My last Saturday in Sydney before I was to move out of the apartment I lived in for 8 weeks… how better to spend that day than visiting the iconic zoo in Sydney. Again – a friend and her little son (zoos are definitely better with children) joined me on this rather warm and in particular very humid Saturday – as the photos will show: it was so humid that it was almost a bit misty.
Travel to Taronga Zoo
As Sydney’s zoo is along the harbour, a very nice way to get to the zoo is by ferry from Circular Quay, where the jacaranda’s started to bloom.
The zoo is on a slope, so when arriving by ferry, I was suggested to take the “sky safari” to the top (visible on the middle photo), and start my visit to the zoo from there – that way I would be walking down the hill, rather than up. As my friend came by car, and the car park is near the entrance at the top, this also meant that we could start our “adventure” together.
As far as zoos go, Taronga Zoo is a nice zoo, with the usual suspects, including some Australian animals. But then, I think I may well have seen some kangaroos in zoos in other countries as well, so that isn’t the main reason to fly all the way to the ends of the earth to visit this particular zoo… Here is a selection of the animals anyway:
Taronga is an aboriginal word, meaning beautiful views, and that is what makes this zoo stand out from many other zoos:
Recognise that view…? I think this also shows nicely how humid it was: the view was definitely somewhat hazy.
It was a shame that there were extensive refurbishments going on, which meant that the giraffes were temporarily living in the old elephant enclosure, rather than looking out over the harbour, which they apparently have done ever since 1926…
Taronga zoo was opened in 1916:
As I started my journey from the bottom – wharf – end of the zoo, I ended with the official entrance at the top end:
The original “elephant temple” is also still there, however, given all the refurbishments that are ongoing, I didn’t manage to get a good photo of it. Hence the link to other people’s work… What I thought was very interesting to see there, is how they indeed built a temple-like building, very ornate… However, with just enough space for 2 elephants to basically stand there, heads out of the window, so the visitors would have a good view of them. At the time the zoo was opened, not much was known yet about the welfare of the animals kept in the zoo. Rest assured – there are no elephants in that building anymore – they are now kept in much better accommodation (although not as ornately decorated…).
And that was my last Saturday in Sydney. I have a couple more things from two evenings when I went into Sydney – one rather rainy, one to say goodbye to my colleagues in Sydney… Will combine that into 1 post, I think.
And then over to very different parts of Australia!