Lest you think I'm sitting still

Today, I trekked back to Orana Park--on my own this time.  I met again with Toby and shadowed a Zoo School tour.  It rocked!  

There was a group of 11 from an itty-bitty rural school aged 8-13ish.  I was told that it was the majority of the school.  They were very well behaved and were interested, despite it being day three of a week long trip.  There were about 7 parents and teachers with them, as well.  

The focus was on habitat, which was defined, a game was played to reinforce the concept, then students were asked to think critically and pick out elements of habitat within the enclosures we saw and compare them to "natural habitats."  

Not that it was all heady--I was allowed to allow a giraffe to strip a branch of leaves from my hand and pat its neck as well.  It was a good day.  I'll be going back next Thursday for a program on evolution. I'm really interested to see how it's presented an accepted.  Toby said that there isn't nearly as much drama with evolution here as there is in the States.  

I biked to Orana today, and only ended up going 6k out of my way.  It turns out that "first exit in the roundabout" doesn't always mean what you think it should.  I hate roundabouts.  I also saw a roadkill owl.  I was running late at this point, and didn't stop to photograph it.  Unfortunately, it had been moved by the time I headed back into town.  I did however, manage to finally get some decent shots of Australasian Harriers--they'll be posted soon enough.  I also was almost run over by an airplane taking off on the way back.  By almost, I mean it was probably a hundred feet about me.  Orana is past the airport, and as I was biking, the road barriers on either end of the road segment I was on dropped and an alarm went off.  I was in the middle of the segment and had no idea what was happening.  My guess was that an airplane was going to land, not take off, and I biked as a fast as I could while looking for a plane coming in.  It wasn't until I was nearly deafened by the roar of jets that I realized it was coming from the other direction.  A biker who was waiting outside the barrier laughed and greeted me as I went past.  Now I know better.