A quick and decidedly picturesque ferry trip from Circular Quay, Sydney’s Taronga Zoo makes for a great day out.
Photo by Chris Wheeler
As Melburnians, my wife and I took the opportunity to do just that and we loved it.
With its meandering paths and walkways, we spent the best part of four hours there, taking in everything from top to bottom, starting with a ride to the top of the zoo on a chairlift, which is known as the Sky Safari.
Photo from Taronga Zoo
That, in itself, was most enjoyable. I speak of getting a bird’s eye view before we took in the sights and sounds on foot.
Importantly, check the day’s timetable for live shows either before you arrive or as soon as you get there.
In our case, that involved two outstanding 15-minute user-friendly “productions” – the first involving highly intelligent seals at 11am and the second an engaging free-flight bird show with spectacular vistas as a backdrop an hour later.
Photo from Taronga Zoo
Around that we found ourselves getting up close and personal with the larger animals, especially the giraffes (beautiful looking creatures that they are), elephants, lions, tigers, zebras, gorillas and camels.
The koala enclosure was a particular favourite of mine. It was there we were greeted by one of the friends of the zoo, who revealed the lengths the staff go to to ensure the koalas are well fed with fresh eucalyptus leaves daily.
New animals are born and nurtured regularly at the zoo, the latest being a koala joey, seven Bolivian squirrel monkeys and a tree kangaroo joey. Nice one.
Photo by Guy Dixon
And just how many animals are housed at Taronga Zoo – upwards of 4,000 from 350 species, many of which are endangered in the wild.
It is a thriving sanctuary.
Photo by Rick Stevens
The areas are themed. To give you an idea, I speak of the likes of the African Savannah, the Great Southern Oceans precinct and Wild Asia.
There is plenty to satisfy children too and that includes zoo adventures for five to 10 year olds, cadet and junior keeper programs for those aged 8 to 17 and a wild ropes course, involving suspension bridges, climbing walls and flying foxes.
Photo from Taronga Zoo
In light of these unusual times, you should buy your tickets online and that also means a cost saving. An adult day ticket is $44.10 ($35.10 for concession card holders), while a child from four to 15 costs $26.10. Children under four are admitted free. There is also a 20 per cent saving to be had on family passes.
NSW residents can save $25 when they use their dine and discover NSW vouchers at Taronga Zoo. The discover vouchers are available online and the dine vouchers at any food and beverage outlet during a visit.
Photo from Taronga Zoo
However, even better value is the annual pass to the zoo, which costs $99 for adults ($79 for concession card holders). That also entitles the pass holder to a further two free child passes. Importantly, these annual passes can also be used at Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide zoos.
Just go to Taronga.org.au/ZooFriends
A tip – as you enter, you can collect a free, detailed colour map, which outlines everything that you can do at Taronga Zoo. We found that particularly helpful.
Photo by Rick Stevens
Taronga Zoo is open daily from 9:30am to 5pm.
We had a superb day. We had such a good time and can’t wait to get a repeat dose of what the zoo has to offer.
For more information, simply go to www.taronga.org.au