Australia and the Islands

Entrance Sign 5/10/14

It Primarily means South East Asia, Animal that were on display when I visited were:
-Siamangs
-White Cheeked Gibbons
-Komodo Dragons
-Black Swans
-Asian Small Clawed Otters
-Bornean Orangutans

It is also home now to the Dino Island boat ride which basically took the old voyage to the islands ride and converted it with dinosaurs that are scattered thru out. It somewhat ruins the theme of the area and takes away but I found it to still be a very well designed area that invoked a feeling like a poor mans Asia from Disneys Animal Kingdom

Asia and the Aussie and the Islands are on the same side of the zoo but still relatively far apart.

Though, I must say, while Australia and The Islands is one "region", they are rather like separate regions within themselves, with the (largely) Australia portion of the region, home to red and grey kangaroos, echidnas, koalas, brush-tailed bettongs, Prevost's squirrels, binturongs, Matschie's tree kangaroos, feather-tailed gliders, and a mix of birds, being encountered first before crossing over a bridge into the Islands portion of the region, home to the orangutans, white-handed gibbons, siamangs, Asian small-clawed otters, komodo dragons, black swans, galahs, and citron-crested cockatoos.

That is a very good depiction, that is how I felt when visiting. You encounter the Australian exhibits first with a few Asian animals in the roadhouse, and then you cross a bridge to the Islands section as a sort of divider. Either way it is a nice section of the zoo, however the dinosaurs don't really fit either way.

I laughed by butt off looking at those things!

I wouldn't mind so much if they had just done it on its own in a different area, but to blend it into the islands is silly. I know its because the ride was already there and it was cheaper this way but for such a fine zoo like Columbus it is just out of place.