Taronga Zoo (Taronga Zoo)

Member Name: jaygami1986

Product:	Taronga Zoo
Date:	30/10/09 (23 review reads)
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This review is on my visit to Taronga City Zoo, which is located in Sydney Australia. I had heard some great reviews about the Zoo, and was told if your ever going to Sydney its one of the best places to visits in terms of finding out about the local wildlife which is indigenous to that part of the World. I was truly amazed, I have been to a lot of Zoo's around the world, however I found the zoo, more exotic and exciting to visits and this however could be because it was set in a beautiful country, which was experiencing a 40 degree heat wave.

Info

The zoo was officially opened in 1916, with over 50 acres of free space which is home to some 2,600 animals.

How to Get There:

There are several ways to get to the zoo; these include taking modes of transport such as the bus, a ferry, a train and a local bus operator which offers a return journey, which I think most tourists, might find the easiest.
Alternatively if you have a car you can park in their car park, however expect to pay a parking fee in the range of $15. The bus or coach fair has several pickup points which tourist use, they offer a relatively simple operation, prices set me back around $10, if you need more information you can contact +61 2 9969 2777.

Prices and Rates:

The ticket prices for admission can varies and it is usually down to the time of the year you are visiting the zoo, however the last time I checked the zoo prices were as followed;

Regular admission was $41 for adults and $20 for children between 4-15 years of age; they also offer a discount for senior citizens, usually in the price region of $25.

I actually travelled with a group, and we had the option of doing a group booking, which offered us a discounted price, as there were a large number of us. If you are going in a group, which is usually more than 12 people then you can expect to pay $32, which gives you a saving of $9. You can also have the option of booking a one day or two day pass, which allows you to cover the zoo over a number of days.

Zoo Packages:

The zoo opens at 9:00 am in the morning, and to be honest visitors have a wide variety of things they can do, they have the option of either going around the zoo by themselves, take up some presentations or stick with a tour guide who will show you around the park in great detail, making sure you don't miss anything, whilst at the same time giving you some detailed background information about the animal, its habitat, etc.

Some of the tours included in the visit can include the Australian Walkabout tour, which is a group tour which usually takes about 1 to 1 and a half hours long. The tour includes a visit to the Kangaroo, koalas, wombats, dingoes, echidnas and Australian birds. This is a great opportunity to visit these indigenous animals up close and personal, the tour even allows you to how koalas in your hand which is quite and experience, there is also plenty of time to take some photographs.
If you have the time I would also recommend taking the Wild Australia tour, which again usually last about 1 and a half hours. This tour is more of a hands on experience, you get involved with the zoo keepers and also get a chance to see what happens on a daily places in terms of how they look after the animals, how they feed them etc . The tour starts at either 10:00am or 14:00 pm. I was gob smacked when I had the chance to feed the baby kangaroos, its something that cant be done in most zoo's and it really does add excitement to the zoo tour.

The zoo also offers Animal encounter packages, which charge you an additional fee to get up close and personal with some of the most magnificent animals, these include, Kangaroo, koalas, wombats, dingoes, echidnas and Australian birds. The package includes and induction tour and a photograph with you and an animal up close and personal. Fees for this type of package are as followed; The Koala Encounters cost $19:95, Reptile encounter $19.95, Hold and Owl is $19.95, the Seal encounter costing $39.95 and Giraffes in Focus costing $19.95

Animals:

The zoo has a wide variety of animals, which you may or may not have seen before. However, I found watching these animals so much more fascinating because they had some nice surrounding man made habitats. We also get a chance to see animals that you can only see in Australia; these include my favourite's kangaroos and Koala. There are also a great deal of water inhabited animals such as hypos, which also adds some fear and excitement, getting a chance to see these wild and beastly animals.

The zoo also offers visitors a chance to stay at the zoo overnight in their accommodation facility, allowing you to be in a jungle type facility, sleeping under the starts and being close the animals. For more information please look at the following link.
http://www.taronga.org.au/western-plains-zoo/plan -your-visit/overnight-stay.aspx

Food:

The zoo also has several places were you can relax and have some breakfast and lunch, or simply some tea or coffee. There is a wide variety in terms of food and with a very scenic backdrop it makes it a brilliant and calming environment. Its very relaxing unlike some of the theme parks you go to where it's packed, busy and full of kids.
The Taronga Food Market is a simple and convenient food hut, were you can pick up easy and quick food such as burgers and pizzas, chips, hot dogs to name just a few.
For alcohol you can visit the local licensed Café, which offers some cold beverages, which go down very well on a very hot summer's day.

The local zoo shop is also there for visitors for people to purchase some great gifts that they can take back with them; these include photographs, key rings, and post cards.

Overall the zoo is a brilliant place for people to visits; it's a really exciting hand on experience, which is very exciting. The exotic animals, the scenic views and the hands on experiences you can have make it one of the most exciting zoos in Australia.

Summary: Taronga Zoo.......