For Christmas the boy and I were lucky enough to be given as a gift, Roar and Snore tickets. For those of you who don't live in Sydney, this is when you go and spend a night at Sydney's famous Taronga Zoo and spend an evening and day schmoozing with the animals.
We arrived at 6.30pm where we were escorted down to our sleeping quarters. The tents you stay in are basic, a double bed along with a single bed, but are super cozy. You don't need anything else, after all you are only there to sleep. Our's had quite possibly the best view, overlooking the whole of Sydney Harbour. You could never get sick of that view.
Once settled this was then followed by cheese and wine where everyone mingled and some of the keepers brought around little creatures for us to hold and oogle over. After a few too many glasses of champagne we then headed up for dinner.
With full bellies and a slight fuzzy head we split into groups and headed off for the night safari around the zoo. It's such a surreal experience being in a zoo, 10.30 at night, pitch black and looking at the animals. You are left with the feeling that you have broken into the zoo and running riot!
Once the night safari was over we headed back to the tent's for pudding and you guessed it, more champers. A good cozy nights sleep followed with an occasional raw from the lions through the night.
We woke the following morning as the sun was rising. I cannot begin to explain to you how breathtaking the view of the city is as the sun rises behind the Sydney skyline.
You have to be up and ready for breakfast at 6.15am, but who can complain when you have tea, toast and a view in the image above to wake you up. Kookaburras, Lorikeets and Peacocks stop by hoping some croissant might fall on the ground that they can swoop down and grab.
At 7am we head into the zoo for some behind the scenes. First up. The Giraffes. The keeper takes us into their enclosure (they are not allowed to be wondering around when your in there as they could harm you with their mighty back kick) You can walk right up to them in their little den and feed them carrots. They are so beautiful and gentle not to mention they have the longest eyelashes. I'm rather envious!
We all then made our way up to the nocturnal house where we were able to stroke Sugar Gliders who are quite possibly the cutest little things, Possums and the worlds largest Gecko although pretty chilled, he was rather impressive.
After the nocturnal house we were taken to the education centre where we were able to stroke one of their resident Koalas. Now I know that this might sound a little silly but Australia has very strict laws about Koalas in captivity. There are about a handful in Australia that you are able to hold yourself for a photo opportunity but even then the Koalas are only allowed half an hour to an hours 'work' a week. These gorgeous marsupials are also one of the laziest. They sleep up too about 22/23 hours a day and spare an hour dedicated to eating. Sounds pretty good to me.
After lots of ooing and ahhing we were then free to spend the rest of the day mooching around the zoo as the crowds slowly make their way in. The weather was superb and it was a great way to end the experience.
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| Cheeeeeese |
If you live in Sydney or will be visiting and fancy spending a night at the zoo, go check out the
bookings page here. It's best to book in advance as you may have guessed it's rather popular. If you don't fancy catching some Zzzz's with the animals I highly recommend checking out the zoo itself. Some of the animals have views that residents on millionaires row would kill for.
