1. Taronga Zoo (Bradley’s Head Road, Mosman, Sydney)

Taronga Zoo is only a 12-minute ferry ride from Sydney’s Circular Quay, and is a great place to visit for a day. It’s home to animals native to Australia, Antartica, Africa, Asia, South America and North America, and there are many exhibits to see. The zoo’s residents include Tasmanian Devils, koalas, penguins, seals, lions, chimpanzees, meerkats, elephants, leopards and bears.

There are two excellent shows that you can watch: the Energy Australia Seal Show and the QBE Free Flight Bird Show. There are also talks by zoo keepers and opportunities to have your photo taken with various animals throughout the day. There are a number of food outlets within the zoo, and you can buy souvenirs in the five zoo shops.

Image: Brian Gieson

2. Sydney Wildlife World (Aquarium Pier, Darling Harbour, Sydney)

Sydney Wildlife World is situated in Darling Harbour, in the centre of the city, and is only about 5 minutes’ walk away from Sydney’s Central Business District. It’s home to more than 130 species of Australian animal and is divided into a number of exhibits representing different habitats.

In Kakadu Gorge, for example, you’ll find Rex, a 5 metre long saltwater crocodile, and you can even watch him being fed. You can also see Red Kangaroos in the Semi-Arid Habitat, wombats and wallabies in the Wallaby Cliffs Habitat, and possums, ghost bats and bilbies in the Nocturnal Habitat. You can even pay a little extra and have your photo taken with a koala at Koala Rooftop.

You can stop off for a meal or snack at the Lizard Lounge bar and cafe, and buy souvenirs at the Wildlife Gift Shop.

3. Sydney Aquarium (Aquarium Pier, Darling Harbour, Sydney).

Sydney Aquarium is situated next to Sydney Wildlife World, in the Darling Harbour area of the city. Its exhibits are divided into six sections: Shark HQ; Southern Rivers; Northern Rivers; Southern Oceans; Northern Oceans; and Mermaid Lagoon.

Shark HQ is the aquarium’s most recent exhibit and its highlights include a shark hatchery, talks by shark experts, shark tunnels and the largest animatronic Great White Shark in the world. In the Southern Rivers section of the aquarium, you can see freshwater fish, water dragons, yabbies and platypus, whilst the Northern Rivers section is home to barramundi, lungfish and saratoga.

The Southern Oceans section of the aquarium is home to fairy penguins, sea dragons and pineapple fish, and also contains an open aquarium, where you can see sharks, stingrays and fish.

The Northern Oceans area of the aquarium contains the Great Barrier Reef exhibit, in which you’ll find angelfish, anemones, triggerfish and many other species, whilst Mermaid Lagoon is home to Pig and Wuru, the aquarium’s dugongs (or sea cows).

You can listen also listen to talks by experts, take a trip on a glass-bottomed boat, stop off for a bite to eat at the aquarium’s cafe and buy souvenirs in its two gift shops.

4. Koala Park Sanctuary (84 Castle Hill Road, West Pennant Hills, NSW)

The Koala Park Sanctuary was established during the 1920s in order to provide a safe place for koalas to live at a time when they were being hunted for their fur. It’s situated about 30 minutes’ drive from Sydney’s Central Business District.

The Koala Park Sanctuary covers 10 acres of rainforest and eucalyptus groves and is home to a range of animals and birds, including emus, kangaroos, wombats, dingoes, echidnas and lorikeets, as well as koalas.

You can cuddle a koala and have your photo taken with it, watch the koalas being fed, and see presentations about the different animals. There is also a cafe and gift shop.

5. Featherdale Wildlife Park (217 – 229 Kildare Road, Doonside, NSW)

Featherdale Wildlife Park is situated in Doonside, about 45 minutes’ drive from the centre of Sydney, and claims to be home to the largest collection of Australian native animals in the world. The park attracts more than 300,000 visitors each year.

Highlights include Ngukurr, the park’s 4.5 metre long saltwater crocodile; opportunities to have your photo taken with a koala; and the chance to watch pelicans, flying foxes and Tasmanian Devils being fed.

Many different airlines operate flights to Sydney from London and other major international airports, and you’ll find a wide range of hotels within the city.

In the next in our series of posts about attractions that you can visit in Spain, we take a look at Fuengirola Zoo, which is located in Fuengirola on Spain’s Costa del Sol, and which is a great place to visit on a day-trip if you’re staying in the area.

Fuengirola Zoo opened in the 1970s, but was redeveloped between 1998 and 2001 in order to improve conditions for the animals and provide a “full-immersion” zoo experience for visitors. It is now home to more than 1,300 animals and is involved in a number of animal breeding and monitoring programmes.

The zoo has more than 140 species of mammals, fish, reptiles and birds, including Sumatran tigers, meerkats, orang-utans, lemurs, gorillas, gibbons, chimpanzees, pythons, crocodiles, turtles, flamingos and lorikeets. There is also a children’s play area, a gift shop and two restaurant areas.

If you are visiting the Costa del Sol during the summer, you can explore the zoo at night and watch the animals in the moonlight.

Fuengirola Zoo is particularly good to visit as part of a Costa del Sol car hire holiday. You can rent a car at Malaga airport and it will only take you about half an hour to drive to Fuengirola Zoo from Malaga and about twenty minutes to drive there from Torremolinos.

In this post, the first in a series looking at some of the specific attractions that you can visit in Spain, we take a look at Terra Natura, a wildlife park located just outside of Benidorm on Spain’s Costa Blanca.

Terra Natura is divided into four themed areas: Pangea, Europe, Asia and America. In the Pangea area, you can see snakes, including diamond-back rattlesnakes and green tree pythons, as well as tarantulas, lizards, scorpions and bush babies, and in the Europe area of Terra Natura, you can see donkeys, horses, turtles and deer.

Exhibits in the Asia area of the park include elephants, Bengal tigers, Asiatic lions, saltwater crocodiles, leopards, water buffalo and Sumatran tigers, whilst the America area is home to armadillos, macaws, boa constrictors, jaguars, Capuchin monkeys, marmosets, ocelots and squirrel monkeys.

Other attractions at Terra Natura include the “Birds of Prey Challenge” zip wire and the “Flight of the Parrots” and the “Flight of the Birds of Prey” shows.

Terra Natura is set out beautifully, with mock  ruins and themed architecture, and pathways lined with trees and flowers. It also has several restaurants and cafes, and there are gift shops in each area of the park.

It will take you at least four hours to explore Terra Natura properly, so it’s wise to plan to spend a whole day at the park so that your visit doesn’t feel rushed. The park is open all year round, but opening hours vary, so make sure that you check them before visiting.

Terra Natura is only about 10 minutes’ drive from Benidorm and about 40 minutes’ drive from Alicante, so it’s a great place to visit as part of a Costa Blanca car hire holiday.

Image: © Carolyn Marshall | Dreamstime.com