the leap: taronga zoo

i'm a complete sucker for a zoo. not just in a "oh it would be great if i had time to see the zoo while i'm here" kind of way. it's more like if i find out there is a decent zoo in a city i am traveling to, visiting the zoo skyrockets to the top of my list of priorities. i simply can't resist them and frequently have to drag whomever i'm travelling with to the zoo with a speech that usually ends with "c'mon, it'll be fun!" (right, vanessa?)

so when i heard the taronga zoo in sydney was already on other non-zoo enthusiasts list of must sees, history repeated itself and i booked myself a zoo pass (return ferry ticket to and from the zoo and tickets for entrance at a 10% discount!!! wowwowwow!!) and spent most of my sunday perusing the interesting wildlife australia had to offer.

took the sky pass to the entrance of the zoo which is kind of like a little gondola. of course was too busy staring to take photos, but hey here's the sign!

entrance to the zoo

komodo dragon

and into the reptile zone...

the closest i'll ever be to a cobra (hopefully)

fierce snake - super poisonous and super scary. not sure what is up with the 200,000 mice analogy. couldn't we just say one bite can kill something larger?

inside a turtle tank - just KIDDING!

giraffes!

up close and personal

elephant family

caught the seal show at 11 just like the rest of the toddlers at the zoo

chillin with some roos and wallabies in the outback walk - no cages to keep you from the animals there

tasmanian devil - now i'm not sure where they get the cartoon depiction from

the best part of my trip to the zoo was hands down my "animal encounter" experience. basically the zoo offers patrons to pay extra to get up close to an animal, feed them, and take a photo with them. the animals offered ranged from giraffes to reptiles, and i couldn't resist the chance to be close to a koala.