Taronga Zoo

Without a client site this week, Scott’s boss gave him the opportunity to “work from home”. He still had some meetings to attend this week, but it was such a nice surprise and we took advantage of it. On Tuesday, June 24th we took a 15 minute ferry to Taronga Zoo. As we approached the dock, I could not believe my eyes. An incline covered with trees and sky lift cars riding over top of the foliage was our view. Definitely not what I expected. They highly recommend taking the lift to the top and working your way down. It’s easier on the legs that way. All I can say is that this zoo is a must for anyone traveling to Australia. The prices for the tickets were still a shock, even though we keep running into this same issue. It costs about $100 for a family of four, but if you become Zoo Friends you can come as many times as you like annually. It’s also good for any government zoo throughout Australia. If you go more than three times, the passes pay for itself. We thought this type of pass would be a good ideal especially since I’m homeschooling, and we plan see more Australian cities. One of our first encounters was a “Walkabout” were you can walk through an area where wallabies, kangaroos, and emus roamed free. As we came out of the Walkabout, there was a station containing stuffed Australian wild life. It was quite strange to see, but what a great hands a great hands on experience. The two volunteers attending the station were incredibility knowledgeable on each animal. They were intrigued with Morgan’s endless questions about each animal. She was fascinated with the Wombat, and so one of the volunteers ran Morgan and me to the wombat area for a detailed tour. Incredible creatures – there bottoms are so strong that it can crush a dingo’s face if it tries to enter their burrow. As we continued through the park we noticed a familiar sound close by – Americans! It was the first time we had heard an American accent since we arrived – and a southern one at that! They were three college students from South Carolina. I love to hear the Australians’ talk, but hearing those girls made me feel a little bit closer to home. (Miss you guys!) We had a great day at the zoo, and I’m sure we will have more stories to share about Taronga as well as the other Australian zoos in the months to come.