A Magical Night...

A few weeks ago I got an email from Masha over at Our Religion inviting me to a special evening event at the Melbourne Zoo, for Earth Hour 2010. And boy was it special...
I invited my lovely auntie Jane to be my plus-one, and we were worried we'd miss out on the tour that was promised as part of the evening, considering we were running late (punctuality doesn't run in my family, I guess you could say). But thankfully, we arrived to our surprise with plenty of time to spare. As we checked in at the Bloggers Table, we were given a 'survival pack', consisting of some chocolate, sultanas, water, insect repellent, a reusable coffee cup (Keep Cup, very nifty invention) and some information on Zoos Australia. How sweet!

Our 'survival pack'

We set off on the tour, and I was starting to get a little bit scared. I love animals, but they really scare me. Especially the ones that are bigger and/or stronger than me. Thank god we didn't have time to visit the gorillas. I may have passed out. We did, however, have time to visit the giraffes, the zebras and emus, the reptiles and the lions (which we saw being fed - not as terrifying as it sounds). Considering it was evening, most of the park was shut from viewing, but it was fun while it lasted. The lions were behind a fence, so all of the photos I took are painfully dodgy, but I thought I'd upload at least one.

Gorgeous giraffe.

So tall...

The zebras matched our stripey tops.

Demon lion.
See what I mean? Painfully dodgy...

After the short-and-sweet tour, it was time for some dinner (the entire evening was absolutely free, if you can believe it). I was very pleased to see some veggie burgers on offer, as well as green salad and potato salad. There were even tables with place-settings for all of us bloggers to sit at! It was all very lovely. A nice, communal feeling. During dinner, the music started. The main attraction of the evening was the Earth Hour Unplugged concert, and Jane and I were very excited to see the Blackchords play as we'd been listening to their music before arriving at the zoo. Little did we know, as the tour was wrapping up and we were innocently eating dinner, the Blackchords were doing their set! We had no idea, and then it was too late. But all was not lost, as once we finished our dinner and set up our rug and bags on the lawn in front of the music pavilion, the second band Wagons began and they were very enjoyable.

Wagons.

Me.
It was a tiring day - I guess it shows...

Jane and I.

The lead singer was probably using a little too much language considering it was a family event, but everybody found it funny anyway. Being so short on cash recently, it's been a while since I've been to any sort of live music gig and I've forgotten how special the experience is - I've resolved to see more live music, as a result. Around 8.20pm it was very dark, and Tim Rogers began his set. As Earth Hour approached (8.30pm-9.30pm), the lights in the park and the stage were turned off and all that was left were the instruments, creating a really cool sensation. I hadn't been feeling well for a little while now, so we decided it might be best to leave after 15 minutes or so, to avoid the traffic (in case I would get to point where I needed to hit the bathroom). So unfortunately, we didn't get to see all of Tim Rogers, which was a shame because I was really enjoying his performance when we left.

The foreboding sky.

The crowd.

Our view of the stage.

Tim Rogers.

The stage.
Cool camera effects.

The stage.

But alas, an incredibly magical night all the same...


How was everyone's weekend?


Romany
p.s. I will do an award post in the coming days - don't worry, lovelies, I haven't forgotten.

[photos courtesy of my iPhone, my digital camera]