I took the tele-converter to the zoo to see just how close I could get to the animals with it. As it happens there were a lot of people there yesterday so what it really did was allow me to get the shots from the back of the crowds instead of needing to be at the front. I am still struggling with the manual focus thing, it is really hit and miss as to whether I get a clear shot or not. 
I didn’t manage to walk around the whole zoo this time, the sooner I get my ankle sorted the better, it just doesn’t like the hills at all. I spent a lot of time at the tigers and have many blurred tiger shots. If he had stood still for one minute I would have managed a clear shot but the constant moving made it really difficult when there were glass reflections and people to content with as well.
It is all practice, it’s just over two weeks now before I am off to Miranda and I want to be able to easily focus on things when I am there and not be struggling with a new piece of equipment that I am not used to. If necessary I will just not use it but if I can get the hang of it in the next two weeks I know it is going to be a huge help to get closer to the birds.
I stopped for a rest at the red panda enclosure and watched a couple of tui playing about in the trees. I was surprised to see the bands on the tui and am wondering if it is a zoo bird or a Zealandia bird. I didn’t know they were banding tui. The red pandas were all asleep in the trees so no cute panda shots.