Hi again, Fodorites. I will be traveling in Australia from late October to mid-November, hitting Sydney, Melbourne, and Cairns. While I am very eager to see the local animals, I don’t feel like I need to see (or pay for!) every single zoo. Any opinions on which of the following I should go to if I could only choose one? My gut says it's between Featherdale and maybe the Cairns Tropical Zoo, but I'm not sure

Taronga (Syd)
Featherdale (Syd)
Koala Conservation Center (Phillip Island)
Melbourne Zoo
Cairns Tropical Zoo

Thank you!!

I can't help you compare but I love Taronga zoo, it's in a beautiful location right on the Harbour and the ferry ride across is great. I particulaly like the nocturnal house as well as the platypus and echidna viewing areas and the bird house.

Just one cautionary note, avoid the zoo during the summer school holidays when the crowds make the experience fairly unpleasant.

melbourne zoo has an Australian fauna park and is -in a beautiful park land setting.

I hope you see a few in the wild as well.

Hi,

I'm with Susan on Taronga..it's a big,beautiful zoo with fantastic photo ops for pictures taken on the "other side" - a different view of Sydney. If big zoos aren't your thing, then go for the smaller ones you mentioned.

If you're only going to do ONE zoo, and you decide on Taronga, go for the VIP tour, which, IMO, is well worth it. You get the behind-the-scenes stuff with a docent and also get into certain areas the rest of the zoo-goers aren't permitted to be in (sort of has that rock star feel - as in - "who are THOSE people that get to be IN the enclosure with the animals?"). The last time I went we were in with quokkas which are only found on Rottnest Island and unless that's somehow in my future, will be the only time I'll get to see them up close & personal!

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

Sydney Aquarium is pretty good too.

Cairns Tropical Zoo near Palm Cove is fairly small pleasant zoo, and if a koala cuddling photo op is on your list, a good place for this.

Many native animals, including platypus, can be seen in the wild from Cairns around Atherton Tablelands, if you'll have a car see www.alanswildlifetours.com.au, if not, see www.waitawhile.com.au,(Tour 1) picks up in Cairns area around 2pm and gets you back by about midnight.

Accommodation with its own native animal zoo on site is available at www.daintreewild.com.au, just south of Daintree River. Park fees are included in accommodation costs, if no car Sun Palm Express coach out of Cairns will drop you there, there's a restaurant on site open for breakfast and lunch, and dinner for overnight guests only.

Taronga is certainly spectacular.

I like the ability to get close to the animals at Featherdale, though

If you really want to get up close and very personal with marsupials go to the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary in Pt. Douglas. The kangaroos, wallabys, paddymelons, etc ... roam free and you can feed and pet them. It's a beautiful, park-like setting with gorgeous birds and I was in heaven petting and scratching the kangaroos.

You can pay a fee for a one-minute cuddle/photo op with a koala. I got an incredible photo.

They also offer "Breakfast with the Birds" and "Lunch with the Lorikeets" -- where you eat a very nice buffet while birds come right onto your table. I got more awesome pix. I went specifically for that and it was pleasant -- but being able to interact with the kangaroos was AWESOME. They're completely used to people and seemed to really enjoy the interaction. It was a highlight.

Melodie, what is a docent? I have heard the word used in US and presume it's a guide but I have never heard it used in OZ.

Songdoc..for the record, it's pademelons, not paddymelons (small kangaroos), unless you are talking about some Irish animal unfamiliar to me.

Thanks for the thoughts! I don't mind big zoos (and have seen many), but as far as I know Taronga doesn't let you get close to the local animals (ie, no koala cuddling) Haven't ruled it out completely bc I love beautiful views, but was hoping to interact with animals I can't normally interact with in the States.

I'm still cross-referencing the zoos to find out which ones allow interacting w/ koalas and roos in particular, and also which ones charge money for it. Any ideas?

Pat -- the Daintree zoo/hotel was new to me- thx and I'll have to research it! The accommodations were unexpectedly affordable

Northie -- docents are guides, most typically in the context of museums (esp art museums).

