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National Zoo and Aquarium

Tiger

National Zoo and Aquarium

Modern and spacious, the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra houses animals from around the world, but also includes many from Australia.

Getting There and Parking

Located a short 15-minute car ride from the centre of Canberra, it’s easy to get to. Plenty of on-site parking allows easy access for cars. A great feature is that entrances from different car parks mean you do not need to walk all the way to the front entrance to get in. Just remember which entrance you used!

Getting Around the National Zoo and Aquarium

The zoo’s layout enables all exhibits to be seen by walking a circular path, with a few deviations. Because of this excellent layout you do not need to double back and retrace your steps very often.

Food Outlets

Two main food outlets are placed on either side of the zoo. Near the lower carpark entrance a restaurant serving light meals and drinks is near the monkey enclosures. On the far side of the zoo, next to the open range area, the Rhino Bistro also serves food and drinks.

Vending machines scattered around the zoo allow you to buy snacks and drinks as you go.

If you would rather bring your own food, picnic areas throughout the zoo let you sit and relax while you eat.

National Zoo and Aquarium Exhibits

Housed in large modern enclosures, the animals have plenty of space to move around. This reminded us of a mix between the open range zoo at Dubbo and the Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

African Wildlife

The zoo has a large collection of African wildlife on display. Ranging from lions and cheetahs to elephants and giraffes, most people’s favourites are there. Most of the carnivores had been fed and by midmorning were dozing in the sun. If you want to see them roaming around, early morning is the best time, because this is when they are more active.

The zebras, giraffes and other herbivores were more active, often walking close to the fence. This was great, giving us a much better close up look.

Tigers

Unlike their African counterparts, the tigers were active and wandering around their enclosure. One of them came up to the large Perspex viewing window so we could get a very close look at him.

Tiger
Tiger

Meerkats

Meerkats are always fun to watch and the ones here were no exception. Whether they were fighting, eating or just standing guard, they were entertaining.

Meerkat National Zoo and Aquarium
Meerkat

Birds

Aviaries hold many birds, but the one we like the most was the fairy penguins, because theirs was open to the air and you could see them swimming around.

Fairy Penguin National Zoo and Aquarium
Fairy Penguin

Reptiles

Located next to the aquarium, the reptile houses a huge number of snakes and lizards. This is a great way to see many of Australia’s poisonous snakes behind a glass wall so that you remain safe. Seeing them out in the wild can be a little more dangerous.

Heat lamps and low lighting keep them active, although most of the snakes were not moving.

Green Iguana National Zoo and Aquarium
Green Iguana

Primates

The primate section was very active, with monkeys climbing along rope and through trees. The lemurs, apes and monkeys had only just been fed, so were out in their enclosures playing and eating.

Cotton-Top Tamarin
Cotton-Top Tamarin

Bears

Malaysian Sun Bear
Malaysian Sun Bear

Deer

There were many different species of deer, all in large enclosures so that they could move around.

Wapiti Elk National Zoo and Aquarium
Wapiti Elk

Australian Wildlife

As expected, the Australian section is one of the largest, with kangaroos, wallabies, emus and koalas.

It was great to see Tasmanian devils there, as they are endangered due to a facial cancer that is destroying their population in Tasmania. Breeding programs and disease free populations have been set up around the country to save them from extinction.

Extinct Animals at the National Zoo

A very unusual section of the zoo is dedicated to extinct animals and birds. The first we saw was the dodo, famous for being made extinct by sailors who killed them for food. The Tasmanian Tiger was also there, push to extinction by sheep farmers and graziers.

The message from these displays is that animals can easily be made extinct, but can be brought back again.

Also in the area were a few dinosaurs, showing that life has changed significantly over the last 100 million years. They are also fun for kids to look at because they look quite life-like.

What did we think?

This is one of the best zoos we have seen, and we have visited a lot of them. So much space for the animals. Great location, no issues with parking, and plenty of spots to sit down and have a snack or sit down to order food. A must if you love this stuff!

For other places to visit in the Australian Capital Territory click here

Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo

Sumatran Tiger

Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Located near Dubbo in the central west of New South Wales, Taronga Western Plains Zoo is one of Australia’s premier zoos. The zoo is home to over 5,000 animals from over 350 species, many of them rare and endangered. Taronga is part of an international breeding and conservation program to ensure these animals survival.

Getting Around Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Being an open range zoo allows the animals to move freely, which is spread out over a huge area. The circuit road is five kilometres long, with numerous sidetracks showing various exhibits adding many kilometres. We managed to walk over 14km during our visit.

If you don’t feel like, or are unable to walk around the zoo, there are option including drive your own car, hire a bike or golf cart. Each of these has its own appeal, depending on your circumstances and the weather.

Refreshments

Food and drinks are available at the entrance where the Zoo Café and Bar is located, or at the halfway point at the Waterhole. We ate at the Waterhole because it was four hours into our visit and near lunch time.

