This past Friday I was lucky enough to have a beautiful day to explore the Royal Botanic Gardens right in the heart of downtown Sydney! I had previously read a bit about the huge gardens and was interested but never thought that I would enjoy wondering around the 74 acre glorified park as much as I did. I learned a lot about many different kinds of trees, plants, and animals that inhabit Australia. My camera was dead so I had limited pictures on my phone of the gardens which were littered with not only plants, but statues, a huge mansion called the Government House, museums, green houses, wildlife, and the largest public drinking fountain in NSW (New South Wales).
I began my walk in the morning and was pleased to find signs by most of the unique trees and plants. Some of the areas had more signs than others. On my initial stroll along I noticed a plethora of HUGE spider webs, reaching from the ground (or low plants) to the branches on some high trees. I tried to watch out for these since 1. I hate spiders, and 2. most spiders in Australia probably have the potential to kill you. However, later (on my free guided tour) I learned that these spiders are actually a very special, non-poisonous species that weave golden webs and are used in Asia for fine silk garments. Learning that these were actually useful and not deadly made them seem a little more cool and allowed me to study the golden webs closer to see the color, but I still would not want to touch them!
|
Dracarena Draco |
There are also some very interesting plants/tree species that are native to Australia that are very very interesting. For example, the Dracarena Draco tree. When I first saw it, I had to double-take because It just looked like a lot of branches/roots. But as I got closer (and to a different angle) I noticed that its branches were simply on one side. I found a sign saying that the tree had actually fallen over in 2008 and it couldn't be moved because some damage to the trunk had made it very susceptible to breaking. However, these trees generally live to be around 600 years old in the wild! This one in particular is over 100 years old. I did encounter more of these trees and noticed that they oozed a red slimy substance...I learned that these trees are often called "Dragon's Blood Trees" for this very reason! The red resin the tree produces has many common purposes but it most frequently used for varnish on violins!
|
Wollemi Pine |
Another very interesting tree is the Wollemi Pine. The tree was first founded in Australia in 1994, so its a relatively new discovery and they are still trying to figure how to grow it in captivity (you can't see the reddening/loss of needles on the other side!) One of the reasons that this tree is so special is because its in a genus that was found in fossils and thought to be extinct 65 and 200 million years ago! It was actually found in a canyon somewhere and the location is secret (and protected!) so that no viruses get in and destroy the only known breeding ground for these trees!
|
Breed of Eucalypt |
Of course there are many different kinds of trees in Australia, but the most common trees (in the wild and in the garden) are Eucalypt trees. There are many different varieties of these trees but they have common features and some special attributes. For example, Eucalypt trees shed their bark instead of there leaves for "fall". Also the leaves are the only food that koalas will eat. The leaves don't have much nutrient value though so koalas spend most of the day sleeping in the trees (20 hours a day!), and eating intermittently. Eucalypt trees are also called "widow makers" as sometimes the huge branches fall unexpectedly. Our tour guide told us that last week a kid was killed walking out of school from a falling branch! He also said that his garden hosts a few eucalypt trees and they have gone through his roof twice, and his neighbor's roof once! Sounds like quite an insurance investment! Anyways, I could go on for ages about the thousands of plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees that I saw in the gardens but I figure I got all the good parts at least.
|
Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf |
The trails around the gardens led to an amazing view of the opera house and bridge and also of the famous Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf. The wharf was mostly used in the early 1900s as a base for soldiers coming to and from war. After WWII the wharf was the landing place for the thousands on immigrants who came to Australia. I'm not exactly sure how famous the wharf is exactly, I didn't go in it, but the building was HUGE..and of the course the name is something that is fun to say and could possibly be famous :)
|
Magpies on the balcony |
Finally, a bit more local wildlife that is right on our balcony off our room...Magpies! These crow-like birds are heard squawking all day long. They are black and have distinct white marking on them which differentiates them from crows, ravens, and each other! I have taken to feeding them bread crusts on our balcony so that they come in. I am working towards feeding them while I'm out there since I can't technically have pets! Some of the other wildlife in the area includes kookaburas, which have a very unique call that sounds similar to a group of laughing monkeys! ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ZbykXlg6Q ) There is a whole colony of them in a tree nearby and they all start calling at random times throughout the day. They call when another bird comes near to their tree, which apparently happens a lot around dusk or early in the morning.
Speaking of wildlife, one more thing! We have bought tickets to go see the Broadway production of Lion King here in Sydney! In case you haven't seen the viral video of the cast singing on a plane from Brisbane to Sydney here is a clip of the cast performing a "flash mob" style rendition of one of the songs... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfcyGPHP0Ak Andrew and I will be going with Jenny (his sister) and her husband (Muzz) on May 4th!
|
Another view of the opera house/bridge |
No comments:
Post a Comment