Christmas morning dawned warm and sunny. Amanda arrived from the States mid-morning and, after a quick settle-in at the Airbnb flat and a call to Justin (for whom it was still Christmas Eve), we decided we’d spend the afternoon at the zoo! Because anything that involves koalas is always the right answer. And also the zoo was one of the few places open on Christmas Day.

Taronga zoo is on the other side of the Harbor, which meant a lovely short ferry ride.

It’s also on a steep hillside, with a gondola to take you from water’s edge to the top, and the exhibits arranged do that you see everything as you stroll downhill back to the ferry.

We didn’t see all the animals but focused on the ones native to Australia or other nearby parts of the world. The aviary was full of strange and beautiful birds . . .

. . . a wombat (which looked like a hamster the size of a Labrador) munched placidly on its carrots . . .

. . . the wallabies reclined on their tails and dozed in the heat . . .

. . . and the emus were as weird as they always are . . .

. . . but the creature that won the hearts and minds of everyone was the adorable koala. So cute! So soundly asleep in its tree-top perch!

We decided they were worth the hype and finished the visit happy that even if the other animals hid from us (ahem, pygmy hippo) at least we had seen the koalas.