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Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Last day of Jersey trip

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to blogging but I had a few family "things" to sort out.  l have also torn the tendons in a finger on my left hand which is now strapped. In other words, this body of mine is complaining a lot at the moment but is being sorted by some great doctors; so, all is not bad on the Lynda front!
Anyway back to our great visit to Jersey, the end of the day at the amazing Jersey Zoo and unfortunately ..the last day!...sob!
Don't you just love this sign which is in front of the Gorillas' enclosure?

There are lots of things l could tell you about this family of Gorillas but l think you more than likely know all that info..so..just look and enjoy these fantastic creatures.


Sorry, I just had to put this in!
This pond is inside the Gorilla enclosure and is visited daily by a family of ducks. So weird to see mum, dad and, l think it was, 6 duckings waddling their way through the compound to the pond. The Gorillas took no notice of them at all but we humans were very worried for them.



I love Gorillas, just in case you had not guessed.
I just love this next image...it show a Meerkat on duty watching out for trouble. Can you see the plastic bubble behind him? See next image to find out what it is for......
A human viewing point! I waited for ages to try and get a child/adult and Meerkat looking at each other but, after quite a while, l gave up.
Tony and l were standing looking at the Orangutan enclosure. It is a large, beautiful space with loads of things for them to do and play on. While l was looking at this climbing frame, l wondered why there would be a full sack of something on the staging. After a few minutes, l realised it was moving...it had been an Orangutan using an empty sack to shelter from the sun. It was so funny to see it slowly appear from under the sacking. 


Then it proceeded to swing along the rope as if it was going for a walk in the park. In fact l reckon he was showing off to the public by sometimes just using one hand to hang there...then looking at us as if to say.."Can you do this?" Ha!


While we were walking along under the trees we were suddenly aware of a white Tamarin above our heads and her partner was around somewhere too. They were so tiny, with pale pink ears and beautiful eyes.

I promise you this was the colour of this bird and l have not Photoshopped it in any way. I think it is a Heron of some sort but l didn't record it's name! It really is a weird but beautiful serene looking bird.
I hate bats..these are fruit bats. When we lived in Papua New Guinea, we went to town called Madang. There l saw these bats for the first time..they are huge, noisy and just ugh! They flew round and round in the dusk and seemed very threatening! Here in the zoo they bought back all those memories plus the memory of humidity. I was very proud of myself walking through that enclosure, even if there was a net between us! Ha!
At one point in the afternoon it got quite cold and this is when l saw this little girl. Her kind dad had handed over his sweatshirt and so, while she was warm and cosy, dad shivered in the cold.
I have always loved Otters but have never actually seen one in real life. So imagine my delight when l saw this pair in the zoo and something else too that thrilled me. More about that in a moment.
Watching them dive, standing looking at us from slippery stones, swimming and making sweet high pitched squeaky noises .
Then we were told there were pups hiding up on the roof of a shed. These pups were born on Christmas day and there were 4 of them l think. From where we were standing we could hear them but not see them; so, disappointed, l went on my way. But, as l got to the top of the hill, the noises from the pups got much louder. l went through the bushes from where l might be able to see them. Just as l was about to give up, a pup came into view and became interested in me. It came nearer and nearer and was almost up to the fence, when he must have heard his parent calling, turned around and went back down the hill. It was a magical experience and l will never forget it.
I love the fact that among all these animals, the zoo has thought about the very little people who would be visiting and may get bored.

I always think that Flamingos are so very beautiful although l don't like pink normally!

On the last day of our visit we decided to walk around some areas we had not yet explored. From a distance l couldn't work out what those white lines on the hill were. It was not until we got quite close that we realised that the white lines were actually people shapes - very clever.

At one point in our visit, we had reason to enter The Tourist Information Office. First of all you are asked to wash your hands before entering... please note... this is not a hospital. Can you see the telephone next to the soap container? Please look at the height..do you think you could reach it from a wheelchair? No and believe it or not, this  phone is for disabled people to use if they need assistance!!!
I don't know if you remember at the start of this "Journey to Jersey" l showed you an empty airport London side.....well, going home it is the same on the island. Where are all the people?

Coming off the plane and boarding it via steps bought back memories from our years in Papua New Guinea. Often there when it was raining, you took of your shoes and put up an umbrella and walked out across the "apron" to climb the stairs to the plane. Arriving and departing from Jersey this way made me feel as if l were going back in time to a quieter era. In many ways it's true, the life in Jersey is so much slower than London.... that is for sure!
We had some beautiful evening skies on the way home.



We have landed and what a beautiful sunset to arrive home to.

The end of a very calming, enjoyable but windy few days away from home. Thanks Tony.x

2 comments:

Mary said...

I am glad you are back Lynda and I do hope the hand is repairing well. I still cannot get my blog to recognize your other Blog but I am determined I will work it out. I have not been to Jersey but we did holiday on Guernsey when the boys were small.By the way I am pleased to have found another grave lover :)

Emma said...

Lots of great pics. Hope your finger gets better.

Saw an otters bottom the other day....!