Sydney Aquarium, Taronga Zoo, and Whale Watching

A couple of weekends ago we went to Sydney to go to the aquarium, Taronga Zoo, and whale watching.  We ended up having to stay in Coogee beach because all of the hostels were full or really scary with bad reviews in Sydney.  I did not want to get mugged, raped, bitten by spiders, or electrocuted from wires hanging down in the shower.  Our hostel at Coogee Beach turned out to be pretty nice and near a beautiful beach.  I wish we would have had some time to enjoy the beach. 

We had heard that the aquarium was lame, but it was really cool.  We had decided to go anyways because there was a Groupon for the aquarium for $16.  It is normally about $36. I have been to quite a few aquariums, but I saw some things I do not remember seeing before.  These include the Japanese Spider Crab and the Upside Down Jellyfish Shown below.

Dungong

They had a Little Fairy Penguin Exhibit.

Upside Down Jelly Fish

Japanese Spider Crab

Cultured Great Barrier Reef Exhibit

The next morning we all went to the Taronga Zoo.  We did this on a Sunday so we would only have to pay the Sunday Funday price of $2.50 to take the ferry.  The ferry ride was pretty short and one of the fastest small ferries I have been on.  The zoo was filled with even more exotic organisms than the aquarium.  Half of the zoo is the Australian walk-a-bout with Australian animals.  We saw a platypus, wombats, and many different opossums native to Australia. A lot of the Australian animals were nocturnal so we were not able to use flash to take the pictures.  The other exhibits in the half of the zoo too were animals that I am not sure if I have ever seen before either. The zoo, also, had gorgeous views of the Sydney Harbor, Opera House, and Bridge. Going to a zoo in another country made for some new experiences.

Short Beaked Echidna

Tasmanian Devil

Different Penguins of the World

Little Fairy Penguin Swimming

Fennec Fox

Tapir

View of City from Taronga Zoo

After the zoo we met up with Caroline and James, and went on a whale watching cruise that we bought a Groupon for.  The cruise was through the Merimbula Marina.  The crew was really nice and helpful so I recommend it. However, a lot of people on the cruise got sea sick due to being on a small boat and the rocking from the waves.  The crew did come around checking on everyone.  We saw a few pods of graceful Humpback Whales.  They blew out huge amounts of water from their blow holes.