Best Exhibit in Australia and New Zealand.

[PAT]

After seeing the American equivelent of this thread I would like to see which exhibits we like down under (and our little sister across the Tasman. )

My top three are as follows and a pretty predictable.

Number 1: Melbourne Zoo's Orang-utan Sanctuary.

Number 2: Werribee Zoo's Hippo exhibit.

Number 3: Healesville Sanctuary's BHP Billiton Platypussary

 

[kiang]

I visited Perth zoo, AQWA at Hilary's, Taronga zoo, Sydney aquarium and wildlife wonderland (on the way to the blue mountain), in 1999, and from those visits my top 3 are

1. The platypus exhibit at Sydney aquarium
2. The wetland walk through aviary at Perth zoo
3. The chimpanzee enclosure at Taronga

The exhibit i would like to see now, would be the polar bear exhibit at seaworld.

 

[ollielloyd]

I love all of Sea Worlds exhibits! Shark Bay is amazing! Really naturalistic, great viewing areas, awesome sharks (bull,tiger,whaler) rarely seen in captivity, aswell as the fish and smaller sharks in the other lagoon, and the touch pools all around the exhibit are awesome!

Dolphin Cove is amazing too, really beautiful just to look at, and the space is fantastic.

And of course, The Polar Bear Exhibit is great, really well done, and such clever mechanisms used to mimic the polar bears environments

 

[jay]

1. Shark Bay - Seaworld
2. Hippo River - Werribee
3. Savannah - Werribee

 

[ZYBen]

Mine would be
1. Cassowary Exhibit at David Fleays
2. Monarto's Lion Exhibit
3. Adelaide Zoo's South East Asian Rainforest aviary

All of these are exhibits i enjoy looking at! David Fleays is great with a tall natural canopy.

 

[boof]

1. Taronga platypus pools.
2. polar bears at seaworld
3. Taronga chimps.

 

[reduakari]

--Wollemi Aviary,Taronga
--Hippo River, Werribee
--Red Desert, Sydney Wildlife Center
--Platypus exhibit (the original, not the awful outdoor "world of marbles"), Healesville
--Tapir/Leaf Monkey, Adelaide
--Pygmy Hippo/Mandrill, Melbourne

Not necessarily in that order, but all memorable and striking exhibits

 

[phoenix]

i'm surprised that so many people mention tarongas chimps - its a big exhibit with a big group, but thats about all you can give it credit for. it ugly, not immersive at all, and has no interps. its also interesting that people haven't rated melbournes gorilla exhibit - but have tarongas chimps....

but anyways... i have only ever been to sydney and melbourne's zoos so my view is scope is rather narrow, nonetheless. i'll try...

1) pygmy hippo/mandrill - melbourne zoo
2) kubu river hippos - werribee
3) gorilla - melbourne zoo

others worth mentioning...

creatures of the woolemi - taronga
lower savanna - werribee
sumatran tiger - melbourne

exhibits i want to see...

asian rainforest - adelaide
shark bay (and everything else) - seaworld
the asian aviaries - taronga

 

[Hix]

and has no interps.

Yes it does - under the covered part of the catwalk there are plenty of interps regarding facial expressions and the like. There's even a mirror for the kids to practice their own facials.



Hix

 

[ollielloyd]

Yeah I found Taronga Zoo's chimp exhibit slightly boring? Apart from the glass viewing area, really there was nothing else? I'd love to see a chimp exhibit where you can go up the inside of a fake tree or something and see the chimps on all levels...

 

[snowleopard]

Yes I am responding from Canada, but I have visited 17 Aussie zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks. Here are 6 off of the top of my head:

Melbourne Zoo's gorilla exhibit
Melbourne Zoo's orangutan/siamang complex (even though it still has its flaws)
Adelaide Zoo's leaf monkey/malayan tapir exhibit (love the fig tree!)
Taronga Zoo's binturong exhibit
Monarto Zoo's lion enclosure (everything at Monarto is huge)
Alice Springs Desert Park - fantastic nocturnal house (largest in the southern hemisphere)

 

[pongogirl]

Yes I am responding from Canada, but I have visited 17 Aussie zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks. Here are 6 off of the top of my head:

Melbourne Zoo's gorilla exhibit
Melbourne Zoo's orangutan/siamang complex (even though it still has its flaws)
Adelaide Zoo's leaf monkey/malayan tapir exhibit (love the fig tree!)
Taronga Zoo's binturong exhibit
Monarto Zoo's lion enclosure (everything at Monarto is huge)
Alice Springs Desert Park - fantastic nocturnal house (largest in the southern hemisphere)

Hi Snowleopard,

Pleased you like the binturong exhibit, they don't get much emphasis in zoos and I think the group is a dynamic one and the vegetation throughout the Wild Asia (Taronga) Precinct works pretty well.

