I'm on a little roadtrip to South Australia, and I intend to visit some of the zoos and fauna parks along the way. The plan for day one was to drive first to Griffith and spend the night camping in Cocoparra National Park, but to go via Wagga Wagga and check out their little ‘zoo’, attached to the Botanic Gardens. It bucketed down on the way (Wagga received the highest rainfall in the state – 61mm – and experienced local flooding) but had stopped when I reached the zoo. In fact, the sun was shining a little and I could see blue skies. This only lasted half-an-hour, then the leaden clouds returned, along with the thunder. But I got a good look at the zoo and managed to get some photos of it in that short space of time. Some of you might want to debate the term ‘zoo’; I’m not going to do that here. Suffice to say, the Wagga Wagga Botanical Gardens Zoo displays only a few mammals (Red Kangaroos, Grey Kangaroos, Swamp Wallabies, Donkeys, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, Guinea Pigs, Alpaca) and lots of birds. No reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates or aquatic life. Important to note: the zoo is free, and run by the council. So I wasn’t expecting too much. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/zoo-entry-sign-134126/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/zoo-map-134128/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/windmill-134130/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/view-park-134125/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/wild-cockatoo-134129/ Mammals: Most enclosures are quite large and an adequate size for the animals. The pictures of the Goat/Sheep and Red and Grey Kangaroo enclosures show about a third of the total enclosures. Unfortunately, the kangaroos seem to have denuded their exhibits. They also looked very wet and muddied after the very heavy rains. A similar sized enclosure held Swamp Wallabies, Emus and Black Swans. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/sheep-goat-enclosure-134152/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/red-kangaroo-enclosure-134166/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/red-kangaroos-134167/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/label-134155/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/eastern-grey-kangaroo-enclosure-134144/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/eastern-grey-kangaroos-134145/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/swamp-wallaby-134173/ Donkeys have a very lush paddock, a decent size, and the animals are tame and can be petted. There is a farmyard area with a much smaller enclosure housing another donkey, and I presume the animals are moved around. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/donkey-paddock-134141/ Alpacas had a very large area, but the guinea pigs were living in a stupid castle, under a net within a gazebo. The farmyard also had a calf, some rabbits, and an enclosure that was labelled to have a pig, but I couldn’t see it. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/alpaca-134157/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/guinea-pig-enclosure-134153/ Birds: This ‘zoo’ could be renamed Wagga Wagga Bird Gardens, as there are lots of birds on display. However, being a council-run zoo with no admission, most of the aviaries are a disappointment as they follow the standard backyard type affair. Just inside the entrance is a sign warning you of attacks from birds. And right behind the sign are three duckponds, with domestic ducks. There are free-ranging ducks, geese, Helmeted Guineafowl and peacocks which, as one label states, are known to be “ill-tempered”. However, the ducks, geese and peacocks left me alone; it was a Black Swan that had a go at me. Luckily, it was in the Swamp Wallaby enclosure and unable to get out, but it put its head over the low fence when I got too near. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/warning-sign-134171/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/duckpond-134143/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/ducks-134179/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/helmeted-guineafowl-134181/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/black-swan-attack-134133/ Next to the Swamp Wallabies is the emu enclosure – very large and full of trees. Would probably be ideal for a few kangaroos (but then you might never see them). http://www.zoochat.com/1209/emu-enclosure-134147/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/emu-134146/ Not far away is what looks like it might have once been a small house, but the walls have been removed and replaced with wire. This building now houses budgies, in many colour varieties, turtledoves, as well as some cockatiels – normals, pearls and cinnamons – and a Reeves Pheasant. There are two aviaries here – spacious, but reminiscent of old-style backyard aviaries. The colour mutations add to this old-style feeling. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/budgie-cockatiel-building-134135/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/budgie-cage-reeves-pheasant-134136/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/reeves-pheasant-134168/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/cockatiel-male-134138/ The Reeves wasn’t the only pheasant on display. There is an aviary containing white peafowl, and a building I have referred to in the gallery as a Pheasantry. This building is circular with around eight cages radiating out from the central structure. Displayed were Silver Pheasant, Nepal Kalij, Lady Amherst, Golden, Swinhoe, and some chooks. There was a label for Chukar Partridge, but none were visible. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/white-peafowl-134174/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/pheasantry-134164/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/silver-pheasants-134172/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/lady-amherst-pheasant-134156/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/swinhoes-pheasant-134163/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/chooks-some-sort-134137/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/nepal-kalij-pheasant-134161/ Another row of aviaries, again looking very ‘backyard’, housed a number of commonly kept species – Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Galahs, Canaries, Zebra Finches, Peach-faced Lovebirds (incl. mutations), Little Corella, Ring-necked Parrot (green and lutino), Blue Princess Parrots, Eastern Rosella (normals and mutations) , Red-rumped Parrots (mutations), Rainbow and Red-collared Lorikeets. And at the end was the gazebo with the Guinea Pig Castle. