Australian Museum

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The rain continued today. We started the day at Circular Quay where we had cappuccinos and discussed what we would do. While there we noted a rainbow lorikeet hopping on one of the tables. I took a picture (see photo) and then another lorikeet arrived and together they pried off the metal cup that covers the sugar container. They each slid out a packet of sugar and commenced to enjoy the contents until the waitress appeared and they flew off. She said the two lorikeets are "regulars" and they are the reason that the outdoor tables have covers on the sugar containers. Clever birds. Maggie and I decided to go to the Australian Museum today. This is the natural history museum in town and one that was a bit of a disappointment when we visited 16 years ago. It is housed in a large old stone building (see photo) and the displays appeared to have been set up decades before. Well, the curators of the museum have been busy in the past decade because it is now a vibrant little museum and very busy with school groups, parents with toddlers, and foreign visitors like ourselves. I particularly liked the area dealing with extinct Australian species, including the thylacine, aka the Tasmanian Tiger, which was hunted to extinction by humans in the 20th century. See photo. And there was a section on animals found in Sydney backyards which included the venomous funnelweb spider. Here is a quote from Crocodile Dundee "I don't mean to put down your black widow spider, but the funnelweb spider can kill a man in eight seconds, just by lookin' at him." I have never seen a live one, but here is a photo of a stuffed one inside a rubber boot. After a hard day at the museum, we felt entitled to a relaxing cocktail hour and so took the subway to Circular Quay where we had drinks and snacks at a bar that overlooks the harbor. It was a pleasant way to finish our outing. Tomorrow we are planning an excursion to the beach, weather permitting.

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