Henry turns eleven

 

Our Mister had a wonderful eleventh birthday surprise.  His big present was to go behind the scenes at Taronga Zoo and be a zookeeper for a day.  It required getting up early and travelling to Sydney with Michael.  Parents weren't allowed to attend, so he spend most of his birthday solo at the zoo with a bunch of other kids he didn't know.  Hence the tired and nervous looking face in the picture above.

Henry loves animals and the zoo is one of his favourite places to visit.  We decided to tell him a few days earlier what his present was so he could be prepared, and it turned out to be a fantastic day for him.  He loved every minute.  I gave him my phone to take with him so he could capture his day with some photos.  He also phoned me during the day to chat, which was lovely and sweet.    
 

He got a shirt to wear and keep.

First order of zoo keeping business was to clean up after the ducks.

He got to watch the feeding of a Tasmanian Devil and listen to a talk from the zoo keeper.  Henry tells me the keeper threw a whole chicken leg into the enclosure and the Tassie Devil devoured it in less than 20 seconds.

He got front row seats at the Seal Show and then got to eat his lunch behind the scenes with full view of the seal tank.

A visit to see the crocodiles.

He went to central feeding centre where food was being prepared for the animals and got to feed some goats.

His day at the zoo finished with a visit to the souvenir shop where Michael bought him his own lemur who Henry has named Larry.  It was then a long drive home and he was welcomed with lots of hugs and kisses from me.  I made him a cake and it was great to finally sing him Happy Birthday.