The devil’s sleek black fur shimmers in the early afternoon sun and my kids start to giggle as the creature unexpectedly dives into a nearby pool of water for a refreshing bath.

As Tasmanians we’ve been lucky to see Tassie devils plenty of times before, at places like Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and Tasmania Zoo.

But what makes this particular encounter memorable is that we’re actually not in Tasmania. We’re in Sydney, on a scorching hot summer’s day, and the devils we’re admiring are flying the flag for Tasmania at Wild Life Sydney Zoo.

The bustling tourist hub of Darling Harbour seems like an unlikely place to find devils, but this indoor/outdoor wildlife park, which opened in 2006, is located just metres from the water’s edge and brings a slice of nature to one of Australia’s largest cities.

My kids, aged 6 and 9, happily spent hours here, getting up close to wombats and wallabies and checking out snakes, lizards and crocodiles. They were most fascinated by Kofi the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo – a charismatic creature with golden fur, a long, striped tail and a love of snacks from his keeper – and were equally impressed to see Princess, the male cassowary. Another highlight was the rooftop cafe, where we sat and enjoyed a refreshing ice cream, while watching the koalas laze in the surrounding trees while also catching glimpses of the city skyline above.

And, of course, the devils were also a hit, given our Tassie connection.

There are four females who call the refurbished Devil’s Den at Wild Life Sydney Zoo home, who – along with their keepers – help educate visitors about the plight of endangered Tassie devils and the devastation caused by the devil facial tumour disease.

The older two devils – sisters Mirrin and Dharra, who are six – have contributed to the national devil conservation breeding program and have now passed breeding age, so they’re spending their retirement at the zoo.

Meanwhile the two younger devils – sisters Nara and Bluey – have well-represented genetics which are not currently required for breeding. Devils typically live for six years in the wild, but 8-10 years in captivity.

The keepers here are serious about animal enrichment and have been known to dump 200kg of fresh snow (usually reserved for the King and Gentoo penguins at nearby Sea Life Sydney Aquarium) into the devil enclosure to give them a taste of life in Tasmania.

We enjoyed a number of animal encounters during our five-day stay in Sydney, which also included a trip to Sea Life Sydney Aquarium – where the highlight for the boys was getting the chance to experience what it might be like to be expeditioners on the Aurora Australis or Nuyina, the bright orange Antarctic ships they’ve grown up seeing in Hobart, as we rode a raft through the chilly penguin enclosure. Another favourite was a trip to Taronga Zoo, where red pandas, binturongs, a live seal show and a sun bear with a ridiculously long tongue were among the highlights.

Sydney is a great city for kids, and not just those into animals.

My boys enjoyed touring the navy vessels and tall ships at the Australian National Maritime Museum, excitedly browsed stalls at Chinatown’s Friday night market, and were gobsmacked by some of the impressive creations in the city’s Lego store. They also had fun trying their hand at interactive gaming at Immersive Gamebox, whizzed down the slides and along the flying fox at Tumbalong Park Playground and got drenched running through the nearby water fountains.

And given it was their first visit to Sydney, a definite highlight was our cruise on the harbour, under a bold blue sky, with the wind in their hair as they saw the bridge and the opera house for the very first time.

We found the perfect base to do all of these things was Novotel Sydney Darling Square, a 230-room hotel, overlooking the Darling Square Precinct and the Chinese Garden of Friendship, which is an easy walk from all the main attractions.

The boys loved having their own room – connected to ours by a shared entryway – made even better as we were on the same floor as the hotel pool, which we used daily.

They were also fans of the buffet breakfast (my youngest child has been picky with breakfast since we returned home, as he was so spoilt having a big plate of bacon and sausages every morning during our time away) and the hotel’s kids club (open during school holidays) – with its gaming consoles, board games and snack bar, featuring free potato chips, chocolates, muesli bars, juice boxes and a telephone for ordering icypoles from reception – was also a drawcard.

The hotel is located close to so many eateries, it was hard to choose where to dine first.

Highlights were Pumphouse Sydney, located next door to the hotel, a trendy bar and restaurant which is a home to more than 400 plants, creating a tranquil haven of greenery amidst the bustling urban landscape. We also enjoyed Harajuku Gyoza Beer Stadium which catered well for a husband who loves beer and a wife and kids who adore dumplings. Meanwhile Gelato Messina was our top pick for dessert, and was a welcome daily respite from the humid weather.

Because unlike the devils at Wild Life Sydney Zoo, we weren’t expecting a snow dump to cool us off. So gelato was the next best thing.

The author was a guest of Novotel Sydney Darling Square and Wild Life Sydney Zoo/Merlin Entertainments.

MAKE A NOTE

Novotel Sydney Darling Square is located at 17 Little Pier St, Sydney. Superior rooms start from $233 per night. Book at novotelsydneydarlingsquare.com.au

Wild Life Sydney Zoo is located at Darling Harbour, part of the leisure and retail precinct that includes the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium and Madame Tussauds wax museum. The zoo opens daily from 9.30am-6pm (last entry 5pm) and tickets cost $38.40 for adults and $28.80 for kids aged 3-15) wildlifesydney.com.au

linda.smith@news.com.au