Okay, so few people seem to have visited Brooklands, so I thought I'd write a quick review to let people know what's there and what its like. This is my first review (hope to do a few more) so let me know if its any good, might be a bit long... Anywho, the zoo is located on a flat area above the Bowl of Brooklands concert venue in the gardens of New Plymouth. This means it is quite often closed when a concert is imminent. It is free entry, and has two main sections: exotic and farmyard, with exhibits arranged along three sides. The centre of the zoo is a large lawn with a childrens playground. I visited on 23/12/2010. Exotic: This area is a series of enclosures along two adjacent sides of the zoo. The first exhibit is for black-capped capuchins, and is quite large, certainly adequate, with tall corrugated iron walls on two sides, and the rest a tall, mesh aviary. It is first viewed through a large glass window at ground level. The exhibit contains a number of wooden climbing structures and plants and a large, active group of monkeys. From here a ramp leads up past a small-clawed otter exhibit, which contains a nice pool surrounded by river rocks and plants, and two otters. Viewing is from above on three sides, the third of which is a platform between the otters and capuchin exhibits, and provides elevated viewing into the capuchins, through glass which is opened as a series of French doors on some days. From this, another ramp leads down past an aviary-style exhibit which holds cotton-top tamarins. It used to be walkthrough with tamarins and sun conures, but is not anymore, and only has the tamarins. It is very well vegetated, and certainly large enough. Turn left, and the old red panda enclosure, which is ~2.5m tall and covered, now contains 5 meerkats newly arrived from Wellington Zoo. The exhibit is covered in sand and has a few furnishings, and a low glass wall behind the mesh to keep fingers and meerkats seperate. Past this is the walkthrough aviary, which consists of a low raised boardwalk through an open forest. It contains: red-crowned parakeet, rainbow lorikeet, musk lorikeet, Indian ringneck, superb parrot, sun conure, moustached parakeet, masked love bird, golden pheasant, Lady Amherst pheasant and Java sparrow. Previous inhabitants have included parma wallaby, sulphur-crested cockatoo, king parrot and nanday conure. Finally, there is an aviary style cage (~2.5 x 3 x 7m) which has previously housed African grey parrots, and for the last couple of years female ring-tailed lemurs. There were originally three, then two, and now only one following a recent death. One lemur is far from ideal, and a notice states that management is working with the ZAA to 'rectify the situation', but not exactly how, ie. bringing new ones in or sending this one elsewhere. IMHO it is not a big enough cage for this species. Barnyard: This area is located along the third edge of the zoo. It contains several pens, the first with kune kune pigs and domestic fowl, the second has three alpacas, the next guinea pigs and rabbits. You then enter a barn; one side has various clippings and posters about conservation and animals, the other has tanks, containing: red dwarf cichlid, bristlenose pleco, guppies and African clawed frogs. Exiting the barn takes you between the alpacas and the last pen, which has a donkey and some goats. Overall a nice small zoo, well worth the zero entrance fee! There is plenty of room for expansion, although certainly not any large exotics. Small cats, primates, birds, and reptiles would be great.
nice review, well executed. I hope to read more reviews from you about the other lesser-visited collections in the North Island
I have uploaded a few photos of the exhibits at Brooklands Zoo, to give a better idea of exhibit type, quality and zoo layout. Brooklands Zoo Gallery
I visited Brooklands again last weekend (briefly in the rain), and there were no major changes, the lemur exhibits now sports a sign which says: Exciting new development coming soon, or something similar, with no real details, and they have moved some Indian Ringnecks and Budgies in for the time being.
To give an even better idea of the zoo's layout (albeit rather schematically) there is a map here: Zoo Layout The new squirrel monkeys are in the enclosure between the free-flight aviary and duck paddock.
