Koalas and Kangas

                                                               Hanging with the natives! 
                  B looking dapper if not silly in my hat - Captain Cook Cruise!
                                        Watching for sailors in Mrs. McGuire's seat.
                                              Representing WVU in style - Alum mag?

Yesterday was an exciting adventure for B and I. We were able to learn so much more about Australian history. Below are a few fun facts that we picked up along the way.

~Australia was originally a penal colony. However, the majority of people who were sent to Australia were convicted of petty crimes such as theft. 

~It took 9 months to get provisions from Britain to Australia. The first governors wife (also the wife of a sailor) Mrs. McGuire liked to know exactly what was going on at sea. Therefore, her husband carved her a stone seat overlooking the ocean so she would immediately see what was happening. 

~The number one Australian beach casualty is the rip tide. We got to see lifeguards training for just such a hazard.

~Bondi beach was the site of the Olympic volleyball games. It was a safety hazard because they put the bleachers by the water and their was once a wave so large it wiped out the beach. Wonder if they told the spectators!

~The homes in the Rock region and Bondi beach area have similar rot iron facades. This is called Sydney lace (it's made right here). They're beautiful. 

~The peaks that go out into Sydney Harbor are called fingerlings because they extend in short, thin strips into the water. like fingers

~One fingerling is named goat island - after the 3 goats who survived the journey from Britain to Australia.

After our tour - we visited the wildlife world. Recently opened, this zoo-esque facility gave you the opportunity to interact with some of Australians native animals. These included the Kanga and Koalas (along with crocs, jellyfish, sharks, bats, birds .. the works). The big attraction for us was of course the koala. B was DYING to touch one. AND, luckily, for a mere $5 Aussie dollars each - we could! (I happened to notice that this same experience in America would have likely cost a small arm and a leg). There were 5 male Koalas in 4 large perches. All males (Charlie, Jay, Sid, Jack and Moe) were happy as little clams as they brought people in (2 at a time) to show them love. Here are a few fun facts about Koalas we learned.

~Koalas have 2 thumbs (one on their hands and one on their feet) to make climbing easy and accessible. 

~A common myth regarding Koalas is the Eucylptus that they eat makes them drunk and therefore lazy. However, it doesn't have this effect. They're just naturally laid back creatures. 

~Of the thousands of leaves, Koalas will use their large noses to chose the fines quality which they eat.

~Koalas are not actually a bear. They're marsupials with closer relations to Kangas and Wallaby's. 

~All baby marsupials are called joeys.