Here are some (not very well-written!) notes from my visit: Last Sunday I visited Wellington Zoo for the first time. Luckily I went on a day the weather was great and managed to see most of the species held, with the exceptions of Gibbons, Spider monkey and Chameleon. Overall, I was very impressed. I spotted three otter in their enclosure, which features a flowing river. I was very impressed with the Kiwi house. As there is no glass you can actually hear the kiwi rustling through the leaves which makes them a lot easier to spot. I saw one on the day which came very close to the barrier. Having no glass between the public and the animal makes things much more real. The Bolivian Squirrel Monkey and Agouti exhibit was very alive and full of the species. As the enclosure is a glass-front exhibit, you can get a lot closer to the monkeys than you would at Auckland. Cotton-top Tamarins are also part of this exhibit, however, are separated off from the other species. The Capuchin enclosure was made up of a nice island surrounded by water, which holds Australian Pelicans! Not the most appropriate combination, geographically-wise. I observed one Lemur in it's very small enclosure (basically an aviary) that is very small compared to Hamilton's exhibit. The Golden Lion Tamarin and Agouti enclosure allows the public to get right up close to the species. The Little Blue Penguins were all sheltered under the over-turned boat as the weather was rather hot. The Serval and Caracal enclosures are side-by-side and pretty similar to each other. I was very happy that I saw the Caracal, although it kept going into its den and pacing around. The servals weren't at all active, which is how they usually are when I've seen them at other zoos. The cheetah enclosure was nothing too different than Auckland and Hamilton's, although there is a chain-link viewing point as well as glass. I was very impressed with the baboon enclosure, which is very large and allows you to get right up close to the baboons (with both chain-link and glass viewing areas). The Australia walk-about exhibit had quite a wide unnatural looking path going through it. I saw two kangaroo on the day. The exhibit also contains the Tasmanian devil enclosure inside it. I didn't like these aspects, but otherwise it was good. I was lucky to reach the Tasmanian devil enclosure just after a piece of goat had been put in the exhibit. Of the two animals I saw, one was in it's den and the other was right up front eating! I only spotted one dingo on the day which was resting in the sun. There wasn't much happening at The Nest, which wasn't too surprising as I visited on a Sunday. The zoo has a nice farm-style area for their sheep and pigs which also features heaps of interactive information displays. The tiger enclosure seemed rather out-dated to me. All I saw of the tiger was a paw raised and then put back down. I'll admit I was rather disappointed as the tiger is my favourite species. The Sun Bear enclosure was very impressive. I loved the waterfall as well as the theming of the exhibit. While it's a very cool idea, I didn't really understand the connection of the theming of Hero HQ! The graphics behind each species seemed unnatural as well. The Red panda enclosures appeared very natural, which was excellent. There is another cheetah enclosure which, again, is nothing too special. I really liked the Chimpanzee enclosure. There are two viewing levels that allow you to get very close. The size of the enclosure seemed a lot smaller compared to Hamilton's though. Reflection was a major problem for viewing the reptiles next to the tuck shop. It was good seeing the signs reminding visitors of the zoo's elephants and their history. The Pygmy Marmoset and Iguana enclosures in the cafe were excellent with lots of foliage. The Lion enclosure, like the Chimpanzees, had two viewing decks that allow you to get up close, but it seemed quite smaller than Auckland's. I thought the viewing window for the Porcupine den was a great idea. The meerkat enclosure is not much different to Auckland. I loved the Africa exhibit. Although smaller than Auckland's enclosure, you can get very close to the Giraffe, Ostrich, Nyala and Leopard tortoise. The animals can be viewed at two different points - one being a few huts on ground level, the other a raised platform up with the giraffe. There was a very friendly giraffe that came right up to one of the fences and also an ostrich that was next to the huts. Overall, I was very impressed with Wellington Zoo and hope to visit again in the next few years.
