Australia is known for many animals: koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, platypuses, etc. Melbourne is also known for weather that can’t make up its mind. Lucky for me, I got to experience both of these in one day.
Last weekend, on the drive to Werribee Open Range Zoo, the weather decided to start pouring rain. I was really worried my trip to the zoo would be a disappointment. A few minutes later, the clouds cleared out and the sun blazed through. When I stepped out of the car, it felt like I had walked into an oven. The temperature had gone from 20°C to 35°C within half an hour! I wondered how all the animals were coping with this weather (especially with their fur coats!).
The first thing we did at the zoo was take a safari tour. The bus took us on a delightful trip to see the wildlife. While I was sweating to death, the animals were running around, full of energy, not bothered by the extreme heat at all. They all have their own methods of keeping cool! The rhinos rolled in mud, the camels retained moisture to keep their body temperature low, and others just hid in the shade. The tour guide even mentioned how some animals urinated on themselves to cool down…perfect timing considering we passed by a waterbuck right when it was “taking a wee” as Australians like to say. I also saw an ostrich on the tour. For him, being in the safari was essentially the same thing as being sent to the corner as a child. By the end of the day, I had seen lots and lots of animals. My favourites were the lions (even though they were sleeping the whole time), the giraffes that came right up to the safari bus, the meerkats and the ostrich. Since Werribee is an African themed zoo, I’m going to another zoo this weekend to see more native Australia animals.
After my first week of school, my family took me to see the Jean-Paul Gaultier exhibition. After squeezing through hundreds of people, I finally got to see the outfits this famous designer had created. They were truly amazing. The dresses were detailed down to the last stitch. One dress looked like it had a leopard pelt wrapped around it, and I was absolutely furious Gaultier would use the skin of an endangered animal. Turns out, Gaultier had hand-sewn millions of beads onto the dress to create a realistic looking leopard in order to make a statement about supporting the disappearing species. No wonder everyone was pushing people out of the way!
I have really enjoyed all my experiences and adventures. I have the Gikovskis to thank for all the fun I’ve had! Next up, One Direction and the Eureka Tower! – Lucia Huang ’17, Exchange Student at Ivanhoe Grammar School, Australia
