Sydney Zoo, Bungarribee in the Western Sydney Parklands

A Day at Sydney Zoo
Take the family out for a day of wonder and adventure with the animals of Sydney’s newest zoo. From African Painted Dogs to the Asian Elephant, and roaming Emus to slithering Snakes, you’ll find all sorts of animals of different shapes, sizes, and forms from all over the world in this little corner of our greater Western Sydney.

About and Pricing
Established in 2015, Sydney Zoo was opened in December 2019 with the aims to not only provide an amazing experience for their visitors and guests, but also educate on animal conservation and welfare, and today has become one of the more popular destinations in the greater Western Sydney region.

Parking, Entrance
I’ve heard several parents complain that the hardest thing about taking their children to Taronga Zoo was the parking- they just couldn’t find any. But at Sydney Zoo that wasn’t an issue. The first thing you notice about this zoo is how wide the parking lot is, saving from unnecessary stress and time wasting. With a quick turn of the wheel we were parked and breezily making our way to the entrance of the zoo where we were presented our tickets and were let through without a haste.
Day tickets to enter the zoo begin at $23 for children and $47.50 for adults at the gate, but by purchasing your tickets online, you’ll not only be avoiding waiting in line at the entrance to the zoo, but also save 15%. But make sure to visit the Sydney Zoo website for updates and more details.

The Zoo and the Animals
The zoo, being as new as it is, is very clean and well set out. As I walked through the ticketing area I noticed how well kept the venue was and how easy it was to make my way around. With many large maps, directional signs, well divided signs and quite unconvoluted paths that lead throughout the whole zoo, it is easy to navigate your way through.
With the zoo having divided up its sections by continents, we made our way over to the Asian animals first where we came across the Asian Elephant (Saigon, Australia’s last circus elephant who is now 62 years old!), the Orangutan, Sumatran Tiger, Red Panda and more. Each species had easy to read signs with child friendly information, such as the distribution of the respective animal, their sizes, and favourite food, whilst further down more in depth information was also provided such as their physical build in relation to their survival as well as their conservation status. These signs were visible all throughout the zoo, as we made our way through to Africa, Primate Boulevard, Aquarium, Australia, and Reptiles.
My most interesting experience at Sydney Zoo would have been in Australia, where I literally saw Kangaroos, Emus, and Wallabies roaming free around the long section of the zoo. Although most were a little bit distant towards humans, there was one wallaby who remained poise as I approached to take a close up shot of her eating a carrot.

Pros and Cons
I think the most obvious pros would be the convenience. From parking to eateries/cafes, bathrooms, water stations (although some were closed due to COVID19), as well as picnic areas scattered throughout the zoo makes a day out with the kids easy and convenient. The zoo was also not overly packed, but that could have easily been the influence of having gone on a weekday as well as current situations. Another would be the well laid out setting of the zoo and the well built enclosures that mimic each animal’s respective natural habitats quite well, which provides for not only a better experience for visitors and guests, but also for the animals.

The only real con I could pick out was the fact that some enclosures (in terms of angling) made it difficult to spot some of the animals. This was mainly an issue in Africa where We looked over the animals from a bridge that went over the enclosures. However, upon reading their website I found that Sydney Zoo does mention that they are preparing to exhibit a “wide range of animals in a safari-like experience” which if done well, I believe could solve this problem perfectly.

Overall Experience
Although an adult now, I still thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the new zoo and would definitely go back with my nephews and nieces, who I know will enjoy the experience even more than I did.
Sydney Zoo is greatly accessible both by private and public transport from the Hills or Western Sydney region, and with all the different landscapes designed to suit each animal, it offers a great learning experience for the family.