Well girls, after all Echidna's doubts and Banksia's enthusiasm we finally did it! We camped out under the stars at Taronga Zoo. After a VERY long drive from Warragamba to the beautiful city of Sydney (hail to the bus driver, bus driver man!) we arrived at about 7:00pm. It was cold at this point, but not NEARLY as cold as it would get! After a delicious dinner of pasta carried all the way in hot boxes by Echidna and Banksia (wow! you should see the bruises on our legs!) we set up camp. No soft grass for our girls.... just dirt, leaves and sticks to make camp on.
We were entertained by a fantastic campfire, blown away by the spectacular fireworks over Sydney Harbour and were mesmerized by the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on the Big Screen. As the night grew progressively colder we kept telling ourselves it was 31 degrees (in Beijing, anyway!) and that we really weren't that cold at all.
Finally we bedded down for the night and MOST of us were as snug as bugs in rugs. If only we could have found Jemma a volume control switch for her tarp! Morning came all too quickly and after a quick breakfast and a long walk to the education centre we were ready to start exploring the Zoo.
Each girl nominated an exhibit they wanted to see and we planned our route accordingly. The Little Penguins, the elephants, the snow leopard the meercats and the dingoes were standout favourites, however the echidna and wombats rate a mention for their cuteness.
Finally it was time to go and I have never seen guides conk out so quickly on the bus trip home.
What a fantastic experience for the girls and for us leaders. We will DEFINITELY be returning next year, and hopefully more girls will come too.
3 comments:
Hi Guides,
It was freezing. but i was so warm with my tarp. I had a -5 sleeping bag and a summer weight sleeping bag + a tarp. The next day we struggled to bring our stuff to the education center,then we set of to explore the rest of the zoo.
I can't believe I kept saying I didn't want to go!!!! I even offered to play netball for Bethany if she would take my place.... I don't do cold very well. However, I am pleased to say that within an hour I was quoted as saying, "Next year, when we come we will...."
As usual it was proven that my misgivings had no foundations. The girls should be congratulated on their excellent behaviour and the way that they managed the cold weather.
A huge BRAVO to Ian who gave up pretty much his whole weekend to drive us in and collect us on Saturday.
Can't wait till next year!
heyyheyy its abby
iz da zoo sleep-out photos on here yet coz i cant i find dem any ways it was fun BUT MEERCATS R UGLY!!!!!
wuv abby
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