Everyone loves to squash a kiwi

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore: forget the penalty box, throw them in the sin bin!

For weeks now, Ching and I have been cracking up everytime a certain ad was shown on TV. It starts with a bunch of dancing kiwi fruit on a rugby field that end up getting squashed. Then there's a series of clips showing kiwis getting squashed in many different ways by many different people. It ends with the line "everyone loves to squash a kiwi" and then advertises the Australia versus New Zealand rugby game. That game was last night. The original plan was to join Vikki and Antonia and I'm not sure who else, and watch it at the pub, but Ching and I were running terribly late and chose to watch it at home. Everyone on the street was dressed in green and gold.

The All Blacks (NZ) were undefeated. The ref kept making calls that interrupted the flow of the game and actually took away the advantage (according to the commentator - Ching and I were just staring at a pile of arms and legs out of which would emerged a rugby ball for a player on the periphery to grab and run away with). The score was tied at the end of the first half. The second half was a lot more exciting. The Wallabies took the lead. Ching and I were on the edge of our seats (presumably along with the entire Australian nation) as the All Blacks came distressingly close to a try (I think that's the right word - similar to a touchdown) that would have tied the game in the last two minutes. And then they would have won if they'd made the kick (and no, that's not the technical term) that always follows a try (you see, we're figuring this out). But the Wallabies defence held and Australia won the game! Whoohoo!

Ching and I had been at Paddy's Market for the afternoon. We needed more pink lady apples, and to stock up on some fresh veggies. The apples very, very good and we've quite enjoyed eating them since we got here. Unfortunately there were no good pink lady apples so we got some nice looking apples we'd never tried before. Can't remember what they're called. Something to do with sun. We also picked up some fresh Atlantic salmon cutlets for dinner. And here, fresh means they came out of the sea that morning. Yummy.

Friday afternoon was gorgeous and we decided we couldn't stay inside all day. So we hopped the bus and went to the Botanic Gardens. It was the perfect time of day to be there. The sun sets about quarter after five, so anytime after 2:00 and you're going to be there right when the birds are stirring for the evening. The ibises were incredibly numerous and incredibly loud, and incredibly funny. One of them tried to land on a branch that curved down and wasn't strong, and it just kept sliding down as the branch bent underneath it. It took several minutes for the ibis to give up. Also in the park were many rainbow lorikeets and cockatoos. The best part, though, was the palm grove. We walked in and I looked up at the trees and movement caught my eye. I stared, trying to separate a bird from the branches. In the back of mind I'm thinking "that's a really funny looking tree. Big black, curled leaves... strange." I stared some more as Ching started wandering down the path, most likely indulgently frustrated with my constant stops to scan the treetops (I'd remembered to bring binoculars too). And then I realised what I was staring at. "Ching! Look, come here, those are bats!!!" The palm grove is apparently home to a huge colony of flying foxes. Which we were able to watch close up through the binoculars. They're really cute.

Once we'd seen our fill of the bats, we headed down to Mrs. Macquerie's point to watch the sunset and take photos of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge from (arguably) the best vantage point there is on land. We had ice cream too. We got there a little early and had some fun hopping along the rocks at the point, trying not to crush any cirripedes (aka barnacles) and looking at cool algae in the rock pools. I had to laugh when I saw what was unmistakably sea lettuce. Prior to my 9am marine science lecture that morning, I wouldn't have known that. So if anyone's wondering if I'm actually learning anything, the answer is yes.

I have to go get ready, really fast, because we're supposed to be meeting Vikki and Antonia at 1:00 so we can go to Bondi Beach.