Auckland Zoo probably doesn’t need much of an introduction for most Aucklanders. My three young ones were fortunate enough to spend their first years only minutes from Auckland Zoo so were on very familiar terms with one Auckland’s most visited attractions. However having moved away from the area almost 4 years ago, the memory was fading fast so these school holidays were the perfect opportunity to make a re-visit and see if anything had changed. We decided to make a family afternoon trip of it on my daughters 6th birthday to make her day really special.
From experience, we decided to visit on a school holiday weekday afternoon – for two reasons. One. Most families with pre-schoolers visit in the morning before the kids are tired and need to get home for a nap, thus, freeing up the park for easy roaming and none of the school holiday crowds many attractions cannot avoid. Two. An easy carpark – right outside. When does that ever happen in Auckland – let alone the school holidays?
So, congratulating myself on my planning abilities and with beautiful Autumn sunshine we commenced our journey. Our first surprise was the beautifully updated ‘Pridelands area’. Previously the elevated boardwalk that surrounds the display presented only a ‘giraffe’s eye’ view of the enclosure featuring giraffes zebra and ostriches. This has been vastly improved with extra viewing platforms, greater information available, and a pushchair parking area – vastly improving the flow of traffic. It also brought visitors down to ground level to get a true perspective of the majesty of the amazing giraffes. In keeping with the very African feel of the zone, the mercats have also been introduced here, complete with a new tunnel viewing area where the kids or young at heart can crawl through, and pop their heads up right in the midst of the enclosure.
The other new display we all enjoyed was meeting the zoo’s new elephant – Anjalee – for the first time. It was delightful to see Burma really enjoying having some pachyderm company and both of them roaming their huge enclosure in the close company of each other.
There is also the relatively new native bird aviaries – complete with the matching flora and landscaping replicating where you’d find them in the wild. You’d be forgiven for suddenly forgetting you were in the middle of the nation’s largest metropolis and not sitting outside a ramshackle hut in Central Otago’s high country. The highlight here was conducting a ‘seflie’ with a very tame Keruru as well as getting very up close and personal through the glass with a kiwi poking around for it’s dinner.
The kids playground had also been upgraded too but still retaining it’s charming and magical wild dragon that continues to draw the next generation of kids to sit for photos in his huge mouth.
Of course the zoo delighted us all with it’s usual world class animal displays – we saw the lions, tigers, flamingos, the red panda, alligators, and of course the spider monkeys – a family favourite.
But in the end, on this special day there was only one person who really mattered. “Wow – that was the best birthday ever… can I have another ice block?” I’ll take that as a win.
Tickets kindly supplied by Auckland Zoo
