On our last full day in Sydney, Australia back in February 2015, a buddy and I wanted to visit Taronga Zoo. I already briefly wrote a post about my time at this zoo, but this time, I will write more into detail about our visit. Taronga Zoo opened in 1916 and is 69 acre big and is the home to over 5000 animals over 350 species. It is a lot bigger than Wild Life Sydney Zoo and we were excited to spend a day at Taronga Zoo.
Getting There
Taronga Zoo is Australia’s largest zoo and is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. There are a few ways to get to the zoo: ferry, bus, train, car, taxi or rideshares like Uber. To get a different perspective, we chose to take a ferry to the zoo and a taxi from the zoo back to the hotel.
Queen Victoria Building and a statue of her
Since we were staying at Travelodge Hotel, it was only about a 25 minute walk/stroll to Circular Quay which is where we catch the ferry to Taronga Zoo. On the way to the dock, we got a chance to pass by Queen Victoria Building which is a famous historic building that is now used for shopping and retail and leads to a railway station in the basement.
accessible ramp for the ferry
Circular Quay is a harbour and is quite popular as it consists of walkways, pedestrian malls, shops and restaurants. The ferry wasn’t too expensive and they actually had a ramp for my wheelchair to get on. I was able to stay on just the main level of the ferry for the 12 minute ride to the zoo. It was a great smooth ride and we got to see amazing views of The Sydney Opera House, the city skyline and the blue waters.
on the main level of the ferry
Sky Safari
Passengers disembarking at the wharf can enter the zoo via Sky Safari cable car or by bus. We chose the cable car as it is included with zoo admission as we bought with the ferry combo pass at Circular Quay. Taronga Zoo does offer free admission for caregivers or companions of disabled guests which was nice.
Sky Safari cable car
The cable car itself was spacious with the seat bench flipping up on the one side for my wheelchair. My buddy helped me inside without too much effort. The ride wasn’t too long and it gave us a great chance to see the layout of the zoo from above so we could plan our day. It also gave us a great view of the city and the harbour too.
inside cable car
Exhibits
Once we get to the top, this is where the main entrance to the zoo is located. Taronga Zoo is considered one of the world’s best zoos and has many exhibits. They are: Wild Australia, Seals In The Wild & Great Southern Oceans, Moore Park Aviary, Reptile World, Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Gorilla Forest, Lemur Forest, Asian Elephant Exhibit & Wild Asia Trail, Tiger Trek, Sun Bears, Giant Tortoises, and Primate Islands.
kangaroos
great accessible pathways throughout the zoo
My buddy and I started with Wild Australia since it was right by the main entrance. There we saw some wetlands with pelicans and swans, a small dark building that featured Australian Nightlife creatures. There were also a bunch of kangaroos in their enclosure too.
pelican
lemurs
We then went to see lemurs at Lemur Forest and saw some giraffes and gorillas nearby. Getting around the zoo was pretty easy as the pathways and accessibility were great. We then saw some mountain goats and zebras before heading to Taronga Food Market for lunch. It’s a cafeteria style restaurant offering hot and cold food options. I had a delicious roast chicken and fries lunch.
giraffes
roast chicken and fries lunch at Taronga Food Market
After lunch, we saw elephants, lions, bears and tigers. It was just a great sunny day and we enjoyed taking our time looking around and seeing the view of the city from the zoo. By the time we were done, we were at the bottom of the zoo and was ready to leave. We decided to take a 20 minute taxi back to the hotel just to make it quicker.
zebra
elephants
Taronga Zoo was definitely bigger and better than Wild Life Sydney Zoo and worth travelling a bit further to get to this world famous zoo. Getting to Taronga Zoo by ferry was accessible and fun and we got to spend over 4 hours seeing all the great animals. A new Savannah area just recently opened at the zoo and I would like to check it out next time I am in Sydney.
great view of the city behind us
taking a taxi back to the hotel
