Koala

It was a long holiday weekend in New Zealand so I decided to go on an adventure.  So I flew to Brisbane, Australia.  There is a temple there and I'd never been, so a good excuse to see something new.  I will post more later, but I just wanted to share one experience from today.  I got to hold a koala!  How cool is that?

I've always thought koalas were cool and to actually get to hold one was really special.  And I learned that they sleep for 20 hours a day!  And you could see that as you walked through the sanctuary, most of them were sound asleep in the trees!  They were super cute though and it's an experience that was truly memorable.

Sommes Island

There is an island out in the harbor of Wellington.  It was used as a quarentine area during the settlement era.  Now it is a bird sanctuary.  When the settlers came, they introduced predators that ended up killing a lot of the indigenous birds.  Now are trying to prevent the birds from becoming extinct.  So they are extremely strict in allowing only people on the island.

You even have to start in a "hutt" where you check to make sure that you aren't carrying any thing that could harm the island or the creatures on it. 

This is the view from Sommes towards the city. 

And this is the lighthouse...because all islands MUST have a lighthouse to ensure that the ships that cruised in the old days don't crash into the rocks that can be just below the surface.