The National Zoo and Aquarium is a sloping 19 hectare site, located near the wall of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, ACT. It originally opened as the National Aquarium in 1990. In 1998 it was purchased by a new owner who began converting it into the zoo it is today. I personally visited the aquarium as a child in 1993 (underwater viewing tunnel!), again as a teenager in 2000 (tigons!), and then as an adult in 2010 (cougars!). My visit on 08/01/2022 was my fourth time (Sri Lankan leopard!), and once again the zoo had been through some changes, including the open range expansion.
I arrived at 11:00am, anticipating that I would need about four hours to see everything before the rhino encounter I had booked for 3:00pm. The zoo was quite busy with visitors, so I had to park in one of the overflow carparks. This meant that I entered the zoo from a side gate, rather than the main entrance.
I had bought my ticket online, which cost $47. At the ticket booth I had my ticket scanned and also had to sign a waiver for the rhino encounter I had booked online, and was given a wristband for the encounter.
At the time of my visit, Canberra had a rule that masks had to be worn indoors. I would estimate that about 30% of the visitors wore masks outdoors as well. I didn’t wear one because it was too hot.
I entered the zoo near the African Painted Dog and Cheetah exhibits. There was a common viewing area for both, with open air viewing. I saw four dogs in the exhibit on the right, and one male cheetah in the exhibit on the left. Both exhibits were big and spacious for the animals.
My initial impression of the zoo, which continued throughout my visit, was that it was very lush and green. The gardens were vibrant and added a jungle feel to the whole place. There were lots of running water features through exhibits and as part of the landscaping as well.
Because the zoo doesn’t have one clear path to follow, there is an ‘Adventure Trail’ which is numbered and signposted, so that visitors can follow it and not miss any of the exhibits. I basically followed it, also using the map, which had a couple of inconsistencies where things had changed.
The next two exhibits were for lemurs. They were viewed across a moat, which made the animals easy to see. The first exhibit held Ring-tailed Lemur. I saw two lemurs here.
The second held Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur. While I was watching, a keeper and two guests entered the enclosure from the back for an encounter. The masked guests sat on a log and fed the lemurs. I saw five lemurs here.
Around the corner from here was the Serval exhibit. It was a large, lush exhibit. I saw one serval here.
To be continued...
I arrived at 11:00am, anticipating that I would need about four hours to see everything before the rhino encounter I had booked for 3:00pm. The zoo was quite busy with visitors, so I had to park in one of the overflow carparks. This meant that I entered the zoo from a side gate, rather than the main entrance.
I had bought my ticket online, which cost $47. At the ticket booth I had my ticket scanned and also had to sign a waiver for the rhino encounter I had booked online, and was given a wristband for the encounter.
At the time of my visit, Canberra had a rule that masks had to be worn indoors. I would estimate that about 30% of the visitors wore masks outdoors as well. I didn’t wear one because it was too hot.
I entered the zoo near the African Painted Dog and Cheetah exhibits. There was a common viewing area for both, with open air viewing. I saw four dogs in the exhibit on the right, and one male cheetah in the exhibit on the left. Both exhibits were big and spacious for the animals.
My initial impression of the zoo, which continued throughout my visit, was that it was very lush and green. The gardens were vibrant and added a jungle feel to the whole place. There were lots of running water features through exhibits and as part of the landscaping as well.
Because the zoo doesn’t have one clear path to follow, there is an ‘Adventure Trail’ which is numbered and signposted, so that visitors can follow it and not miss any of the exhibits. I basically followed it, also using the map, which had a couple of inconsistencies where things had changed.
The next two exhibits were for lemurs. They were viewed across a moat, which made the animals easy to see. The first exhibit held Ring-tailed Lemur. I saw two lemurs here.
The second held Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur. While I was watching, a keeper and two guests entered the enclosure from the back for an encounter. The masked guests sat on a log and fed the lemurs. I saw five lemurs here.
Around the corner from here was the Serval exhibit. It was a large, lush exhibit. I saw one serval here.
To be continued...
