Camping Overnight at the Zoo

One of the highlights of our trip was a unique experience at the Taronga zoo in Sydney. Taronga is an aboriginal word meaning land by the sea.

As a special treat at the end of our trip, Aunt Mary organized an overnight camping adventure at the zoo. What an experience!

The Taronga zoo offers guests a chance to camp overnight with all the animals. We promptly arrived at 6:15pm after the zoo closed to the general public for the day. Upon arrival we were met at the front gates by some very nice zoo keepers who would become our best friends for the night. After a quick head count, the front gates were closed and locked behind us. We were now officially locked up in a zoo with all the animals.

With winter quickly approaching in Australia, the sun was already down by the time we arrived. Leon, our zoo keeper guide, escorted us down a dark pathway with the sounds of wild animals in the distance. It was really exciting to be in complete darkness knowing there could be a wild tiger just metres from you!

As we made our way down a steep hill and around a bend, we were quickly awe struck with the amazing view. For those that don't know, Taronga zoo sits on some of the best views in all of Sydney. Here's the view we were met with - sorry about the image quality but it gives you an idea of what we saw

After taking in the night view of the city all lit up, we walked a little further to see our lodgings for the night. It wasn't really camping - more like glamping! Our tent was about 12' x 12' with laminate flooring, comfy beds, and even an electric blanket.



Here's a picture of our tents.





We quickly dropped our bags off in the tent and made our way to the main tent for some nibblies and drinks. The zoo keepers then brought in a couple of small animals for us to see and pat - a snake, a shingleback lizzard (it's head looks like it's bottom, or it's bottom looks like it's head?), and some other neat creatures.

After meeting our first few animals, we were then instructed to head to the main cafeteria for dinner. What a feast - roast beef, chicken, lasagna, veggies, salad, bread and drinks.

With our belly's full, Leon then led us on a night walk throughout the zoo. It was so cool seeing what some of the animals act like throughout the night - some animals are more active at night.

At 11pm we made our way back to our tents to nestle in for the night. Before long the sun was waking us up to another spectacular view of the city. It was really fun watching the city wake up with ferry's zipping up and down the harbour. Here's what the night view from our tent looks like in daylight ... if you look closely you might spot the famous Harbour Bridge, or even the Opera House.

Can't see them? This picture might make things easier for you. You can even still see the moon if you look really closely.

After breakfast we were given the chance to get up close with a few animals. Kieran and Sean were even allowed to feed the Giraffe's right out of their hands.

The boys then went to visit the Sea Lions

At 9am the zoo re-opened to the genral public and we were allowed to spend the day there. The Taronga zoo sits on a massive hill sloping down to the harbour with a ferry stop. You can take a gondola ride from the ferry platform to the top of the hill where the zoo entrance is. Really fun in the gondola

hanging above all the animal enclosures - what animal do you see below?

Kieran's favorite animal was the Snow Leopard, Sean's was the Koala.

One the last beaches we visited was Barr beach in Newcastle. Here's what it looks like ... can you see how clear the water is? Can you spot the hang glider over the beach?

Our Australian adventure is now over and we would like to thank everyone for following along. We're looking forward to being home soon to see all our family and friends, and hope we don't struggle too much with jetlag at school on Tuesday.

Kieran and Sean enjoying a little snack before the plane takes off from Sydney. Kieran just loved the meat pies and Sean loved the fruit salads.