Cheers

 

[Jesse]

1.Kubu River Hippos (Werribee Zoo)
2.Lions on the edge (Werribee Zoo)
3.Orangutan Sanctuary (Melbourne Zoo)

All very innovative exhibits with excellent design and layout.......

 

[PAT]

I't's really amazing how mant people have mentioned platypus among all of the lions, apes and hippos.

I think Werribee is winning in terms of favorite exhibits as well with it's lions, hippos and lower savannah all getting a mention.

 

[CGSwans]

I've been to the following zoos and aquaria:
Melbourne Zoo
Werribee Open Range Zoo
Healesville Sanctuary
Melbourne Aquarium
Ballarat Wildlife Park
Taronga Zoo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo (on the weekend for the first time!)
Sydney Aquarium
Australian Reptile Park
Wagga Wagga Zoo (just yesterday, in fact - that will be a thread in itself )
National Zoo and Aquarium
Canberra Reptile Sanctuary
Sea World
Australia Zoo

I've also been to Adelaide Zoo, but it was too long ago to really remember it very well, so I won't consider any of their exhibits. There's no set number of exhibits that I will acknowledge for any category, it just comes down to how many I recall, admire and wish to give a hat tip too.

Best flight aviary
1. Great Flight Aviary, Melbourne
2. Creatures of the Wollemi, Taronga
3. Wetlands Aviary, Healesville
4. Lyrebird Forest, Healesville
5. Rainforest Aviary, Taronga

Best reptile and amphibian exhibit (reptile house)
1. Reptile House, Melbourne
2. Serpentaria, Taronga
3. Snake house, Australia Zoo
4. Lost World of Reptiles, Australian Reptile Park
5. Lower level, Reptile and aquarium building, National Zoo and Aquarium

Best reptile and amphibian exhibit (single or series of)
1. Alligator Lake, Australian Reptile Park
2. Aldabra Giant Tortoise, Melbourne
3. Lace Monitor, Canberra Reptile Sanctuary

Best small carnivore exhibit
1. Fishing Cat, Taronga
2. Asian small-clawed Otter, Western Plains
3. Asian small-clawed Otter, Melbourne
4. Meerkat, Werribee
5. Red Panda, Taronga
6. Binturong, Taronga

Best large carnivore exhibit
1. Polar Bear Shores, Sea World
2. African Lion, Werribee
3. Sumatran Tiger, Melbourne
4. Sumatran Tiger, Australia Zoo

Best great ape exhibit
1. Gorilla forest, Melbourne
2. Orang-utan Sanctuary, Melbourne
3. Chimpanzee, Taronga

Best smaller primate exhibit
1. Siamang island, Western Plains
2. Francois' Langur, Taronga
3. Lar gibbon island, Western Plains
4. Mandrill, Melbourne

Best ungulate exhibit
1. Floodplains, Werribee
2. Giraffe, Western Plains
3. Barbary Sheep, Western Plains
4. White Rhinoceros, Western Plains
5. Hippopotamus, Western Plains
6. Kubu River Hippos, Werribee

Best elephant exhibit
1. Australia Zoo
2. Western Plains
3. Trail of the Elephants, Melbourne
4. Taronga

Best native mammal exhibit
1. Platypusary, Healesville
2. Wombat, Australia Zoo
3. Platypus, Sydney Aquarium
4. Koala, Australia Zoo
5. Macropod walkthrough Australia Zoo

Best nocturnal house
1. Taronga
2. Healesville

Best aquatic mammals/birds
1. Great Southern Oceans Leopard Seal, Taronga
2. Dugong, Sydney Aquarium
3. Great Southern Oceans penguins, Taronga
4. Antarctic penguins, Melbourne Aquarium

Best shark/ray/bony fish exhibit
1. Shark Bay, Sea World
2. Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Aquarium
3. Fish Bowl, Melbourne Aquarium

I'll re-visit this thread when I've been to Adelaide again, possibly in December, and will also visit Monarto and Cleland on that trip. Moonlit Sanctuary, Kyabram Fauna Park, Halls Gap Zoo and Oz.e.Wildlife are all planned day trips, hopefully by the end of the year.

