Go Wild @ Taronga Zoo Sydney

Zoo Express

As part of our Sydney Escapade , we decided to take a trip down to the famed Taronga Zoo. Our parents had been to Sydney a few times, but this is their first to the Zoo. Being a new destination for the family, we look forward to the day ahead.


We were told the Zoo was opened in 1916. That makes it almost 100 years old! Would the residents be as old???

The Cruise

At Pier 27

As the Zoo is located on the other side of Sydney, we decided to take the Zoo Express from Captain Cook. The admission for the zoo itself is at $44 per adult, but you only pay $51.50 for the cruise to and fro from the Zoo. It is a good deal for those travelling without car in Sydney.

Let's cruise

The cruise is a leisurely 20 minutes ride. You will past by the iconic Harbour bridge, Sydney Opera House and Fort Denison. We recommend outdoor seating if you like to take postcard pictures of Sydney Harbour. It is just too beautiful to miss the views from this cruise.

Awesome Views

Entrance to Taronga Zoo

Entrance from Pier

There are 2 entrances to Taronga Zoo. Our entrance is located at the foot of the hill. The tickets we had included a return cable car ride. Being fans of cable cars, we were elated to experience another form of transport in Sydney. Till date, we had sat the ferries, cable cars, tram rides, chartered bus, monorails and taxis for this trip. Definitely beat travelling on a coach if we had taken the package tour.

Cable Cars

Grandparents came with us for this trip, forgoing their leisure time at Star Casino. We are sure they enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed theirs.

With Grandpa

After a quick 10 minutes ride, we are at the entrance. The zoo is divided into 2 main areas. The Australian Walkabout and the African Safari.

Wild Australia

It is a relatively big compound to cover, so we suggest at least 3-4 hours plan for the trip. Our exploration starts with a turn into the Australian Walkabout

The Map

Australia Walkabout
The Australia Walkabout is all about the wild life in Australia. Having been to Wildlife Australia at Darling Harbour, we reckoned that we would not spend a lot of time in this area.

Spot a Dino

There were the usual suspects in this area. Here you will see Kangaroos, Emus and Kolas.

Kangaroo Country

Somehow we could not find the Tasmanian Devil on site even when they had an enclosure dedicated to them. It remains elusive to us at 2 separate zoos. Guess even the little devils are afraid of us!

Tasmanian Devil

Try to spot some prehistoric creatures if you can. Actually the 'creatures' are man made sculpture rather than the real deal. We were wondering why they co-exist with the current residents of the zoo.

Animal scuplture

It did not take us very long to cover the Australia walkabout, we think 1 hour at this section is about right to keep our enthusiasm for the rest of the zoo.

Take a walk

There is also a Australian Rainforest aviary for those who are interested in birds.

Cheese

Our advice is not to feed the animals in the zoo, otherwise they might decide to join you for lunch.

Don't feed the birds

African Safari

Look Who's here?

Our next stop is the African Safari. Here a whole new species decided to join us in our tour. Actually we were join by cousins T & K together with our cousins who are living in Australia. It had been quite a while since we last saw them so it is good to catch up.
The gang did not take long to get reacquainted!

The Gang

Personally, we think the African Safari has more interesting animals.

Elephants

There are the elephants, gorillas, lions, tigers, hippos, bears and many more on site ( not including th gang of monkies of course)

The Big G

The concept is quite similar to Singapore Zoo where the animals are free to roam in purposely build enclosures. From our observations , the animals look more relax and perhaps a tad fatter than our local zoo. We attribute it to the cool winter weather which we think is perfect for a day out in the open.

More Wild Beasts

The gang even managed to catch a Seal Show and we totally love it!

Time for a show

For this part of the zoo, we took about 2 hours for a walkabout including the show. We do suggest to allocate a longer time as we did miss some exhibits due to time constraint.

Balancing Act

Million Dollar View

Spot the Tower

The Taronga Zoo is also well known as a spot for taking great photos. With the city as a backdrop, it makes an interesting photo with the animals. It gives out a feeling that you are far yet near to civilization and wildlife.

In terms of landscaping , the city itself makes a beautiful skyline for the zoo. If you are looking for the best spot to take a photo, we recommend the Giraffe enclosure for its million dollar view.

Million Dollar View

This is the first time we are in the zoo with such a large family. There were a total of 15 of us at the Zoo on that day. This is indeed a fantastic spot for get-together or a family day out.

It was so good, that I was quite reluctant to see the end of our trip. Before you know it, it is time to head back to our cruise towards the city.

Two words to sum up our mood at the Zoo.... Go Ape!

Go Ape at the Zoo!

The Little Details

Taronga Zoo is located at Bradleys Head, Mosman

Opens 365 days

Admission prices available here

View of Sydney Harbour

For more of our Sydney holidays, do click on the picture below!