NSW’s best zoos and wildlife parks
Keen to entertain the kids with fur, feather and fins or get in touch with your wild side? Here’s your comprehensive guide to NSW’s best zoos, wildlife parks and sanctuaries.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There’s no time like the holiday season to try new things or get up close and personal with creatures great and small.
Luckily, NSW is spoilt for choice when it comes to animal experiences.
From zoos to wildlife parks and aquariums, here’s your comprehensive guide to getting in touch with your wild side this summer.
TARONGA ZOO
Where: Bradleys Head Rd, Mosman
Price: $45.90/Adult, $27/Child, $35.10/Concession, $129.60/Two adults, two kids
Boasting the title of NSW’s oldest — and largest — zoo, Taronga is also blessed with an unbeatable backdrop of Sydney Harbour.
The 107 year-old zoo is also heavily involved in conservation research and education and features a wide variety of exotic animals from across the globe.
The sprawling Mosman site offers plenty of live display shows, including the ever popular seals and birds, and options to get up close and personal with five of the zoo’s residents like giraffes, elephants and meerkats.
Among activities you can pay extra for are to be a keeper for the day and go behind the scenes, or splash out for a sleepover at the zoo’s wildlife retreat or glamp out in tents.
To get there, catch the ferry across the harbour from Circular Quay, the bus or drive your way in. Make sure to take a trip on the zoo’s cable cars too.
SYDNEY ZOO
Where: 700 Great Western Highway, Bungarribee
Price: $42.49/Adult, $24.99/Child, $34.99/Concession, $169.95/Two adults, two kids
Nestled in the heart of Western Sydney is the city’s newest zoo — and it does not disappoint. Dually a zoo and an aquarium, Sydney Zoo offers a huge array of land-walking and seafaring animals.
The site is also home to Australia’s largest reptile and nocturnal house if you’re a fan of creepy-crawlies or our native nocturnal species.
The flat site is visitor — and pram — friendly, and also offers a range of encounters with 11 animals including lions, squirrel monkeys and camels.
Sydney Zoo is around 35 minutes’ drive from the city centre and can be accessed by train to Blacktown Station, followed by a ride on the number 723 or 729 bus.
WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo
Where: 1-5 Wheat Rd, Sydney
Price: $36.80/Adults, $27.20/Child, $29.60/Concession, $128/Two Adults, two kids
For a taste of native Australia in the heart of the CBD, WILD LIFE’s your place.
Themed around all the weird and wonderful fauna found within our nation, the zoo has almost every kind of Australian animal you can think of- making it the perfect stop for interstate and international tourists, or anyone who wants to learn more about our wildlife.
There are 10 interactive zones featuring some of Australia’s most endangered species, including tree kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, platypus and bilbies.
The zoo also offers experiences including breakfast with koalas — or for adults, wine tasting — or you can pay for a guided tour around the exhibits.
WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo is a short walk from the Town Hall and Wynyard stations or can be accessed by public ferry services from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour.
SYMBIO
Where: 7-11 Lawrence Hargrave Dr, Helensburgh NSW 2508
Price: $39/Adult, $25/Child, $35/Concession, $120/Two adults, two children
Tucked in-between the Sutherland Shire and the Illawarra region, Symbio is a hidden animal kingdom gem.
Cheetahs, red pandas, ring-tailed lemurs and monkeys to complement its large collection of Australian animals across the family owned zoo, which is spread across 16 acres.
The zoo also has a Splash Park for kids to cool off on hot days, and live presentations of koalas and reptiles- you can also pay a dollar coin donation to feed kangaroos or farm animals onsite.
The zoo is also close to some of the Illawarra coast’s nicest beaches, and the picturesque Seacliff Bridge.
Symbio is a 45 minute drive from the Sydney International Airport, or you can catch the train to Helensburgh Station.
TARONGA WESTERN PLAINS
Where: Obley Road, Dubbo.
Price: $45.90/Adult, $27/Child, $35.10/Concession, $129.60/Two adults, two kids
The sister site to Taronga’s harbourside grounds offers the ultimate safari experience.
Found in the heart of NSW’s Central West, the grounds are laid out in a five-kilometre loop, which you can walk, drive your own car around or hire out a bike to complete your trek.
You can pay extra to meet hippos, giraffes or meerkats, or stay overnight at the zoo’s lodge, cabins or camping tents — and there’s also now a pedal boat experience, where you can explore the primate exhibits on the water.
