After visiting the zoo on Christmas Day we walked up through the neighbourhood known as The Rocks (the site of Sydney’s oldest settlement) and discovered a beautiful scenic lookout with an observatory on top.

With the hilltop bathed in the golden light, we settled down with tourists and locals alike to watch the setting sun.

As the sun sank lower, we noticed how the night-time animal life began to stir. Cicadas started to buzz, the kookaburras called, and a flock of large birds swooped down into one of the nearby trees.

Only they weren’t birds . . . They were the biggest bats I’ve ever seen! What the locals call flying foxes, roughly the size of small cats, with a wingspan bigger than the seagulls from back home. And there was at least a dozen in the tree, flapping or clambering about, it simply gaming upside down munching on the many tiny fruits.

Another fascinating reminder that we’re not in Kansas anymore!