“It looks like a zoo but doesn’t smell like a zoo” as my family observantly noted. “It feels like the National Zoo in Canberra”, another one said. Sydney Zoo is the newest and major zoo to open in the heart of Western Sydney in the suburb of Bungarribee, near Blacktown in NSW. Currently, Sydney Zoo is broken up to six major areas to visit including: Australia, Reptiles and Nocturnal, Aquarium, Primate Boulevard, South East Asia and Africa.
During the school holidays I took the kids in my family – my nieces (youngest 4 years and eldest 9 years) and 13 year old cousin to experience the Sydney Zoo where we started out at 9am, pulled out our map and headed to the left pathway of the zoo as you come out of the entrance. We headed to ‘Australia’ and no surprises on what animals you saw here, although the animals were active in the morning. We saw koalas which were awake and lively. With the current bushfires in Australia, the koalas reminded me of how others though were not so fortunate.
What I also learnt is that that koalas have a direct evolutionary lineage to wombats but while wombats remained on ground (terrestrial), koalas took to the trees (aboreal). We saw kangaroos, wallabies, emus roaming around free and wild and an ex circus elephant, zebras, crocodile as well the Australia’s deadliest snakes, fairy penguins and lions.
Fairy penguins were my favourite as there is always some playfulness in their characters as I watched them dive into the water and bob back up fluttering their back feathers in the sun. The glass that separates the Australian crocodile and small kids who faces were pressed up against the glass made my hairs on my skin stand up, after seeing and remembering the power of these creatures at the Australian Crocodile Park in Broome.
Sydney Zoo also respectfully pays tribute to Aboriginal culture, heritage and people, while honouring the land with stop points where you can listen to the Aboriginal culture and read about the use of vegetation, and of course the animals too.
We went on the 3 January 2020 and the temperature was around 30 degrees so it was quote hot. There are a few shady areas but you need to bring sun protection as there are large areas exposed to the sun. However, it is expected as the trees mature, it will later provide shade relief at the zoo. “The best part on a day like this is the misty spray shelters”, which help you cool off, an adult family member said.
Half way through our tour at the Sydney Zoo, the kids were getting tired and hungry so we stopped for lunch at Boulevard Eatery just before 12pm. We could easily find a table to accommodate 4 adults and 4 kids at that time. With annual membership, I was able to get 10% off the bill for the food. The food was actually high quality, with healthy options and not too expensive. I bought meals for 4 adults and 4 kids and it only came to $50. So if you forget to bring lunch I wouldn’t be too fussed as there are good food and drink options at the zoo. Sydney Zoo facilities were very clean and reasonably flat for good pram and disabled access.
We arrived at 9am and left the zoo by 1pm which was long enough to see and experience everything. Not all exhibits were there and things like the animal encounters are still to come. With an annual pass I would go back later in the year with the kids to experience these new encounters and probably when it gets cooler.
I think the Sydney Zoo is a wonderful addition to Western Sydney, which is accessible, offers an experience, teaches children to better appreciate wild life as well as Aboriginal culture and heritage and will improve as much more is offered in the future than just animals in enclosures.
Tips and information
- Purchase tickets online in advance to save money and to avoid queues particularly during the school holidays.
- Sydney Zoo is open from 9am – 5pm every day. When you book online the sessions are broken up into morning and afternoon sessions. I chose the morning session to avoid the heat and some of the animals were reasonable active during this time.
- Sydney Zoo is an easy drive to 700 Great Western Highway, Bungarribee NSW in the heart of Western Sydney. There are also bus routes that take you directly to Sydney Zoo
- Day pass on annual membership? I chose annual membership as there are still a few exhibits to come in particular the animal encounters, I would go back for that. There are different levels of annual membership: 2 adults 2 kids was $198 a year or $19.98 a month
- Take a map and follow the route.
- Bring sun protection and water. There is a lot of open space and few areas of shade as the trees are young and take time to grow. There are free water tap stations for you to fill up. You can bring snacks but I found the cafes there such as Boulevard Eatery were quite reasonably price and the food very good with healthy choices. Make use of the misty stations to cool down if you are there in the summer.
- Sydney Zoo is reasonably flat so very accessible for families with prams or for disabled access.
Location
700 Great Western Highway, Bungarribee NSW
https://sydneyzoo.com/
See.Taste.Do and family guests attended in partnership with Sydney Zoo
