Orana Park again

While I was at the hospital with Ruth (and the other girls) Brendon went for his appointment. So when we were done we walked over to the botanical gardens which are next to the hospital. The girls really enjoyed this - especially the ducks on the ponds.
But alas, after this photo my camera "went funny" again with it's purple picture. So the rest of the day Rachel was photographer.
Again we got the shopping done in the morning so that we could have a picnic lunch at the Park. As Rachel has been studying Claude Monet (a French artist) I thought it would be fun to have a "French Loaf". So Rachel loved this.
Unfortunately Rachel got some butter from lunch onto her lens and so we had a number of "dirty" shots before I noticed and cleaned it for her.

While we were waiting for the lions to be fed Ruth played with this little girl. It was really sweet.

And then the lions. For a nice sum of money you can pay to be inside that van while they feed them. They start by giving them little "snacks" to keep them around the van. Rachel got a video (with a smudge) but her camera does not seem to capture sound. It was a fun experience (and one of the highlights of the day for Rachel).

They finally get their proper meal and then head off to eat it in private. One lion decided to come eat his peace right in front of us which was nice.
Then we headed off to one of Ruth's highlights - feeding the giraffe. And this time we got to give them a pat too.

We were very thankful that at this point Hannah fell asleep in the pram. She has never had to sleep "out" before like this, so it was nice that she could get a nap. It made it possible for us to stay longer.

And next was the rhino
And we got nice and close.
The cheetah were lovely. And although they did not "run" for us today (they only get fed every second day), it was lovely to hear them "meow". Again, it was such a pity that Rachel's camera did not get the sound and I managed to get one of film. Such beautiful animals.

We also got to see them feed the wild dogs. This was amazing and the video was taken and no photo. So perhaps I will get the video's up if I can.

We enjoyed watching a meercat and two porcupines getting fed.

And we really enjoyed watching the otter getting fed. They are quite cheeky little things and the lady had to have a rake with her to protect her legs from getting bitten.

They are very well trained though (they have to be) and they are only given their food if they are on those logs. It was so very funny to watch. Then it was time to go.

And one advantage to pocket money is that Rachel gets to enjoy rides like these. I suppose it takes a number of year to outgrow the enjoyment of simple things. :D