Something that’s been at the top of my bucket list for almost a decade, is doing the Roar and Snore at Taronga Zoo. It’s a sleepover, kinda like camping but more glamping, at the beautiful Taronga Zoo in Sydney. I’ve been going to the zoo regularly since I moved to Sydney at the age of 18, and I used to take the kids I nannied for visits regularly. I’ve loved to see it evolve over the years, and a beautiful shift to a stronger focus on conservation, research and education.
DAY ONE
We turned up to the Zoo just before sunset, and had the zoo to ourselves {well ourselves and the group of campers}, where we lead around by torchlight to see all the animals, and check out how they behave at night. It was fun to see the usual sleepy koalas being super active and jumping from branch to branch.
We then headed to our tents {forget blow up mattresses, we had comfy beds with electric blankets} and then headed over to the refreshment tents to enjoy platters of cheese, dips and crackers while being introduced to lizards and snakes and meeting the zoo keepers. Talk about passionate people! Each zoo keeper has a story of passion and research, with most of them spending weeks overseas each year researching and studying animals.
After a delicious, generous buffet dinner we headed for more walks around the zoo, to visit the monkeys and tigers.
DAY TWO
Staying at the zoo overnight felt like a treat, because it’s usually filled with people exploring but we had it to ourselves. I loved waking up to the sounds of the monkeys playing in the morning, and then heading off super early to feed the giraffes some breakfast. They eat regularly throughout the day, but we started them off with an entree of lettuce leaves which they appreciated more than I know I would have!
After feeding the giraffes, the humans in the groups headed to have a buffet breakfast with a view of the city. The thing about camping is the you can’t help but make friends with the people in the group. We made friends with a beautiful family that lived up the coast closer to us. Lacey loves to adopt any new family, and sticks to them like glue, so she was very happy to have found new friends to hang with.
We then headed over to hang with some seals. This is Charlie who was found orphaned and close to death. The zoo keepers nurtured him and he is now thriving.
We were then free to explore the zoo for the rest of the day, which I was extra excited about because we were meeting with my brother, his wife, and their daughter, my beautiful niece Ayla. It kills me that we don’t live closer to her, so it was so nice to be with her for her first ever visit to the zoo. Look at her, isn’t she delicious?
One of the highlights, especially for Lulu who raved about this exhibition forEVER, is the tiger enclosure. We boarded a flight {pretend, but don’t tell Lulu she thought it was real} to Indonesia. After checking out the tigers, we then made our way back through a supermarket where the kids could find out which of their favourite products uses sustainable palm oil, and which don’t.
TIPS FOR ROAR & SNORE TARONGA ZOO
I’m just going to start with my biggest tip, and it’s this: go. Just go. As a blogger I get to experience a lot of ‘money can’t buy experiences’ that feel super special. This is one of those experiences but anyone can do it. It felt really generous {so many great hands-on experiences and beautiful food too}, intimate and special.
We visited in these cooler months, and I’d suggest that if you were also visiting in Winter to pack warm clothes. You’ll need beanies and jackets for exploring the zoo late at night.
All linens, towels and bedding were provided. They even have fully equipped showers.
We stayed and visited at Taronga Zoo Sydney as guests of Taronga Zoo. All thoughts and opinions are my my own.
