The Cockatoo Flu

The Royal Botanical Gardens was our next stop after a very brief and jolly jaunt to this park area full of all things wonderful when it came to plants and animals.  We gathered around in a circle to unwind and reflect.  Y’know, beyond the harbor and the airport endurance, it was this moment that was my favorite on the entire trip thus far.  It was as necessary as it was significant for me, signifying that we truly were a group, solidifying that this group should get along great, and encouraging in all the many adventures we had to look forward to together.  There was a totally climbable tree that someone (Morgan, maybe?) suggested that we take a group picture.  And so, we did.  Another stellar shot seen on Chris’ side of the internet.  We all huffed it once more as we rounded the corner and came across an area full of wild cockatoos.  There was one Hispanic lady surrounded by the birds, and a young Indian girl overheard me asking the secret to getting the birds to climb on you.  This ten-ish year old girl was kind in telling me the secret to it—which undoubtedly involved food.  Borrowing a few pieces of Sam and Rachel’s sandwich, I sat down and tried to make a trail towards me for the white birds to follow.  It didn’t work very well, until one bird finally spotted some crumbs on my arm and hopped up onto my leg and clawed on me a bit.  Morgan put a piece of bread directly on my head, and a bird cawed as it gave its might swoop to snatch the edible item—all without losing a single hair.  Impressive.  Too bad no one was around to catch that bird of wonder in action!  I managed to snag a couple of self-portraits that are already on Facebook as we speak.  After seeing an absolute army of Werewolf Bats just hanging in an area of trees, we strolled into St. Mary’s church.  I was truly awestruck and impressed, and the lighting of my camera fortunately agreed to be cooperative.  That concluded Day 1’s official events, dinner excluded, and we all talked about indulging in a happy hour after a brief break for a good shower.