Behind The Scenes Tour at Wild Life Sydney
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At Wild Life Sydney in Darling Harbour you can see native Australian animals such as koalas, kangaroos, wombats, a crocodile, birds, snakes and much more.
But if you want to take your zoo experience to the next level there is another option - going on a behind the scenes tour with a zoo keeper.
At Wild Life Sydney Behind The Scenes tours run daily at 10am and 3pm. If you book ahead online you will ensure your spot is guaranteed and save 10% off the price. We booked in for the 3pm tour.
As our group assembled for the tour we met our guide, zookeeper Murray, in the reception area.
The first stop on the tour was the Reptile Quarantine room. In this back of house room newly acquired reptiles are kept for a period of time before they go on display. They are checked for diseases and infections before they allowed to mix with the other reptiles. Unfortunately when we visited there were no reptiles to see on quarantine.
From here we climbed some stairs up to the roof of the attraction. From the roof you can see in to the enclosures from a unique perspective. We saw some koalas high up in the trees, Ringo the bare nosed wombat, and a colourfully marked and endangered yellow footed rock wallaby relaxing on a ledge.
While on the tour you have a great opportunity to ask the zookeeper any questions you might have about the animals, their diets and special requirements in the zoo. The only burning question I had was not so sophisticated, but I still took the opportunity to confirm with the zookeeper if a recent piece of trivia I'd heard was indeed true.....Are wombat droppings really in the shape of a cube? The answer from the zookeeper - yes in the wild they are but due to a slightly different diet in captivity they are usually a bit softer and not as well-formed. Fascinating, and something to look for next time you are at the zoo.
From the roof we had a great view of Princess, the cassowary, through the protective netting of the enclosure. It was interesting to learn that the cassowary is classified as an endangered species in Australia, with only an estimated 1500 left in the wild.
There are also great views to the city and Darling Harbour from the roof top.
From here we went back inside Wildlife Sydney for an animal encounter - with a Water Python! Known in Aboriginal Dreaming as the Rainbow Serpent, this large non-venomous snake was huge, over 2 metres long. Only the youngest in our group was brave enough to hold it.
Next stop on the tour was the viewing platform above the enclosure of Rex, the 5 metre, 700kg salt water crocodile. You would think he would be easy to spot being so large, however we could not see him from up above. Nevertheless our guide Murray told us some crocodile facts and kept us moving on to the Reptile Room.
Behind the Scenes in the Reptile Room we were able to see, touch and learn about native reptiles such as the Bearded Dragon and Blue Tongue Lizard.
Our final stop on the Behind the Scenes Tour was upstairs on the Koala Rooftop where we had an up close experience with some sleepy koalas. Whilst they are not very active most of the time we were surprised to learn they have the ability to get up to speeds of around 40km per hour on the ground.
The Behind The Scenes tour ran for around 45 minutes and was interesting and informative. The highlights for us were the encounter with the Water Python, seeing Rex under water and Princess the Cassowary. My children also enjoyed the Animal Adventures Quiz Trail throughout the attraction.
Daily tours commence at 10am and 3pm. Booking ahead is advised as numbers are limited. If you book online the cost of the Behind the Scenes tour is discounted to $58 per adult, $38 per child and $185 per family. This allows you access to the attraction, the 45 minute behind the scenes tour, commentary from a zoo keeper, some close encounters with the animal residents and access to some back of house rooms. To make a booking
click here.
While you can see all of these animals with a general admission ticket, if you want an intimate guided tour and exclusive access to behind the scenes areas at the zoo then this is the tour for you.
Looking for an extra adventure at Wild Life Sydney? Try the new
Wild Flight high ropes experience .
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121225 - 2023-06-12 22:55:15