One of the many things I love about Australia is the range of unique animals that exist in this country. Because of their isolation from the rest of the world for so long, this allowed these unique species to develop and exist. From the koala to the platypus, more than 80% of these animals, plants, reptiles and frogs are found only in Australia.

With that, no trip to Australia would be complete without a trip to at least one of the zoos or wildlife parks, to catch a glimpse and sometimes a cuddle, with some of these amazing animals. Of course, I would much prefer to see some of these animals in the wild (I say some because honestly I am perfectly fine seeing the crocodiles and the snakes behind glass, thank you). But it is a extremely cool experience to see a koala, kangaroo or echidna in their natural environment.

Platypus

Unfortunately, these experiences can be rare, depending on where you are traveling and how long you are spending in Australia. Therefore I always recommend at least one zoo experience of some kind so you can have an opportunity to see these unique critters.

While in Sydney, we chose to experience the Taronga Zoo, which is a natural bush area on the harbour’s north shore. It is easy to get to from Circular Quay, with a short (and beautiful) ferry ride to the zoo’s entrance. You can purchase a combo ferry and zoo entrance ticket at the terminal which does provides great savings, as opposed to purchasing them separately. Also with the pre-purchased pass you can take the cable car up to the top from the ferry terminal, which gives you a birds eye view as you zoom overtop of the zoo to the main entrance.

Fort Denison

The kids were all very excited to get to the zoo, as we had been promising them we would ‘go and see the animals’ since about 10 that morning, but it had taken us until almost 2 pm to get ourselves organized, fed and down to the ferry terminal. We bought our ferry zoo combo pass and boarded the ferry for the north shore. It was a beautiful day, so we sat up top where we could catch the views of the harbour as we sailed.

This was an unique experience for me, as the last time I was in Sydney, we did not go on the water, so I got to see a different view of Sydney. Chloe and Luke asked many questions as we sailed along, wondering what this was and that was. We sailed past Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, which we had been to earlier that morning; and Fort Denison, another of Sydney’s historic landmarks.

Once at the Taronga Zoo ferry terminal we made our way to the cable car. There were also options to take a bus to the top main entrance or a short walk. The cable car was super cool, much like a gondola for us, the car would slow down as we got on and had a seat inside, before we were whisked away over the tree tops. It was great way to see the layout of the zoo and where things were. We could see how the zoo had taken great care to create spacious enclosures for all the animals simulating their natural habitats. Luke screamed in delight as he spotted the elephants, asking to go see them when we got on the ground. We also caught the giraffes and orangatans to from this view.

The zoo itself has an extensive collection of Australian animals. As we passed through the entrance we received a free map to help us plan our route. Unfortunately we only had 2 hours to tour this extensive zoo (I would recommend a full day so you can see the entire zoo at leisure and take advantage of the shows and keeper talks as well), so we had to choose our route carefully. Our first priority were the koalas and we were not disappointed. Cuddled up in the trees, we got fantastic views and photos. Commonly called koala bears, koalas are actually not bears and are part of the marsupial family (animals that have young in their pouches). They are not related to bears at all!

Satisfied we moved on to the rest of the zoo. We saw crocodiles, snakes, lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, kangaroos, emus, wombats and even a goanna outside on his own. We looked diligently for the platypus in his enclosure, but to no avail (these animals are nocturnal so are hard to catch a glimpse of during the day).

Goanna

We managed to cover about 2/3 of the zoo in the time that we had but had to leave because the zoo was closing! We didn’t even get a chance to go into the gift shop 🙁

The other advantage of going to the Taronga Zoo is the stunning views of the Sydney Harbour from atop the hill. Even though we would have liked to have stayed a little longer and finished the zoo, we enjoyed our time there.

The highlights were definitely the koalas, the views, and the ferry ride to get there. There are other wildlife parks in the greater Sydney area, such as the Featherdale Wildlife Park and the Koala Park Sanctuary, which offer opportunities to hand feed some of their animals or experience encounters where you can be face to face! These parks though are located about 30 minutes outside the city.

We cuddled up on the ferry, tired yet satisfied with our afternoon at the zoo, each of us pondering what we liked best, and what our next Australian adventure might be…