Wildlife and one quilt shop

After another great breakfast at the hotel we left Sydney behind and drove west toward the Blue Mountains to visit Featherdale Wildlife Park in Doonside, NSW, actually a suburb of Sydney (Remember, I said Sydney is huge, 690 sq mi.).

Most of what follows will be some of the wonderful creatures of Australia.

Met at the entrance by a baby pademelon

A wombat who liked his/her stomach scratched

A kangaroo with her joey

A koala doing what he does best, sleeping

A Tawny Frogmouth, not an owl,
look closely-it is really a bird                                            

Little Penguin, no, really,
that's what they're called

Double barred finch

For Sienna, a Splendid or Magnificent Tree Frog
That's a poison sac on top of its head

Yellow-footed rock wallaby

Dingo

Masked Lapwing

Short-beaked echidna
These are egg-laying mammals

Western cassowary--great colors

Black-necked stork

Cattle Egret

I hope you have enjoyed this small selection of the many, many creatures in the park.  There were so many wonderful birds that it is hard to choose what to put in this blog.

Overcoming quilt shop withdrawal

After leaving the park we drove to another suburb of Sydney, Balmain.   There we visited a small quilt shop called Calico and Ivy.  Best selection of Liberty prints I have ever seen at a shop for Au$53 per meter!  A little high for my taste.  We walked around the very picturesque main street, had something to drink, and then back of the road to the hotel.

Frangi pangi (plumeria) everywhere in Balmain

For dinner, Tanis and I ate at a pub under the hotel.  Our drinks of choice were Monteith's Crushed Apple Cider from New Zealand...Tanis had it only because Monteith was her maiden name, and the cider was excellent, and I had a wheat beer Redback (named after a spider) by Matilda Bay Brewing.  Tanis had a huge hamburger and I, Tiger Shrimp and rice noodle salad.  Both were tasty.