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Giraffe enclosure at Taronga Zoo, Sydney

A giraffe is pictured against a backdrop of Sydney Harbour, Sydney CBD and the Opera House. Picture: mdurinik, DepositPhotos.com

Sydney's Taronga Zoo has a
magnificent harbourside address

GETTING THERE

The quickest and most scenic way - and undoubted the best - is by harbour ferry. The Taronga Zoo is just a few stops from Circular Quay and has its own jetty. Once you alight from the ferry, there are two entrances to the zoo - upper and lower. A no. public 38 bus connects the upper and lower entrances. If you catch the bus, and enter at the top, you can explore the zoo from top to bottom and then walk the short distance to the ferry stop. Alternatively, when alighting from the ferry, you can walk three minutes to the bottom entrance and explore the zoo from bottom to top.

Click here to buy zoo admission tickets

Taronga Zoo is Australia's leading zoological park, featuring a comprehensive collection of both native and exotic species.

What makes Taronga Zoo different to every other zoo in the world is its Sydney Harbour setting. In what has to be the most exquisite setting for a zoo anywhere, Taronga Park is situated on elevated land along the harbourside in one of the most beautiful vantage points on Sydney Harbour, looking out to the Sydney Opera House.

If you would like to get up close to the animals and have your picture taken, try the "Animal Encounters" experience. For a small fee, with the assistance of the rangers, you can enter the enclosures of some of the animals on display and have your picture taken by a professional. However, for anyone wanting to "cuddle" a koala, this will not be possible. Laws in NSW stipulate that people are not allowed to touch or hold koalas. This is because of the vulnerability of the animals - they can catch disease from humans or become easily stressed.

A must see while at the zoo is the new Great Southern Oceans exhibit. Covering 1.2 hectare, it features Australian sea lions and fur seals, New Zealand fur seals, Californian sea lions, leopard seals, penguins and pelicans.

Click here to buy zoo admission tickets

PICTURES

A tiger appears right at home in his zoo enclosure. Picture: Khoo Ee Von, 123RF.com

A Bennett's wallaby at Taronga Zoo, Sydney

A Bennett's wallaby, a popular animal exhibit. Picture: JJ Harrison, Wikimedia Commons

Jai Dee was the first Asian elephant born at the Taronga Zoo in seven years. He was born on 26th May 2017 weighing 130kg after a pregnancy lasting 22 months. Picture: Taronga Zoo