Auckland Zoo

Spanning some 17 hectares and featuring scores of species of animals from all over the world, the Auckland Zoo is home to white rhinos, Sumatran tigers and many other creatures in life-like habitats that capture the richness and scale of life all across planet Earth.

With as many as 1,000 animals living inside the zoo, you should try to plan your visit around Animal Encounters, a series of scheduled sessions with the zoo keepers. There are between 5 and 10 sessions every day, each offering the chance to find out about the animals and how they are handled. You may even get the chance to help feed them. Pick up a timetable along with your zoo map when you come through the main entrance.

Admire the giraffes, ostriches and zebras on the savannah from one of the viewing platforms. Here you’ll also find the zoo’s pride of lions in their own hilltop habitat. Nearby, there’s the elephant habitat, where you can watch the antics of the Asian variety of the pachyderm.

Head for the Te Wao Nui area of the zoo where there’s more information on New Zealand’s wildlife, with displays on the ecosystems of the North and South islands. In the Night Habitat, see the country’s enigmatic bird, the kiwi, along with native bats and the giant weta.

The zoo’s medical centre has a viewing gallery where you can see vets and researchers hard at work. You can see them carrying out operations and treating the animals right there and then.

Just eight minutes away from downtown by car, Auckland Zoo is open every day except for Christmas Day, opening late every Wednesday evening in February and March. If you’re driving, there are two large on-site paid car parks available. Buses are available to take you from downtown Auckland to the zoo’s entrance.