Taronga Zoo: For The Wild

When we say Australia, the first things that comes to our mind, aside from Sydney Opera House and Darling Harbour, are kangaroos and other interesting animals. Before going to Sydney, I’ve been hearing myths about encountering strange animals by just casually walking around its streets or parks. This may not be completely true but we know that the country has unique flora and fauna due to its physical separation from the rest of the world and its changes in land formation and climate. More than 80% of our plants, mammals and reptiles are unique to Australia and are found nowhere else in the world. Therefore, we zoos, that also act as conservation hubs, are scattered around Australia.

Taronga Zoo is the most suggested animal destination in Sydney by my cousin, who lives there. This 28-hectare zoo is home to more than 2600 animals of approximately 150 different species.

Of course, we are excited to witness some kangaroos because Australia is known for these beautiful hopping creatures. There are also animals that can only be found in Australia like koalas, emus, echidnas, platypus, wombats and Tasmanian devils so you can’t miss going to Taronga Zoo when you’re in Sydney. The animals I’ve mentioned are all here.

One of the notable attributes that Taronga Zoo offers to its guest is the opportunity of having a close interaction with the animals. I’m so happy because most of the animals aren’t contained in cages. They are free in their respective shelters so it didn’t feel like we’re far from them. In fact, I was just a meter-away from the kangaroo in the photo above. 

Everything is so open so I’m surprised that no animal chased or jumped on us. It seems that these animals are used to the presence of humans so they feel like we are not a threat to them and vice versa. Also, I feel that each of them are happy, healthy and safe in this environment that they have so there’s no need for them to do any harm no matter how close we are to them.

Apart from their discipline, the close encounter with the animals was made possible through well-thought engineered set up of each shelter. For example, the monkeys and gorillas are separated from visitors through a watercourse. The view deck for giraffes is located in an elevated floor so we are just on the same level with their head. As for the small animals like meerkats, they added tunnels so we could crawl on the ground with them.

The only animals that are caged are the birds at the Blue Mountains Bushwalk. But the barrier doesn’t stop us from having a close interaction with these flying cuties because we can enter the enclosure. Imagine how awesome that is! But I noticed that I didn’t got a photo of them so here’s a picture of Emu. You’ll know that these animals are well-fed because they don’t do any harm to people even if you bother them for a bit. Just make sure that you do the same with them.

Oh! Actually, the farm animals are also in their respective cages but they are allowing us to touch them! Therefore, even though we have lots of goats in our province, I still had fun caressing the goats here. We also found alpacas, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs in the zoo’s farm yard. I appreciate that these farm animals aren’t just in a simple enclosure. A barn was purposely made for them.

Taronga Zoo is not just for the animals in the wild but also for sea animals, specifically penguins and seals. However, we passed by many tanks and aquariums and only spotted them at the last window. I believe that the zoo just provided a large shelter for these aquatic animals that’s why they were hard to find. But my heart melted when I saw the penguins swimming like birds in the water! I say birds because these are Fairy Penguins, which is the smallest of its kind.

This is an Elephant Temple. Built in 1915, it was one of the first buildings at Taronga Zoo. It is one of the only few of its kind in the world and is now heritage-listed. We entered the temple and it seemed to be abandoned or, perhaps, being renovated. Actually, there were a lot of spots in Taronga Zoo that are under construction. That part of the trip is disappointing because we didn’t got to experience the zoo at its best. Even the zoo’s famous Sky Safari, a mountain cable car, was closed.

Just like in any other destinations in Sydney, visitors can see the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from here. Although there’s a lagoon that separates the zoo from the city proper, they opted to clear the view so it’ll overlook these structures. The zoo is relatively large. It’s recommended to sit for a while and relax with this stunning scene.

If you feel more adventurous, Wild Ropes Treetops Adventure has opened some courses at Taronga Zoo. Joiners can walk across moving planks, hang on ropes, jump between gaps and cross vertical cargo nets. However, my body was only prepared to see the animals and not to break some bones so we just passed by these attraction.

Finding food in the zoo isn’t a problem. By the entrance, We were welcomed by Forage & Graze Cafe. I think they knew we haven’t had our breakfast yet. We had a donut, a sandwich and coffee. We were sitting outdoors at first and the birds were grabbing our food. We went inside and enjoyed the Fairy Bread Donut, which was amazingly compact and didn’t get smudged even inside the paper bag. The Pulled Pork Sandwich was dry and tangy. Sourbread was used for the sandwich and they got a tangy dressing for the pork so it got sourer. The coffee was crappy. It was acidic and the beans used seemed stale.

Before leaving, we had lunch at the Taronga Food Market. It’s like a cafeteria where visitors will just grab the food they prefer and proceed to cashier for checkout. I’m sorry but I have to be honest. It was another disappointing meal at Taronga Zoo. The fries was dry, bland and dull. The fruits may look colorful but they are also tasteless. The honeydew tastes like cucumber so i was confused for a second.

Perhaps, you’ve heard that going to Taronga Zoo would be hassle because of the need to ride a ferry when going there. But Sydney has the most convenient transit system I’ve ever encountered. Riding a ferry is just like riding a bus there. You just have to tap your card or your local credit card, wait for the ferry to arrive and get in. You’ll be in the zoo for a few minutes. Moreover, you’ll enjoy the ferry ride because it’ll give you the iconic view of Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.