Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 3 . SYDNEY
exhibits. It’s a bit of a hassle to get here by public transport, so ring the park in
advance to get times for its twice-daily bus tours, which include hotel pickup
and drop-off.
217 Kildare Rd., Doonside.& 02/9622 1644. Fax 02/9671-4140. www.featherdale.com.au. Admission A$16
(US$10) adults, A$8 (US$5.20) children 4–14, A$40 (US$26) families. Daily 9am–5pm. CityRail: Blacktown
station, then take bus no. 725 to park. (Ask driver to tell you when to get off.) By car: Take the M4 motorway
to Reservoir Rd., turn off, travel 4km (2 1 ⁄2 miles), then turn left at Kildare Rd.
Koala Park This is probably the only place in the country (unless you travel
all the way to Kangaroo Island in South Australia) where you’ll be able to spot
this many koalas in one place. In all, there are around 55 koalas roaming within
the park’s leafy boundaries. Koala cuddling sessions are free, and take place at
10:20, 11:45am, 2, and 3pm daily. There are also wombats, dingoes, kangaroos,
wallabies, emus, and native birds here, too. You can hire a private guide to take
you around for A$70 (US$46) for a 2-hour session, or hitch onto one of the free
“hostess” guides who wander around the park like Pied Pipers.
84 Castle Hill Rd., West Pennant Hills. & 02/9484 3141 or 02/9875 2777. www.koalapark.com. Admission
A$15 (US$9.75) adults, A$8 (US$5.20) children, A$40 (US$26) families. Daily 9am–5pm. Closed Christmas.
CityRail: Pennant Hills station via North Strathfield (45 min.), then take any bus nos. 651–655 to park.
Oceanworld Manly Kids Though not as impressive as the Sydney Aquarium,
Oceanworld can be combined with a visit to Manly Beach (see “North of Sydney
Harbour” below) for a nice day’s outing. There’s a decent display of Barrier
Reef fish, and more giant sharks. Also here are the five most venomous snakes
in the world. Shark feeding is at 11am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
There is also a dive-with-the-sharks program.
West Esplanade, Manly. & 02/9949 2644. Admission A$16 (US$10) adults, A$8 (US$5.20) children, A$40
(US$26) families. Daily 10am–5:30pm. Ferry or JetCat: Manly.
Taronga Zoo Kids Taronga has the best view of any zoo in the world. Set
on a hill, it looks out over Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, and the Harbour
Bridge. It’s better on the legs to explore the zoo from the top down. The main
attractions are the fabulous chimpanzee exhibit, the gorilla enclosure, and the
Nocturnal Houses, where you can see some of Australia’s many nighttime marsupials
out and about, including the platypus and the cuter-than-cute bilby (the
official Australian Easter bunny). There’s an interesting reptile display; a fabulous
“Backyard to the Bush” area—with farm animals and water games for the
kids; a scattering of indigenous beasties—including a few koalas, echidnas, kangaroos,
dingoes, and wombats—and lots more (though you’d be better off going
to Featherdale Wildlife Park [see above] for a superior display of native creatures).
Animals are fed at various times during the day. The zoo can get crowded
on weekends, so I strongly advise visiting during the week or going early in the
morning on weekends. Allow around 2 hours.
Bradley’s Head Rd., Mosman. & 02/9969 2777. Admission A$21 (US$14) adults, A$12 (US$7.80) children
4–15. Ask about family prices. A Zoopass (includes entry, round-trip ferry from Circular Quay, and Aerial Safari
cable-car ride from ferry terminal to upper entrance of zoo) is available from CityRail stations for A$25
(US$16) adults and A$13 (US$8.10) children (no family pass). Daily 9am–5pm (Jan 9am–9pm). Ferry: Taronga
Zoo. At Taronga Zoo wharf, a bus to the upper zoo entrance is A$1.30 (US85¢), or take a cable car to the top
for A$2.50 (US$1.60). The lower zoo entrance is a 2-min. walk up the hill from the wharf.
HITTING THE BEACH
One of the big bonuses of visiting Sydney in the summer months (Dec–Feb) is
that you get to experience the beaches in their full glory.