great day today so i suggested we go to the zoo. looking at the google map it didn’t look that far so i proposed we walk.
the trouble started almost immediately. on all maps melbourne road is a nice straight road about 10 blocks long. in reality it is a series of very hilly one block long segments with a step step of stairs connecting each block. so we’re getting quite the workout on what looked to be the easy part of the journey. when i printed out the map i though it odd that google had us taking a right on jackson st and heading backwards for a bit when there was another road that was much shorter that went through the park. when we get to jackson i declare “onward!” and we start looking for the path through the park. the first path we choose just disappears 100 meters into the woods. we backtrack and pick another path that looks promising. we’re heading up a steep path through the woods that is getting smaller and more overgrown the farther we go. at one point the path is complete blocked with thorny bushes and we’re forces to crawl under commando style.
let me admit here that since this excursion was my idea and i’m picking the route i view it as an adventure for all. if it were someone else’s journey i don’t expect i would be so generous in my assessment.
ultimately we reached a clearing at the top of the and are rewarded with a spectacular view of the island bay to the south and the city to the north.
after one more error by the navigator we arrived at the zoo.
i now carry a gps device that tags all my photographs with a location. a side-effect is that you can see your wanderings. you can see our drunken path to the zoo, our strolling around to exhibits and then our walk to the bus stop for the ride home.
growing up in saint louis with one of world’s best it is hard for any other zoo to stack up, but the wellington zoo did ok it it’s small town way. it is less than half the size of the stl zoo (13 hectacres [32 acres] compared to 77 acres) and most of the exhibits are not as modern, but the newest additions were promising.
the signage all had a blend of kiwi frankness and humour. one said “if you sit on the railing you will fall into the pen with the lion and you will die”.
i think the aussie kangaroo was a bit put off by being put on display in nz.
