Faunapalooza! The family Tea spent the day at Melbourne Zoo, to universal acclaim. They've opened some new exhibits, including a kids' area featuring some play equipment and numerous meerkat enclosures. Meerkats are Ryan's favourite animal, so that worked out nicely. They also had giant tortoises (Aldabra, not Galapagos). Those I've seen before, but the innovation this time around was the tortoise poo, of Aldabran proportions. Assessment: success!

At the start of the Gorilla Rainforest precinct, there's a brand new and very cool ring-tailed lemur enclosure. They roam free throughout the entire area, wherever they want (the humans, of course are limited to the main path). Ryan thought they were great, and got his boogie on, as follows:

Ryan: "I like to move it move it! I like to move it move it!"
Me: "Can you not see you have insulted the freaks?!"

I mentioned that the lemurs have a matriarchal society, and a keeper added that the lemurs in this enclosure had no males, to avoid trouble. Ryan got a furrowed brow, and asked on the way out, "Daddy, what if we took home just one male and one of the matriarchals? Would they fight?" I confess it, I had no answer, what with the whole laughing too hard.

The Gorilla Rainforest was today without gorillas, but the treetop monkeys section was a rocking hot spot, and the scene of my highlight of the day. We were approaching one exhibit, and I asked Ryan what he thought would be in this one. His reply: "Umm... Koalas!" I was just pointing out that we were in the monkeys section, when I saw that he was actually pretty close. It was home to two quite active tree kangaroos! [link] (One kid there had to be disabused of the notion that it was a red panda. Had to, I say.)

So there we were, enjoying the unexpected sight of two tree kangaroos pursuing a game of three-dimensional tag, when suddenly trundling out of the undergrowth comes SURPRISE BAMF ECHIDNA!! Aw yiss. Big one too. Let me just note how much I like that my wife and son get almost as excited as I do on seeing an echidna. (Biyi, apparently, has never actually seen one in full stride, and was startled at how fast it could be.)

In addition: the elephants had a three-month old baby, the orangutans were in an acrobatic mood (I love the way they move, it's like their limbs bear no relation to their torso). Sleeping underwater pygmy hippo. Mandrills! Nothing else; just, mandrills.

Day of awesomeness! Mostly I enjoy watching how Ryan gets more and more engaged each time.

A trip to the zoo with the Family Tea sounds like the best thing ever.

Going to the zoo with just billytea was pretty damn fun, but having the whole Family Tea there would be spectacular.

I need a better excuse to cancel on my cousin's fiance's wedding shower other than, "I'm really anxious this week and cannot deal with people".

Ryan stories continue to be the best thing to read first thing in the morning.

billy that sounds like a wonderful adventure!!

sj- I think that's a legit reason but could you blame it on another ailment - head cold, possible migraine, possible mild food poisoning, unspecified GI distress that means you have to stay close to home?

sj- I think that's a legit reason but could you blame it on another ailment - head cold, possible migraine, possible mild food poisoning, unspecified GI distress that means you have to stay close to home?

I feel it is a legit reason too, just not one my family can comprehend. I'm feeling a little better now, and I have the gift basket looking all pretty. So, depending on how I sleep tonight, maybe I'll go after all. I really hate going to big social things without either TCG or Mom. Mom is in FL, and it's an all female wedding shower.

ETA: And if I decide I can't go, gastric distress is usually a good one. It's also usually true, since all my stress goes to my stomach.

I need a better excuse to cancel on my cousin's fiance's wedding shower other than, "I'm really anxious this week and cannot deal with people".

We use that all the time, more for Tom than me... but we both do this.

Sounds like a migraine to me, sj.

I don't enjoy lying... but until I live in a world where "I'm really anxious this week and cannot deal with people" is understood and respected, those are migraine symptoms.

yeah for the tea family.

sj, migraines and gastric distress are excellent excuses. Especially if you give a hint of "stomach flu." no one wants to be around that.