Sydney Day 2 - Sea Life Aquarium and Wildlife World
Having done so much travelling the day before, we thought we would take Day 2 slow to give the kids some time to get over the jet lag and ease into our new surroundings.
We attempted to set off early since everything closes at 5pm in Australia. What we didn't expect was how long we took prepare the kids' porridge, get everyone washed up, dressed in warm clothes, eat breakfast (Sean always has a bottle of milk and Ry milk then cereal in the morning) and pack our bag for the day. I felt quite exhausted by the time we were ready to head out!
Foops pushed Sean in the stroller while I strapped Mr Velcro (Ry) to me in the baby carrier. The plan was to stay out the entire day and not head back to the apartment for the kids' afternoon naps. We weren't really sure how that would play out because they rarely nap on the go but we would soon find out!
It was a particularly wet and blustery morning. The cold weather felt invigorating to me but I think the kids were a bit shell-shocked to experience their first blast of cold wind as soon as we exited our hotel. BRRR!
Our first stop was the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium at Darling Harbour that came highly recommended by many of you (thanks!).
It was within walking distance from our hotel but we got a bit lost and ended up taking a really long roundabout route to get there.
It was quite an experience venturing through the different themed zones and seeing the spectacular array of sea creatures up close. Massive stingrays, huge crabs, the cutest platypuses (I had no idea they were so small), penguins, creepy Mornay eels, jellyfish (I could stare at them all day), seahorses, little Nemos and Doras, pufferfish and many more.
Our favourite was the aptly-named Great Barrier Reef, an impressive ocean tunnel walk-through. Ry couldn't stop ogling at the fish and had this comical ‘WOAH LOOK AT THAT’ look plastered on his face throughout. It was so cool to have the entire ocean - sharks, roly-poly dugongs, huge turtles, saw-nosed sharks - swimming above us. WOAH indeedy!
We ended off with an interesting Discovery Rockpool. Sean had a fun time dipping his hands into the rock pool and getting a feel of the various rocks, corals and blue starfish on display.
We stopped for a quick lunch along Darling Harbour. The skies had not cleared up so it was quite a dreary day. Not willing to risk the kids getting caught in the rain and falling sick, we just stopped at the first restaurant we saw. We ordered a steak sandwich to share but a pesky seagull got to my sandwich before I did. GRRRR, I was so mad!!!
We fed the kids and changed Didi's diaper and quickly ducked into our next pit stop, Wildlife Sydney Zoo>, just steps away from the aquarium.
This zoo is unique because it is located right in the heart of the city. It spans a storey and a half and was a lot smaller than I had expected it to be. I guess we have been spoilt by the big wildlife parks in Australia that we have been to!
They have a small but decent selection of native Australian animals - wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, emus, wombats, bilbies and a huge 5m crocodile called Rex. We also stayed on to watch a wildlife show that featured snakes, pythons, parrots and a handsome brown owl which devoured a baby rat (shudder) before our eyes.
Sean probably enjoyed the zoo more than the aquarium because of the interactive nature of the animals. If you are strapped for time, then this zoo is for you.
Personally though, I was quite underwhelmed and wished we had just saved the time and money and gone to Taronga Zoo instead!
After the zoo, we swung by a supermarket near our place to stock up on meat and fruits for the next few days. Sean had a bit of toilet trouble - he was terribly stressed about pooping in a public toilet and just couldn't go. He was also very tired because he had not napped all day.
In the end, we decided to call it a day (around 6pm) and head back.
The kids loved being back at the apartment. It was really where they felt the most comfortable and happiest. Sean could finally poop in peace and the boys enjoyed a long warm soak in the big tub (I always squirt baby oil into the bath coz the OZ weather is very drying for their skin).
Foops and I had yet another forgettable takeaway dinner (so forgettable I can't even remember what we had). I was a bit grumpy that we hadn't had a good meal on our holiday yet.
In a bid to sync the kids' body clocks to the 3-hours-earlier OZ time, we settled for an early night.
