young tourists doing the full 'Hi-Zoom' experience. They successfully traversed a long sequence of scary-looking high altitude experiences. They were securely harnessed and attached, but they were a long way up at times, and I hesitated long enough to talk myself out of giving it a go myself.



 If I ever get back to Cairns though......

The accidental zoo visitor

I've never visited an unrecommended zoo before. According to Lonely Planet, Bukittinggi's zoo is "terrible. (animals are underfed and live in cramped conditions) and we don't recommend visiting it."

I saw what they meant.











It's adjacent to the Fort de Kock park, without a separate gate or entrance fee, and I wandered in by accident. I did get to see Sumatran tigers and Sumatran elephants though.