That afternoon, we wander around the Royal Botanical Gardens. My camera is attracted to some of the birds that I've not seen before, as well as some of the flora. This magpie-lark was typical of many such birds we subsequently saw--about as common as grackles are in the States. This sacred ibis is wandering around poking into the ground looking for worms.

Still in Sydney's RBG, we come upon a display of water lilies. What a great shot! Lovely blooms abound.

It's moving in towards winter here, so its a bit chilly, especially since its getting dark. When we happen upon a group of three sulfur-crested cockatoos, out in the open and not too fearful, I can't resist. I take a bunch of photos, most of which don't turn out, but this one is pretty good.

While I'm busy being obsessed with the cockatoos, Gale goes further out onto the point, from which the opera house can be viewed pretty well. Coming out of my cockatoo haze, I become confused about where Gale has disappeared to, but she rematerializes after a few minutes as the light is getting dim. Nearby we watch a bunch of small darters zipping around a pond and settling into trees for the night. I either wasn't foolish enough to take those photos or none of them turned out. We head back to the hotel after our first successful day in Sydney.