The tables at the Waterhole are next to cages with meerkats. This is nice, because you can eat while watching them play. If you have children, this area has a small water park and play equipment, allowing them to play while you relax.

Throughout the park are several vending machines and water refill stations, which is great for that quick snack.

If you bring you own food, picnic areas are available, so you to eat surrounded by animals.

The Animals of Taronga Western Plains Zoo

With so many animals to see don’t rush, take your time. This way you will have a great visit while seeing lots of different animals.

Cheetah

We were lucky at the cheetah enclosure because they had just been fed. They were playing a game of tug with a piece of food, even though there was another piece lying nearby.

Lion

Sumatran Tiger

More tigers are located in Taronga’s Sydney Zoo, but this one looked very relaxed by itself. Taronga is proud to be part of a regional conservation management plan for Sumatran Tigers including breeding, research, fundraising and community action to support sustainably produced palm oil, which we all know has ruined the tigers natural habitat.

Rhinoceros

The zoo has three species of rhino on display. Each has its own large enclosure, where you can view them. It was great to see all three species, especially the critically endangered black rhino.

Black Rhinoceros

The black rhinoceros is classified as critically endangered, due to hunting and habitat loss.

Southern White Rhinoceros

The Southern white rhinoceros is the most abundant of the rhino sub-species, with around 20,000 living mostly in South Africa.

Greater One Horned Rhinoceros

The greater one-horned rhinoceros is native to the Indian subcontinent, and is listed as vulnerable, with under 4,000 animals globally.

Camels

Hippopotamus

The hippos were active while we visited, munching grass while slowly walking around.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo Giraffe Herd

Seeing a herd of giraffes was great, as they acted like a family group[ with adults and calves moving together.

Ostrich

Ostrich Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Ostrich

Emu

Two enclosures hold emus, including the walk around Australian section, where you can get up close to one. If you would rather see them from a distance, a large enclosure nearby has a flock of them walking around.

Swamp Wallaby

Banteng

Addax

Eland

Bongo

These vividly striped animals were eating breakfast, so we were able to see them up close.

Takhi / Przewalksi’s Horse

Taronga Western Plains Zoo holds a large herd of Takhi or Przewalksi’s Horse. The story of the Takhi is told on information boards, inside building resembling Yurts, because the horses come from Mongolia.

Persian Onager

White Handed Gibbon

Meerkats

Always fun to watch, the meerkats put on a fun display, chasing each other and play fighting. There are two meerkat displays, one near the entrance and a second at the Watering Hole Café.

Otters

Sunning themselves on the grass, the family of otters were sleepy but curious about the people looking at them. Several are staring at the camera while the photo was taken.

African Wild Dog

Galapagos Turtle

The last exhibit before you exit the park is the Galapagos turtles, what a great sight they are. We have seen them on TV shows, but to see them up close really lets you grasp how large they are. They are also very old, with the male around 50 and the female over 100 years old.

Look at the exhibit behind the turtles, because there are several young ones there, around five to seven years old when we visited.

Interesting Statues, Sculptures and Buildings at Taronga Western Plains Zoo

What Did We Think?

Taronga Western Plains Zoo is a great place to visit, not just for the animals you see, but because of the understanding you get about how fragile their existence is. On your trip around the zoo, you learn about their endangered environments. At the same time it is enjoyable and kids have great fun here.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Bison Encounter in Morpeth

Bison Encounter Morpeth

Bison Encounter in Morpeth

Something you would no expect to do in The Hunter Valley town of Morpeth is have an encounter with Bison. Located just outside town a 100 hectare hobby farm has a small herd of American Bison, which you can arrange to see. Over the one-hour visit, you get to meet the animals, feed them and learn about their history.

On arrival at the farm, you are greeted by your hosts who explain the safety aspects of your visit, because bison are big and can be dangerous. The main rule: do not pat the bison because this upsets them. Also important to know is that the bison and visitors are separated by a fence at all times. This stops any unfortunate accidents.

The farm provides hay to hand feed the animals, but you are welcome to bring apples and carrots yourself, because they find these delicious.

While you feed the bison and take pictures, your hosts explain about their herd and bison history and hierarchy in general. We found this interesting, because we didn’t know much about them. Currently only around 500 bison call Australia home, so the national herd is small. This farm has nine bison, a large bull, named Tank, three adult females, two yearlings and three calves (as of January 2021).

We had a great time here and loved seeing and feeding the bison and meeting the friendly hosts.

Male Bison
Tank
Bison Encounter Morpeth
Tank
Bison Encounter Morpeth
Side View
Bison Encounter Morpeth
Eating Hay
Adult Bison
Adult Bison
Bison Nose
Up Close
Female Bison
Female Bison
Bison Encounter Morpeth
Bison Calf

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