On to Day 3 where we had a lot more fun. Stay tuned!
Read about Day 3 here.
We attempted to set off early since everything closes at 5pm in Australia. What we didn't expect was how long we took prepare the kids' porridge, get everyone washed up, dressed in warm clothes, eat breakfast (Sean always has a bottle of milk and Ry milk then cereal in the morning) and pack our bag for the day. I felt quite exhausted by the time we were ready to head out!
Foops pushed Sean in the stroller while I strapped Mr Velcro (Ry) to me in the baby carrier. The plan was to stay out the entire day and not head back to the apartment for the kids' afternoon naps. We weren't really sure how that would play out because they rarely nap on the go but we would soon find out!
It was a particularly wet and blustery morning. The cold weather felt invigorating to me but I think the kids were a bit shell-shocked to experience their first blast of cold wind as soon as we exited our hotel. BRRR!
Our first stop was the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium at Darling Harbour that came highly recommended by many of you (thanks!).
It was within walking distance from our hotel but we got a bit lost and ended up taking a really long roundabout route to get there.
It was quite an experience venturing through the different themed zones and seeing the spectacular array of sea creatures up close. Massive stingrays, huge crabs, the cutest platypuses (I had no idea they were so small), penguins, creepy Mornay eels, jellyfish (I could stare at them all day), seahorses, little Nemos and Doras, pufferfish and many more.
Our favourite was the aptly-named Great Barrier Reef, an impressive ocean tunnel walk-through. Ry couldn't stop ogling at the fish and had this comical ‘WOAH LOOK AT THAT’ look plastered on his face throughout. It was so cool to have the entire ocean - sharks, roly-poly dugongs, huge turtles, saw-nosed sharks - swimming above us. WOAH indeedy!
We ended off with an interesting Discovery Rockpool. Sean had a fun time dipping his hands into the rock pool and getting a feel of the various rocks, corals and blue starfish on display.
We stopped for a quick lunch along Darling Harbour. The skies had not cleared up so it was quite a dreary day. Not willing to risk the kids getting caught in the rain and falling sick, we just stopped at the first restaurant we saw. We ordered a steak sandwich to share but a pesky seagull got to my sandwich before I did. GRRRR, I was so mad!!!
We fed the kids and changed Didi's diaper and quickly ducked into our next pit stop, Wildlife Sydney Zoo>, just steps away from the aquarium.
This zoo is unique because it is located right in the heart of the city. It spans a storey and a half and was a lot smaller than I had expected it to be. I guess we have been spoilt by the big wildlife parks in Australia that we have been to!
They have a small but decent selection of native Australian animals - wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, emus, wombats, bilbies and a huge 5m crocodile called Rex. We also stayed on to watch a wildlife show that featured snakes, pythons, parrots and a handsome brown owl which devoured a baby rat (shudder) before our eyes.
Sean probably enjoyed the zoo more than the aquarium because of the interactive nature of the animals. If you are strapped for time, then this zoo is for you.
Personally though, I was quite underwhelmed and wished we had just saved the time and money and gone to Taronga Zoo instead!
After the zoo, we swung by a supermarket near our place to stock up on meat and fruits for the next few days. Sean had a bit of toilet trouble - he was terribly stressed about pooping in a public toilet and just couldn't go. He was also very tired because he had not napped all day.
In the end, we decided to call it a day (around 6pm) and head back.
The kids loved being back at the apartment. It was really where they felt the most comfortable and happiest. Sean could finally poop in peace and the boys enjoyed a long warm soak in the big tub (I always squirt baby oil into the bath coz the OZ weather is very drying for their skin).
Foops and I had yet another forgettable takeaway dinner (so forgettable I can't even remember what we had). I was a bit grumpy that we hadn't had a good meal on our holiday yet.
In a bid to sync the kids' body clocks to the 3-hours-earlier OZ time, we settled for an early night.
On to Day 3 where we had a lot more fun. Stay tuned!
Read about Day 3 here.