Today I took my kids to Monarto Zoo, an open range Zoo just about 60klm out of Adelaide on the Princes Highway. Entry was $16per adult and $10 for kids over 4. (kids under 4 were free). The Visitors Centre has a great interactive attraction for kids, skeletons, bones, furs, freeze-dried animals, you can pick them up, feel the fur, open the skulls mouths etc.. They also have an adult giraffe skeleton which was fascinating. The only live exhibit that you can see on foot is Meerkats. The rest of the Zoo is toured by bus, they have a range of impalas and they have White Rhinoceroses, giraffes, 2 male lions, 5 cheetahs, and more which I forget. The bus trip is about an hour. The lions are exciting! they lock the doors first and put up a barrier to hold the doors shut. The two adult lions came right up to the bus. Well worth a visit. Regards, Duncan.
Hey Dunc, we went to Monarto Zoo on Tuesday - the lions are great aren't they !! I have been a bit critical of Monarto Zoo in the past, but with the continual expansion and the large numbers of interesting animals they have now, I think it is a great zoo. Hint: last tour of the day (3:00pm or 3:30pm) often allows you to see other things like the lions being let into their night enclosures, which was preceded by them running through the tall grass, chasing the keeper who was bringing their food - I got some great photos (pity about the windows needing to be closed !). I'll write more about my trip in a couple of days when I have more time. I'm off to the Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo tomorrow - so I'll have even more to write about !
@tetrapod: check the dates on these threads, as Duncanrm posted his brief review of Monarto Zoo 5 years ago! The new South Australia website shows all of the animals on display, including the hyenas and apparently huge chimpanzee exhibit.
When I was there in December of 2007 the Bison and Przewalski's were on display in the drive-through part (photos in the gallery), but I don't recall seeing hyenas or lemurs. Hix
they heyna went on displauy last year, andthe kemurs are off display, but are now back at AZ i beleive.
I do indeed. they are on teh west side of the track inside the wild dogs. I have some photos somewhere i need to upload
Yeah it's blackbuck at Monarto, not impala The new chimpanzee exhibit is still under construction (Dr. Jane Goodall was supposed to open it on her tour in October 08, but instead she did an inspection of the construction site and planted a tree next to the exhibit). One of Taronga's male chimps is being introduced to Tsotsi, Adelaide's male chimp. The Taronga chimp arrived in Adelaide a week and a half ago, haven't heard how its going yet. The lemurs have all been moved down to Adelaide Zoo, and their first day out on exhibit was either Christmas Eve or Chrissie Day, can't remember. They're in the old Syrian Brown Bear exhibit, which has had a makeover for the new residents. I love Monarto, and it is changing and improving all the time. But I guess as an Adelaidean I'm a tad biased
Thanks for the update on the chimps, I'm quite interested in how Tsotsi's going to be with the other males as he was just with the two females before. Is the chimp from Taronga Zoo Sandali? Monarto Zoo is wonderful, and it just seems to be getting better and better. The Serengeti should be great as well. Would the baboons from Adelaide Zoo be going there then?
I believe it is Sandali, but I'm not 100% certain. I also don't know whether the baboons would move to Monarto, but if they did then there might have to be some major changes to their exhibit in Adelaide to make it suitable for other animals - I imagine it would be very hot in their mock-rock exhibit. Sorry I can't be more helpful - anyone else know more?
There are plans posted at the Adelaide zoo (near teh old Elephant House) that show the current baboon exhibit being retrofitted to house Komodo monitors as part of the larger Asian region. That would be a perfect animal for that sun-baked bowl of gunite.....
If komodo dragons went into the baboon exhibit at the Adelaide Zoo then surely the hamadryas baboons would make a wonderful addition alongside the chimps at the nearby Monarto Zoo. It's shocking to know that the Adelaide Zoo is only 8 hectares (around 20 acres) in size, while Monarto is absolutely enormous.
Monarto zoo is going to have a change. From April there will be no more African safari bus tours only the short Grasslands tour which will be a hop on hop off system. No more booking on buses and you will have to get around the zoo by means of the Zoo loop to access the platforms and hear Keeper talks so your day will be totally in your hands as to how much you can fit in your day. Hopefully chimps will be there by school holidays.
Will the Grasslands tour still be included with the price of admission? Also, the chimpanzee exhibit is STILL not open to the public?
Yes the Grassland is still going to be included with the entry price and you will hop on for the tour when it is convenient to you during the day. The Zoo Loop is also a free service both now and when the change comes into effect in April. The chimp enclosure is still being built because of construction hiccups but it should be open in the next couple of months hopefully. It has a viewing platform which you can access by foot from the visitors centre.
Yippee! Not long to wait for the chimps! Does anyone know if the males from Wellington (Gombe and Boyd) are coming in the near future?
