Time Passes so Quickly

Where have I been?

Well, we can't get Solo lemon fizzy here in New Zealand. That stuff is good! Over the holidays we took a jaunt to foreign lands. Here's another clue:

And a new friend!

I LOVE visiting Australia. We went to Adelaide first, because Johnny went to a conference.

Adelaide is such a beautiful city. It is not huge like Melbourne, but has lots to see and do.

Rundle Mall is the central city shopping hub, and there was a celebration on while I was there, with activities for children.

The Torrens River is beautiful.

We visited the Museum of South Australia. What a fascinating place!

I would love a mineral collection like this one:

The Adelaide Zoo was a real highlight for me. I had a special experience visiting the pandas before opening time, and it made such a difference quietly enjoying them (and having a bit of a chat with them) without the crowd. I was so lucky because I was the only one who booked for the Panda Experience, so I had the lovely Rob all to myself, and he told me all sorts of things about the animals living at the zoo as he took me on a tour.

The pandas are just divine. No, they are not cuddly. They are very large and strong creatures, so are treated with a great deal of respect by their keepers. Wang Wang is the male, and Funi the female. Hopefully next year's breeding season with be successful. There is a very small window of time for breeding activity, and even though Wang Wang performed admirably, he didn't quite get the job done. Apparently panda ladies like strong, dominant gentlemen callers, and Wang Wang is still young and is learning the ropes. The capybaras have no such problems. There seemed to be hoards of perfect miniature capys, and I read on the Adelaide Zoo website that a new litter of babies arrived recently. They are like enormous guinea pigs, without the variations in colour and fur length. I desperately want one.

Well, that is plenty for this post. Gosh time has passed so quickly since my last blogging session. I just didn't feel much like blogging for a bit, and sadly, we lost our dear doggy, Miss Dog, to liver cancer. I named the blog after Miss Dog (Poppy) and my mum and dad's darling yellow Labrador, Daisy. They are both gone now. For a while looking at the blog was just a bit too sad. I guess the lovely thing about blogs is that we can look back and remember our special friends if we write about them.

Check in soon for more about my adventures in Australia!