 

[PAT]

I've been to the following zoos and aquaria:
Melbourne Zoo
Werribee Open Range Zoo
Healesville Sanctuary
Melbourne Aquarium
Ballarat Wildlife Park
Taronga Zoo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo (on the weekend for the first time!)
Sydney Aquarium
Australian Reptile Park
Wagga Wagga Zoo (just yesterday, in fact - that will be a thread in itself )
National Zoo and Aquarium
Canberra Reptile Sanctuary
Sea World
Australia Zoo

I've also been to Adelaide Zoo, but it was too long ago to really remember it very well, so I won't consider any of their exhibits. There's no set number of exhibits that I will acknowledge for any category, it just comes down to how many I recall, admire and wish to give a hat tip too.

Best flight aviary
1. Great Flight Aviary, Melbourne
2. Creatures of the Wollemi, Taronga
3. Wetlands Aviary, Healesville
4. Lyrebird Forest, Healesville
5. Rainforest Aviary, Taronga

Best reptile and amphibian exhibit (reptile house)
1. Reptile House, Melbourne
2. Serpentaria, Taronga
3. Snake house, Australia Zoo
4. Lost World of Reptiles, Australian Reptile Park
5. Lower level, Reptile and aquarium building, National Zoo and Aquarium

Best reptile and amphibian exhibit (single or series of)
1. Alligator Lake, Australian Reptile Park
2. Aldabra Giant Tortoise, Melbourne
3. Lace Monitor, Canberra Reptile Sanctuary

Best small carnivore exhibit
1. Fishing Cat, Taronga
2. Asian small-clawed Otter, Western Plains
3. Asian small-clawed Otter, Melbourne
4. Meerkat, Werribee
5. Red Panda, Taronga
6. Binturong, Taronga

Best large carnivore exhibit
1. Polar Bear Shores, Sea World
2. African Lion, Werribee
3. Sumatran Tiger, Melbourne
4. Sumatran Tiger, Australia Zoo

Best great ape exhibit
1. Gorilla forest, Melbourne
2. Orang-utan Sanctuary, Melbourne
3. Chimpanzee, Taronga

Best smaller primate exhibit
1. Siamang island, Western Plains
2. Francois' Langur, Taronga
3. Lar gibbon island, Western Plains
4. Mandrill, Melbourne

Best ungulate exhibit
1. Floodplains, Werribee
2. Giraffe, Western Plains
3. Barbary Sheep, Western Plains
4. White Rhinoceros, Western Plains
5. Hippopotamus, Western Plains
6. Kubu River Hippos, Werribee

Best elephant exhibit
1. Australia Zoo
2. Western Plains
3. Trail of the Elephants, Melbourne
4. Taronga

Best native mammal exhibit
1. Platypusary, Healesville
2. Wombat, Australia Zoo
3. Platypus, Sydney Aquarium
4. Koala, Australia Zoo
5. Macropod walkthrough Australia Zoo

Best nocturnal house
1. Taronga
2. Healesville

Best aquatic mammals/birds
1. Great Southern Oceans Leopard Seal, Taronga
2. Dugong, Sydney Aquarium
3. Great Southern Oceans penguins, Taronga
4. Antarctic penguins, Melbourne Aquarium

Best shark/ray/bony fish exhibit
1. Shark Bay, Sea World
2. Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Aquarium
3. Fish Bowl, Melbourne Aquarium

I'll re-visit this thread when I've been to Adelaide again, possibly in December, and will also visit Monarto and Cleland on that trip. Moonlit Sanctuary, Kyabram Fauna Park, Halls Gap Zoo and Oz.e.Wildlife are all planned day trips, hopefully by the end of the year.

When you've been to Kyabram Fauna Park you can add another great reptile house to your list. It's only got native species but it's really good and solar pwoered.

P.S. I like your way of splitting upo the exhibits into categories. Thanks.

EDIT: I wish I hadn't replied to your message 'cos now it's so long. Sorry