And yes, hoping to spot some wild koalas and platys on the GOR and nr the Curtain Fig Tree! (Any specific 'roo spots?)

PS - this trip is in late Oct (Sydney) and early Nov (Melb, Cairns).

Mareeba Golf club for Eastern Grey Kangaroos.
Granite Gorge for Mareeba Rock Wallabies.
Tarzalli Lakes for Platypus.
My Hypipamee for the greatest range of possums.

At Taronga there is an enclosure where you can go in with the kangaroos and wallabies, but they are very unlikely to interact with you. Alas, while lots of Australian animals look cute they are not very interested in being cuddled, it stresses them.

No koala cuddling in state of NSW, awlrain, so that's both Taronga Park and Featherdale.

Its not exactly a "hotel" at Daintree Wild, more like a very small motel with 3 or 4 large rooms set in the middle of a wildlife zoo/park, restaurant/cafe/shop in separate new building. You can have your breakfast and lunch with birds; tame kangaroos and wallabies hop around freely and they're keen to join you as well. Wildlife galore, but no koalas, Cairns Tropical Zoo has many and as mentioned before would be your best bet in this part of world for hands-on koala experience. Don't miss their owl house, was there in October last year, lots of baby owls as well as extensive range of other Australian parrots and finches.

That's the owl house at Daintree Wild, not Cairns Tropical Zoo.

"it's pademelons, not paddymelons (small kangaroos), unless you are talking about some Irish animal unfamiliar to me."

The ones I was talking about are wee Irish kangaroos. They fit in the palm of your hand ... and tend to appear only after eight or ten pints of Guinness ;-) hehehe. Thanks!

So, songdoc, did you see the min min lights, too?

Paddymelons of the fruit type grow wild and are about the size of a big marble.
Quite good in a jam, if your Mum has a decent recipe.

We also had wild limes on our place and they were fantastic made into a cordial. Quandongs (bit like tartish plums) are good in jams or pies. There was another fruit on a tree, whose name escapes me, but whose taste lingers all these years later. Napalms? Bit like a small apricot. You know, the sad thing is that we didn't write all these things down because we never thought we'd forget. And now we have, or I have anyway, all the old people who'd know are dead. Lesson there, folks ... write it down. No one might care, but you never know - someone just might.

Hi Northie,

Yes, a docent's a guide - I have no idea why I just didn't say GUIDE. In fact, I actually looked up the definition and it said: "A teacher or lecturer at some universities who is not a regular faculty member. A lecturer or tour guide in a museum or cathedral". Going by that, it's not even correct usage, but I know I've been on tours where they've referred to themselves as a "docent" and it was at a botancial garden!

Songdoc....these wee paddymelons you speak of, what will be next, the infamous drop bear?!

Melodie

I've taken visitors to Featherdale and there are a lot of animals crammed into a very small space. Yes, there are opportunities to interact with animals (you could have an owl sit on your hand, or there are kangaroos roaming around parts of the zoo freely), but I was somehow dissatisfied with the experience. I much prefer Taronga because the animals are well cared for, they mostly have bigger enclosures, the zoo is close to the city (unlike Featherdale) and there are some phenomenal views of the harbour. There is also a new zoo called Wildlife World at Darling Harbour, which probably has more Australian animals in a smaller space than Taronga (and hence less walking), but I have never been there. They have had extensive advertising campaigns on TV in the past, probably to try to lure school holiday vistors.

Lavandula

I've got membershpip of Taronga and Wildlife World (thanks to having a small child)and have been to Featherdale- and Taronga is by far the best for location and range of animals.

Wildlife World is o.k and you can tick-off the famous animals like roos, koalas etc, but it's quite small and I would only suggest it if you plan to go to the aquarium next door as well, as you get a discount ticket to see both.

Also Taronga does allow some interaction with the animals (generally on quiter days) as keepers will bring out a few snakes/ lizards etc that you can hold - and I've been there when they've walked the dingoes around with muzzles on.

But as an earlier poster indicated there are plenty of 'wild' places that are easily within reach of the cities where you can see wildlife. At the moment there are some penguins nesting under Manly Wharf that you can see coming ashore most evenings