Taronga Zoo is situated on a hill overlooking the harbour, a mere 15 minutes or so by one of Captain Cook's fast catamaran craft.
So, I was on the 9.24am first Big Bus from the Chinese Gardens stop and ready for the 10.32am Express Ferry to the Zoo.
I bought another Almond Croissant and coffee from a different vendor – no toothless smile this time just the usual 'Good Day' and 'How are you doing'! My goodness they do make big Croissants here – at least 3 times the size of my favourites at home in Pret a Manger. It satisfied my hunger until the evening.
This time I sat by our departure wharf rather than run the gauntlet with my unfavourite Long John Silver seagull!
Whilst wating I got talking with a lovely family from Adelaide – Mum and Dad and two pretty young girls, Milly and Paisley, about 3 and 6 years old – about the same age as my 2 grandsons. They were going to spend the day at the Zoo before boarding a Carnival Cruise ship for an 8-day cruise up the East coast of Australia. The photo shows Carnival Luminoso docked behind our wharf at the Oversees Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay and below the Harbour Bridge. The family were to board another Carnival Ship this morning Sunday. I hope they have a good time, they were a delight to pass the time with, so friendly and so much fun as I watched the girls practicing their 'limbo' moves under the guide tapes for the boarding queue line.
Lesley & Bob had told me that the Zoo has a Cable Car up from the Ferry Quay but thought that it wasn't working so, I wasn't looking forward to a steep climb up to the main entrance of the Zoo. Well, they were right the cable car is out of commission. The gondola lift was installed in 1987 and updated in 2000 but closed on 31 January 2023 and, if approved, will re-open in 2025.Luckily busses were on hand to convey us up the hill!!
Taronga Zoo is a government-run public zoo located in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning "beautiful view".
It was officially opened on 7 October 1916. Taronga Zoo Sydney is managed by the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales, along with its sister zoo, the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo. Today, the Zoo is a world-renowned centre for animal conservation and education.
So just a few of my best photos from the Zoo visit.
