Playing catch-up – Dec 23 & 24.
The 23rd was easy – after wandering around Taronga for hours we took the day off. We had originally thought John and his father might be able to do a fishing tour on the ocean, but that fell through so we fired up the bbq and played cards.
Since the 24th was Xmas eve, we wanted to avoid places that might be closed for the holiday or too crowded with last minute preparations. We’ve talked about checking out Sydney’s Royal Botanical Gardens. (you might recall me seeing the one in Hobart). Most of the gardens and surrounding parks are open every day of the year and are free to the public (certain exhibits and special events may not be).
We were very lucky in regards to the weather. It was mostly sunny but not hot enough to be unpleasant. We printed out a couple maps at home to get the general layout and figure out where we needed to go to pick up the no-charge wheelchair. Both John (the pusher) and Linda (the passenger) thought the chair was better than the one we had at Taronga. While we waited for the chair to be brought up from one of the ranger stations, we browsed the gift shop. As you can imagine, many of the items were overpriced if a person was simply looking to buy that type of item (sun hats for $30, I think it was about the same for an umbrella). However there were many things that I hadn’t seen in other places (like seeds for certain native plants) and the proceeds go to maintain the free garden so it’s easy to think of it as a “donation”.
A big hit almost as soon as we entered the garden were the bats! While the species is generally vulnerable in Australia, they really like the RBG, so much that they’ve caused enough damage to trees to make the garden look for non-lethal ways to encourage smaller numbers in that particular area.
We walked around for hours – until the battery was dead in one of my cameras and the memory was full in the other. It would definitely be worth another trip. It would be nice to go at different times of the year – there is always something in bloom. I might also want to go back and caption the photos with the name of the plant and location (from the standpoint of wanting to learn more).
While the garden was free, the parking was not (it was the first time I had to use a credit card with a parking meter). Next time I go back I’ll take the train. 
The other thing on the agenda was a dip in the ocean. Linda’s father had gone swimming on Christmas Eve in the Pacific during the war and she wanted to do the same. I’ll skip posting any photos of the family at the beach. ;)
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