On Sunday we went to Taronga Zoo for the Day. David and I have been there as little kids with our own family, so to go back with two of our youngest sons was fantastic, and its changed so much since we were there last.
We went by train to Circular Quay, jumped onto a Ferry and then onto a Bus to the Top Entrance. Where we grabbed an late Breakfast/Early Lunch – mind you it was 11.00am by then, and both David and I was so very hungry that we couldn’t wait any longer. Due to our early start to the day we hadn’t had time for Breakfast, we had planned to grab a smoothie somewhere along the way but the Transport seemed to be there waiting for us at each platform.
The Food ::
The “Taronga Piazza” Cafe serves up the most amazing Chicken Breast Salad ever with yummy vegetables and a dressing over the top. It was so worth the wait, and I have raved about it to all of our family members. The rest of the Food Choices are not the best, too pricey and are not really healthy.
We have shared with our family the best food at the Zoo, the way to make sure they see every animal, and to make sure they see the Seal Show.
Taronga Zoo ::
We were impressed with how clean the enclosures were, the layout of the zoo, the many different animals to see, the playgrounds and the petting Zoo.
We managed to see nearly every animal bar the Zebras, Bongo and the Reptile Section. But we did manage to walk every path way possible. And that was due to our son Cameron who downloaded the Dinosaur App onto his Samsung Tablet.
The “DinosaurCo AR” App can be downloaded in your App Store and then Scan the Dinosaurs at each destination spot around the Zoo – Cameron made sure we walked from one end of the Zoo to the other end scanning every single Dinosaur figure. Now he has the information on his Tablet – which is perfect for his homeschooling.
Our Favorite Animal ::
By far is the Orangutans – but they were not there for the moment. So we headed to our next favorite animal, the Chimpanzees enclosure. I swear my boys must be related to the Chimps because as soon as we got there we watched two males Chimps{and soon the females joined in} confronting each other over their own territory.
It was like watching my boys working out who was the Top Dog and who could be the boss of each other – something they regularly try to do with each other when the dynamics change from two sons to three sons, or even when our other two sons come home for the weekend.
Even though the Chimps were fighting, no-one was hurt. They soon worked out between each other who was allowed where and who could sit with who, and they all soon sorted themselves out so that peace was once again in the enclosure.
Elephants ::
My favorite animal is the Elephants ~ they are majestic even when they are so very tall/big. They have a grace about them, where they are strong yet look so very calm. I haven’t been up close to one {yet} but I so would love to visit them in the Wild – where they live happily and with other animals.
There was two Elephants playing in the Water, and they both kept pushing each other under the water. They were so funny with their behaviour – not sure if they were brothers as well?
At first I was concerned that they couldn’t get up when the other one was sitting on it but they played this game for over 10 minutes and all seemed fine between them!
Seal Show ::
The Seal Show started at 2.00 pm and I was keen as to watch it….so we made sure we were there in time for the show. And I was so very glad we did make it because the way the Seals played in the water and played with the audience was so very funny.
Giraffes ::
Kyle loved the Giraffes – they are so very tall and sleek. Did you know that a baby Giraffe is born over 2 metres tall at birth? We learnt that at the Taronga Zoo while standing next to the Orange Pole.
The Lions ::
Who were so very smart – they sat still in the hot part of the day! They look like they are the boss of the Jungle, and I could imagine them in the wild…sitting there looking over his Clan!
The Bears ::
The Lemurs ::
While I was watching our boys play in the Playground, David was watching the Lemurs. Which were playing on their own Playground. I Love this Picture of how its looking at the food before it eating it.
The Foxes ::
At each enclosure is information boards. David has the most wicked sense of Humour – he asked both Cameron and Kyle to put their ears up to the Foxes ears to see if they could finally hear him speak! He reckons that with ears that big maybe then our boys will hear what he is saying {one of his Dads jokes!!!}
Meerkats ::
The Meerkats were so very funny how they were so very interested in what the people were doing. They so could have easily followed people around the Zoo, they looked so friendly/inquisitive about us humans. And they almost looked like they were study our behaviour. They might not be able to climb the wall out of their enclosure but I reckon that it would only be time before they worked out a way, especially the way they can stretch up the wall so far!!
Our Own Monkey’s ::
Water Fall ::
Our Day was well spent with lots of walking, and seeing so much. I think that Taronga Zoo is well worth the day, and if we were staying longer in New South Wales, and were close by I would buy a yearly Pass. There is so much to still learn, see and re-visit. And its also a great way to explore a Zoo, returning for a few hours whenever you want to concentrate on one animal at a time!
Our Tips For A Great Day ::
- Arrive at the top Gate and buy your food at the “Taronga Piazza” Cafe because their food choices are healthier and more varied then the other Cafes in the Zoo. The other cafes offered Fast Food {Hot Chips and Fried Food} but nothing really healthy.
- Arrive as soon as the Zoo gates are open so that there is time to see all of the animals
- Visit on a Sunday through Public Transport because its “Family Fun Day” which means you only pay $2.50 per ticket per person and you are able to ride trains, ferries, buses with that one ticket!
- If you have older children and they have a Samsung Tablet or iPad then I highly recommend you take it so that they can download the Dinosaur App to search for all of the Dinosaurs!
- Have a least one Map on you so that you can check out where to go and what to see
- Make time for at least on e show – we made it to the Seal Show, would love to re-visit another time for Gorilla Keeper Talk or the Giraffe Keeper Talk.
- Take advantage of the Sky Safari – its part of your ticket and so worth a least one ride to see above the Zoo.
All In All We Enjoyed Taronga Zoo
Have You Been To The Zoo?
Cheers
Lisa
New Life on the Road
*** PLEASE NOTE **** we were offered Two Adult Passes for the Visit to Taronga Zoo, we paid for our Two Boys to visit the Zoo. We paid for our lunches and our own transport. We were not paid to write anything, all words are our own opinion.
Enjoyed your post
Didn’t know that Giraffes are born two meters tall- great photos.
Thanking you so much Johanna for your support, your kind words and your love.
Its so good to learn more about Animals – we didn’t about Giraffes being tall at birth either 🙂
Love taking the kids to the zoo!! And seriously want to go eat that chicken salad now 🙂
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Oh that salad was beyond anything I have ever tried – it was so very yummy.
The Zoo was amazing, so wished I have thought to buy a season pass at the beginning of this year so that we could have visited through out the yea 😉
There is nothing in the world better to bring the kid out in me than a trip to the zoo and Taronga zoo is one of the best.
Great pics with nice clarity what type of camera are you using?
The Taronga Zoo is the best with the most incredible views over Sydney.
We have a Canon EOS 1100D with two lenses – EFS 18-55mm
and EFS 55-250mm {which is my all time favorite lens cause I can get pictures of our boys as they are moving about but they still come out really clear}
Great to connect with you Pete, Have jumped on over and liked your FB page and checked out your Blog 🙂
I can’t visit Sydney without going to the zoo. The bird show, meerkats and chimpanzees are my favourite but it’s got to be the best zoo in the world with its views. I’ve been to zoos in Auckland, Singapore, San Diego and Amsterdam but none of them came close to Taronga 🙂
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Oh I so would love the Bird Show 🙂
And yes I so agree that Sydney Taronga Zoo is the best Zoo with the Views 🙂