Sydney Australia - a trip of a lifetime

Wildlife Retreat at Taronga Zoo

I am not really a zoo person, I’ve always felt a little sad for the animals but I learned about the good that zoos do during the trip. Most of the larger animals were rescued and in better situations now or bred at the zoo, so they were not stolen from a better life. They are doing a lot of work to keep Australian species from becoming extinct. The Australian animals were kept in natural settings where they co-mingled and had a lot of free range.

I have no idea if there are other zoo stays in the world, but surely none with views like Taronga Zoo has!

I made a couple of short videos of the surprise reveal and another of our room + view. Here is one of the Aussie animals we saw there. Staying at the Wildlife Retreat gave us access to their sanctuary where echidnas, wallabies, koalas, and more roamed freely and a morning tour at the zoo before it opened to the public. We had a private guide for both experiences and when I asked my niece her favorite part of the trip, she said the private tours. You know why? Because kids are able to ask questions and truly learn about what they are seeing. This is why I focus on these types of experiences for Explore More clients because it enhances the trip, especially since we have access to vetted guides throughout the world.

We also enhanced our trip with time at the koala enclosure. We met with one of the koalas zoo keepers so we could ask more questions.

When we visited Australia as kids, we were able to pet kangaroos (and we fed them too), wombats, and koalas (we were even allowed to hold a baby koala on a stuffed koala). At the time, I thought it was amazing, but now I realize it is not good for the animals. During our visit to Taronga Zoo, we were not allowed to touch the koalas, but it was still amazing to be so close. The enclosure was built at the tops of eucalyptus trees so that the koalas remain in their natural environment. Wombats are a burrowing animal so their enclosure was built underground. There was no petting or feeding kangaroos, yet they had the ability to roam. Strides have definitely been made to ensure the animals are treated properly.

Family Photos

As noted last week, we had family photos taken while in Sydney. I thought I would share a few of our final product.

This is our third time taking family photos on vacation. This reminded me of a blog post I wrote a while back and it is funny how the same hair issue happened to me again!

Wildlife Retreat at Taronga Zoo

Family Photos

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