weekend walks: auburn botanical gardens
For $4 who would’ve thought we would’ve seen kangaroos, brush turkeys, green peafowls and a Japanese Garden. We were running a little bit short of time this weekend, so squeezed in only this little walk. We hadn’t visited the Auburn Botanical Gardens before but weren’t we simply surprised.
As we entered, the Japanese Garden is the first thing we see. There is traditional landscaping wrapped around the lake, complete with a tea house, zen garden and bridges. The late afternoon sun striking the leaves and the trees made for a beautiful backdrop. For a moment, it took us back to when we were in Japan. The entire Botanical Gardens are serene but this part was particularly peaceful and photogenic.
Walking to the left of the Japanese Garden is the fauna reserve – there we saw wallabies, kangaroos and an emu. There was an enclosure for a wombat but we were not able to spot him. We could spend hours watching animals, especially the way they interact with one another. This particular kangaroo was trying to reach the feeding pan but was constantly being frightened off by a Cape Barren Goose.
As we weave around to our right after leaving the animals, we enter the native rainforest section where we come across our first brush turkey, first of many as it turns out.
Actually, there are so many birds roaming free in these gardens, it was really quite a treat!
Our last stop for the visit was the sunken rose gardens – the roses we did see were all in full bloom and the colours as striking as ever but unfortunately there weren’t too many left in the bushes. The rest must’ve been pruned only recently.
Our biggest surprise was seeing the Reflection Pool. The signage states that the tree at the far end is a progeny of the original Lone Pine from Gallipoli in 1915. We found that fitting for us to be able to visit on ANZAC Day*. Another very peaceful place in the gardens for us to stop and reflect: Lest We Forget!
The Auburn Botanical Gardens is about 19km west of Sydney. It is open 9 am to 5 pm (and until 6 pm on weekends).
* ANZAC Day is the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli back in 1915 during World War I. It is the day when Australia and New Zealand remember those who served and died in military operations.
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weekly photo challenge: letters
Letters, letters, letters!! We couldn’t go past this for the photo challenge this week: containing 37 letters in its Maori name is the village in Rotorua, New Zealand.
We won’t even attempt to pronounce it 🙂
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weekend walks: singapore zoo
We had forgotten how hot and humid Singapore is – it was 9 years (to the day in fact) since we had been here! Walking around Singapore is not only draining but also uncomfortable. Our only refuge is air conditioning wherever we can find it.
This weekend walk was around Singapore Zoo. Our day trip to the zoo also included a visit to the River Safari which was created by the Night Safari guys.
As with all our other walks, we always discover something new. This time, as we walked through both parks, we grew an even greater appreciation for animals. There are just so many different types: big, small, colourful, spiky, smooth, furry… Each one individually created with its unique characteristics and role in our world! It’s always a harsh reminder how much destruction has occurred and is still occurring, endangering lives of so many precious creatures.
We all can play a part (no matter how small) in making it possible to save this planet and all the wonderful animals so that our future generations can enjoy nature and wildlife as we can today.
Another thing that we learnt was how much we would like to be able to see some of these animals in their natural environments one day.
Hope you enjoy our pictures this week from Singapore Zoo.
And only a few minutes before, he was keeping cool inside his cave, looking outside the doorway!
Additional travel info:
How to get to Singapore Zoo / River Safari / Night Safari?
We took the RED MRT to Ang Mo Kio, caught bus no 138 to Singapore Zoo.
How much are tickets to Singapore Zoo?
A Park Hopper ticket cost us $50 for both Singapore Zoo and River Safari. The combo ticket includes unlimited tram rides around the zoo. There are other combinations available but we chose not to visit the Night Safari this time.
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weekly photo challenge: on top
We were on Monkey Island in the Amazon, when a monkey jumped ON TOP of David’s head.
We thought this would be fitting for the week’s photo challenge 🙂
wise monkeys abroad 