Our Favorite Aussie Animals

By an overwhelming vote, the koalas have won...though Mrs. Bierkan has been lobbying for the wombat. We did enjoy the kangaroos and the wallabies (Phillip Goist's favorite) and even the wallaroos - a totally different species of kangaroo-type creature, not a cross between the wallaby and the kangaroo. Mrs. Doan loved the kookaburra - and she even got to pet one. Ted Liu's favorite was the bird that dumped a surprise on his head.
It was hard to say what the highlight of the day was. We did see and pet more than 2 dozen koalas (and don't forget the 10 wombats!!!) but we also had an awesome final concert of the tour. We started the day with a school tour concert at PLC Croyden for 250 (?) girls from grade 1 to grade 7. Then it was off to Featherdale to see the Aussie animals and lots of Aussie birds. The kangaroos and wallabies were jumping around a bit and ate out of our hands, but mostly they were pretty lazy lying in the sun. The Tasmanian Devil was also a bit on the sleepy side and of course the koalas took turns sleeping in their trees (after all they sleep 16-18 hours every day...some of us will want to sleep like a koala when we get back to Cincy!) but the wombats were very active pacing in their pens and you can't forget those flying foxes (and the way they smelled.)
Then it was a quick stop at the Olympic Park to see how the Aussies have turned the Olympic Village into a workable and interesting city site.
We arrived back at PLC for a rehearsal with their senior chamber orchestra girls. We played Queen of Sheba and then Rondeau with them. We did a good job mingling CJSers with PLC girls during the sausage sizzle and then it was concert time. And as mentioned before, it was an excellent final concerts featuring all the gang buster tunes.
Our last day in Sydney features the aquarium, the golden bucket (the Aussie version of the Seattle Skyneedle) and the final bit of shopping. Some groups are checking out the Harbour Bridge and others are sampling local Krispy Kremes. A good time will be had by all.
We have had so much fun...but be prepared for some tired folks at the airport on Wednesday!