Another cold winter’s morning and the last weekday of the school holidays made for a perfect time to make an unplanned trip to Melbourne Zoo and catch the PhotoArk exhibition.
Naturally our first stop was to drop in on those three cheeky male lions. We found them playing with a stick and rolling around like they were puppy dogs, not big cats.
After watching the lions playing for nearly half an hour, it was time for a tour through the PhotoArk exhibition. This was amazing and a real highlight of the day, even though it was only some of the images that make up the PhotoArk. We also bought the great big hardcover book the details the full PhotoArk as a souvenir and inspiration for our future wildlife photography.
Inspired by the exhibition we wandered around to the Great Flight Aviary in the hope of capturing shots of some of the magnificent birds housed there. Our attention was first drawn to the Cassowary who kept stepping in and out of the sunlight while foraging. These impressive birds can be quite difficult to photograph in the dappled sunlight given their black plumage and vividly coloured neck and head. Balancing the exposure settings can be tricky, but fortunately this bird tended to often stop in one place like it was posing.
Then just as we were about to leave the aviary, the Satin Bower Bird made an appearance on a nearby tree showing off the brilliant blue plumage and violet coloured eyes.
Next stop on our list was to pick up an envelope so we could send in our old mobile phones to help the Gorillas before stopping by the Tiger enclosure.
And what trip to Melbourne Zoo is complete without a visit to Lemur Island:
As the day began to get warmer and warmer, the crowds starting to pour in as noon approached and so it was time for us to head home.