There’s also a water play area near the cafe for the kids to cool off at.
The zoo is a five to six hour drive from Sydney, a one hour flight or you can catch a train to Dubbo through NSW’s regional train network.
MOGO WILDLIFE PARK
Where: 222 Tomakin Rd, Mogo
Price: $42/Adult, $28/Child, $38/Concession, $120.00/Two Adults, two children
In the tiny town of Mogo on NSW’s South Coast, you’ll find creatures from all corners of the animal kingdom.
The family-owned wildlife park, spread over acres of beautiful gardens, is internationally renowned for its large collection of exotic wildlife- they have one of the largest collections of primates in Australia.
If you want to get up close and personal with some creatures, you can fork out extra to feed animals including lions, hyenas, and red pandas or play or meet with Meerkats, binturongs or servals.
If you’re handy with a camera you can also pay extra to come along and take professional photos of the animal at the zoo’s Zoom experience. There’s also the zookeeper for a day experience for kids.
Mogo Zoo is 10 minutes’ drive from Batemans Bay.
AUSTRALIAN REPTILE PARK
Where: Pacific Hwy, Somersby
Price: $47.99/Adult, $30.99/Child, $42.99/Concession, $134.99/Two adults, two kids
Keep and eye out for the yellow dinosaur on the Pacific Highway- that’s how you’ll know you’ve reached the Australian Reptile Park.
As its name suggests, the Central Coast zoo’s speciality is cold-blooded critters, including dozens of alligators, crocodiles, frogs, snakes and lizards- but there’s plenty of cuddly mammals to see too, including koalas, kangaroos, dingoes and some very cute Tasmanian devil joeys.
Bring an esky to enjoy a picnic lunch using the zoo’s barbecue facilities, or catch one of the reptile shows or animal talks.
For lucky kids (or adults), the reptile park hosts birthday parties and work functions — and anyone can pay to take part in being a zookeeper for a day, or to go behind the scenes for a sneak peek at how the zoo works.
The Australian Reptile Park is about an hour’s drive from Sydney.
FEATHERDALE SYDNEY WILDLIFE PARK
Where: 217 Kildare Rd, Doonside
Price: $38/Adult, $25/Child, $35/Concession, $115/Two adults, two children
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more extensive collection of Aussie wildlife.
Found in the top-left corner of Sydney, close to the Blue Mountains, Featherdale is home to more than 2,000 animals from more than 260 species with fur, feathers, scales or fins.
There’s plenty of opportunities to get hands-on and feed kangaroos or farm animals- but if you’re willing to pay a little more, you can book in an encounter with the park’s quokkas, penguins, lorikeets or koalas.
You can host kids birthday parties here complete with animal encounters, or sign them up to be zookeeper for a day here too.
Featherdale also offers a package where you can learn the ropes of wildlife photography.
The wildlife park is about 45min drive form the heart of Sydney, or you can catch the train.
SEA LIFE SYDNEY AQUARIUM
Where: 1-5 Wheat Rd, Sydney
Price: $39.20/Adult, $28.80/Child, $31.20/Concession, $136/Two adults, two kids
Fancy an underwater adventure in the middle of Darling Harbour?
Sydney’s aquarium is home to more than 700 species, including sharks, seals, rays and even a dugong.
While keeper talks are held virtually for now, the site has nine interactive zones, including one where you can travel on a boat through the chilly emperor penguin exhibit, and touching pools to get the kids up close to anemones and other sea critters.
Pay extra for a trip on a glass-bottomed boat and a turtle encounter, or to dive with the sharks in their tank- if you dare.
For a more refined experience, adults can pay for private or group dining, or to take part in the aquarium’s paint and sip experience.
SEA LIFE is a short walk from the Town Hall and Wynyard stations or can be accessed by public ferry services from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour.
Originally published as NSW’s best zoos and wildlife parks
Pro-Palestine speaker’s visa under review after ‘celebration’ remark
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is reviewing the visa of a US guest speaker who told a pro-Palestine vigil in Western Sydney that October 7 was a cause for “celebration”.
‘So, so devastating’: Mainstay deli shuts after 70 years
The closure of an iconic southwest Sydney deli has prompted its legion of customers to express how the institution – treasured like the Opera House – meant more than prosciutto and panini.