Welcome to the jungle, less than 6km from the Sky Tower. Around 130 species and over 2800 animals are showcased in various immersive botanical zones at Auckland Zoo (aucklandzoo.co.nz).
The South East Asia Jungle Track takes up 20% of the zoo's 16 shady hectares. Highlights include a lowlands habitat for otters and Sumatran tigers, a swamp forest with Sunda gharial crocodiles, and a high canopy enjoyed by free-swinging simangs and orangutans. Keep an eye out for the youthful Bahmi who is never far from her orangutan mum, Melur. Other themed habitats house diverse species from Australia, Africa and South America.
But the real reason to visit Auckland Zoo, as opposed to any number of other zoos around the world, is the opportunity to enter Te Wao Nui (The Living Realm). The zoo's excellent Aotearoa/NZ section packages the entire country into six ecological zones: Coast (seals, penguins), Islands (mainly lizards, including NZ's pint-sized dinosaur, the tuatara), Wetlands (ducks, herons, eels), Night (a nocturnal house showcasing kiwi, frogs, owls and insects), Forest (birds) and High Country (cheekier birds and lizards).
Check online for details of Zoo Experiences (close encounters with certain animals), tours and the daily schedule of keeper talks and feeding times. Put aside half a day to do it justice.
