Lazy Day

Yesterday was terrific! After my noon post I had lunch followed by hand feeding the ring-tailed lemurs. Yes, the same animals that were animated in the movie Madagascar. They were tame enough to eat from your hand or, in my case, sit on my shoulder and lean against the side of my face while eating from the bowl, but they weren't tame enough to reach out and pet. Really cool.

Then I went on a guided tour of the NZ animals. I had already walked through the enclosures, but it was nice to have someone to talk to you about the animals. Bonus for me, although the keeper said they probably wouldn't, one of the Kea alpine parrots sat on my shoulder. I was so surprised that I tried taking pictures, but was just hitting the on/off switch. It was also very cool.

After the animal tour, I attended a Maori demonstration, performance, and ritual, which included audience participation segments for which I, naturally, volunteered. For the women a dance of twirling balls on strings (simulating bags of rocks on ropes). For the men the Haka (like the All Blacks rugby team). And for both tossing sticks either left or right while catching the one being tossed at you (hand/eye coordination). We also learned about a few musical instruments and their living quarters. Again, really cool.

To top off the day, they cooked a traditional meal in the ground (albeit in aluminum containers covered with tin foil), which was absolutely delicious. All told, I was at the park for over 12 hours. Great day!!

Today, I'm just Netflix binging. I can't even try to top yesterday. Maybe I can track down the hashers later.

So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️En savoir plus