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/row-aviaries-134169/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/cockatoo-cage-134187/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/canary-cage-134185/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/canaries-134184/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/blue-princess-parrots-134134/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/eastern-rosellas-134180/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/zebra-finches-134176/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/red-rumped-parrot-134188/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/label-134154/ However, right next to these mediocre aviaries is an enormous walk-through free flight aviary, a very recent addition to the zoo. And next to its entrance are some new aviaries under construction. Each one is decent size, roughly square in shape (as opposed to long a rectangular), and is being constructed of square metal pipe with 1in x 1/2in mesh. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/new-aviaries-under-construction-134159/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/new-aviaries-under-construction-134160/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/free-flight-aviary-exterior-view-134151/ As you walk through the air-lock of the walk-through aviary there is a smaller aviary with an attached cage and a sign – rather disheartening. But I forgot about that sight as soon as I walked into the main aviary itself. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/aviary-entrance-notice-134170/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/donated-birds-134131/ The aviary is quite tall, has established trees and LOTS of thick, lush and, in some areas, dense vegetation (remember, this is next to the Botanic Gardens). There’s an elevated walkway and viewing platform so you can see the birds at their level up in the trees. And there are heaps of birds. Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Princess Parrots, Regent Parrots, Emerald Doves, Diamond Doves, Bar-shouldered Doves, Wonga Pigeons, Double-bar Finches, Painted Finches and Blue-faced Parrrotfinches. I even glimpsed a female Satin Bowerbird. Disappointingly, the large colony of Zebra Finches (several dozen) and flock of Cockatiels (couple of dozen) are mostly mutations. In one of my photos there was a mutation budgie, and I saw a pair of mutation King Quail and at least one Cuban Finch. As I said, for a Zoo tragic like myself, this was disappointing, but apart from these little anomalies, the aviary is brilliant. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/interior-walkthrough-aviary-134150/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/interior-walkthrough-aviary-134149/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/nestlog-134158/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/princess-regent-parrot-134165/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/rainbow-lorikeet-134183/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/rainbow-lorikeets-inspecting-possible-home-134182/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/zebra-finches-134177/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/zebra-finches-134178/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/finches-134148/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/doublebar-finch-134142/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/flock-cockatiels-134186/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/flock-cockatiels-134139/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/cockatiel-male-134140/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/wonga-pigeon-134175/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/barshouldered-dove-134132/ While in the aviary it started to rain again so I left the zoo, hurrying past the farmyard I didn’t go in, but stopped to photograph the exit which was flooded. http://www.zoochat.com/1209/farmyard-area-134127/ http://www.zoochat.com/1209/exit-underwater-134124/ Because of the heavy rains I opted not to go on to Cocoparra and instead spent the night in Wagga Wagga. Good choice too as it was particularly heavy after dark and raining until well after midnight. The following morning the sun was shining and there was clear blue skies, so I decided to head back to the zoo before leaving for Mildura. I wanted to take more photos in the walkthrough aviary, preferably of birds in the sun, and not rain. So imagine my disappointment when I found the aviary locked! By stalking around the aviary I found a council worker wheel-barrowing hay up to the donkeys; he said the aviary would not be open at all because one of the large peppercorn trees in the aviary had come down in the night. I viewed the aviary from the outside for a few more minutes, quickly looked at the farmyard area (donkey, calf, chooks and bantams, rabbits, pig, domestic pigeons), and then left for Mildura. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Wagga Wagga Botanical Gardens Zoo is very small and would probably be a disappointing visit for ZooChatters considering its location and the effort required to get there (407 kms and 4 hrs driving from my home in SW Sydney). Having said that, ZooChatters that like birds will just love the walk-through aviary – if it wasn’t for the weather I could have easily spent well over an hour in there. Hopefully there will be further new developments along similar lines that will give the zoo a more modern and up-to-date look. After considering the mutation cockatiels and zebra finches in the big aviary, I realised I may have been a little hasty in my assessment. There were certainly normal cockatiels and normal zebra finches in the aviary. And in such a brilliant environment they would need no encouragement to breed – indeed, I saw several Zebra Finch nests and lots of nest-building activity. Considering that in both species mutations are rife, it is inevitable they appeared. Despite my personal opinion, it is very important to remember that for the people of Wagga Wagga, especially the children, this may be the only place they get to see some of these animals up close and is therefore a valuable educational asset to the community. As always, the above review is my personal opinion only. I would encourage anyone to visit the zoo themselves if the opportunity presents itself, so they can form their own opinions (and hopefully post their own review). Hix
Thanks for your review. It has been about 5 years since I was there, and at that time I thought this zoo could be at the tipping point. It is good that they are building a future, and the new aviaries look very nice. Wagga is not much of a detour for anybody driving from Melbourne to Sydney, or for that matter Melbourne to Brisbane (or Dubbo!).
