On Saturday, February 23, Ken (one of my business partners) took me on a drive out to Healesville, named after one of the first Governors of Australia, where tourism and the Healesville Sanctuary have replaced logging as the main revenue generators.  Below are pictures from that outing.  The platypus is missing, as is the wombat and the Tasmanian devil – for different reasons.  The platypussary is too dark for pictures, but that’s a fair trade-off for getting to see these odd creatures putting on a show.  The wombat (Florence) lay curled up, sleeping in the straw, looking like a stack of pelts as much as anything.  The Tasmanian devil, acting counter to its name, had withdrawn and was neither to be seen nor its shrieks to be heard. 

This is still Melbourne CBD (Central Business District).  The older building used to be the stock exchange, if I remember correctly, and now houses the banking museum; the building behind it is the new ANZ bank, full of visual nods to the original, but first and foremost bigger. 

We stopped at the Yering Farm winery in Yarra valley for a brief tasting.  Ken preferred the Merlot, I the Pinot Noir. 

Parakeets, I think. 

Brown falcon, I think.  All the raptors were part of the “Birds of Prey” show. 

Barn owl. 

The wedge-tailed eagle, Australia’s largest bird of prey. 

The osprey emerging from the water after an unsuccessful dive for a (dead) fish. 

The flying foxes decided they’d rather sleep. 

Black-winged stilt.

The ineffable ennui of the Koala. 

The ineffable smugness of the Koala.

The ineffable nose of the Koala. 

Suddenly one realizes that the oddly formed animals of this continent might inspire sci-fi battle machines. 

Look ma, no feet!

The endangered rock wallaby. 

The not so endangered duck. 

The echidna parade.  Snouty pincushions on feet.  I wonder if they know their ‘do went out of style in the early nineties? 

Baby brolga (of the crane family). 

Back in the city we had pizza on at Il Gambero at Lygon street.  Yes, pizza two days in a row, but I enjoyed it both times.  I’m easily pleased.