Auckland Zoo

Now THIS is a nice zoo!

After my last disappointing experience with the Wellington Zoo, I was a bit leary about hitting another one. But, several people said that Auckland had a really nice zoo...and they were right.



This looks more like a zoo where the animals, although not free to roam around the countryside, at least look like they are relatively happy and also get to mingle with each other a bit. When I walked by the elephant area, the place was empty. A bit disappointed, I headed down the next street and, look who was on their way up the street....





It turns out that they take the elephants on a walk around the park a few times a day, just to keep them active and give them a chance to hang out with surprised visitors, like myself, who are wandering around the zoo poking the other animals with sticks.

The Rhinos were huge and very loud....so I shot them. So much easier to take a picture of them if they're not moving around so much.



The baboons were hanging out by the river, chatting away and, every once in a while, deciding that they needed to box one another in the head...then run off. Entertaining...



The sea lions appeared to be meditating, so I tried to be quiet while I took their picture. They also have a great underwater tank where, when not "ohm-ing", they swim around in big circles for the rest of us to enjoy.





Look....a baby penguin.



He's so cute, you just wanna squeeze him until his furry head pops off.

I wasn't aware that Bigfoot had been captured. All of those "sightings" that you hear about now are lies. He's obviously here in Auckland...



The Galapagos turtles, although in need of a good neck moisturizer, are very large and seem to enjoy slowly making their way around their little island.



There were a couple varieties of monkeys on display, like these colorful "Yorkshire Terrier Monkeys" (I don't know their real name...). They were skittering about so quickly, that I wasted a good 15-20 minutes trying to get at least one non-blurred picture of them. Honestly kids, take a lession from the sea lions....chillax once in a while...





The spider monkeys were also entertaining to watch, especially this baby hanging on to her mother. She never left her side....er....back.



NO....I didn't shoot the tiger....



He was just tired from eating the two lion-heckling teens that I had brought him from the Wellington Zoo. After I told him that they were throwing sticks at the lions there, he wasted no time making sure they wouldn't be able to that again.

It's the law of the jungle, ya' know.

There is also a really nice park outside the zoo....so I took a wee stroll through there on the way to the bus stop. Lots of nice little lakes and ducks and geese (better scurry, when I take you out in my surry)...









So, all in all...a really nice day just appreciating all the colors of nature. Speaking of which, I ran into my "wife"....



I heard that she was hosting a karoake night at a local bar, so I stopped by to see her. You know it's gotta be love when I voluntarily go to a bar hosting karoake. She was up on stage doing her best to vocally assist a person who sang as good as Elaine danced on "Seinfeld"....a guy who must have stopped searching for a clear note around the age of 5 and, ever since, just assumed that "singing" louder might just compensate.

Oh the pain, Will....the pain....



OMG...while searching for a decent Dr. Smith picture on the web, I found this random picture of Dr. Smith as a French Maid....



I laughed SO loud, I think they may have heard me down in the lobby....14 floors below.

I'm still laughing now....tears rolling down my face....