When I stopped there on my way to Adelaide for Christmas, I was actually pleasantly surprised - I was expecting something much worse based on comments I had read on here. I especially enjoyed the walk-through aviary (I'm not an expert on bird species, I just enjoyed the layout and photo opportunities). I'm about 10 months behind in uploading photos to the galleries ... once I get caught up with my other work I have to do on this site (new galleries anyone?) ... I'll try and get around to uploading some photos - I took quite a few at Wagga.
It sounds like a few small changes have been made in the few months since I was there. The main aviary was relatively empty when I visited and the various macropod and hoofstock pens barren and dry. I believe I did say at the time that there was nothing insurmountable about the problems I felt there were. Hix, did the pheasant aviaries still have the wired-off section in the corners? When I was there, there were about three of these "enclosures" which consisted of wire being shoved into the cage. Each gave about 3 square feet of living space to the bird/s inside, and one of them had been poorly cut so that it could have impaled a startled bird. The other enclosure that irritated me was the barbeque shelter (or something) that had been converted into the budgie/cockatiel aviaries, because they lacked access to natural light. Also the drop-box for donated birds!
Well, the main aviary is chock-full of birds now. As Sim said, a great place for photos (when it's not raining). There were some bits of wire added in some of the pheasant aviaries, but I have no idea what they were meant for. As for the BBQ Shelter, I'm sure it was some sort of house (or maybe an office) as it has an actual front door (with panels replaced by wire) as the door into the aviary. Looks like an old wood-fired heater inside (see the Reeve's Pheasant photo). As for the drop-box for donated birds, I think it's a sad thing that such a service is required. Jakari: I visited Bredl's Wonderworld of Wildlife today (check out the gallery) The plan: tomorrow I'm going to Dundee's Fauna Park and Monarto, after that Adelaide and the Pandas, Cleland, Warrawong, Gorge and Humbug Scrub. Then I'm going down to Kangaroo island for a few days (including Parndarna), then to Victor Harbour (and Urumbirra). After that I'll be coming home and may do some touristy things instead. Hix
Believe it or not I actually planned to go to Bredl's today (I'm back in Adelaide for a wedding) but other plans took priority.
I had to go to Wagga on Thursday and Friday last week and had time to kill. After I dropped my daughter off I went and found the zoo and had a quick look. After I picked my daughter up in the afternoon we went back and spent more time having a good look around. I noticed there was no female with the male Lady Amherst Pheasant and later when talking to the manager I asked if they wanted one as I have 3 and one male. He accepted so on Friday I brought one up. I went back again on Friday afternoon after picking up my daughter to see how the female was settling. The old Pheasantry is currently being worked on and all the pheasants are in the new very good, well vegetated aviaries. The large walk through aviary was very good with many species of parrot previously mentioned, as well as Zebra finches and several dove species. I saw several Emerald doves which I had not seen before. There was also 3 Whistling ducks and a pair of Mandarin Ducks which were very hard to spot. The aviary is so big with so much cover it appears understocked, but there are a lot of birds in there and probably species I did not see. I was able to ask more questions about the zoo. They are currently reducing the number of Grey and Red Roos. They are limited as to what they can keep as they are broken into and have animals stolen almost every month. Many of the aviaries and the Guinea pig cage have patches where they have been repaired after break ins. For a free council run zoo I think it is quite good. Species such as Guinea Pigs are not usually in zoos, but they are popular with kids, as are the chooks, Rabbits, Alpacas and Donkeys.
Disappointing that they are regularly burgled. I haven't had an opportunity to return sinc3e my initial visit last year, but at the recent Sydney meetup both Sim and nrg800 said they had been recently and they too loved the walkthrough aviary. I'm just a little disappointed that it was overcast and rainy when I visited, but I may get back there sometime next year. Hix
that's a mutation of a ringneck pheasant, not a green pheasant sorry. The head and neck is a similar colour to a green pheasant, but the body's just a mess. It is sad to hear that the zoo gets animals stolen at least every month. I blame the students!
That budgie/cockatiel enclosure has been like that for 20 odd years. I grew up in Wagga until I was 10, and it was like that when I left.
The definitions tend to be flexible to some degree, but for me the most simplistic answer is: A wildlife park (or fauna park) houses native species, and maybe some domestics. A zoo usually has a variety of exotics as well as natives. I used the word 'zoo' in relation to this facility because that is what it was called. Hix
