Surely there’s no better way to start a day than with a tour of WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo before opening, followed by sharing breakfast with the koalas on the rooftop terrace. WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo is conveniently located in Darling Harbour in Sydney’s CBD and is a great spot to meet some of Australia’s most famous residents up close, without even leaving the city.
Breakfast with the koalas at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo
As the name suggests, the main attraction for this activity is having breakfast with the koalas but there’s so much more to this adventure. We met a group of fellow animal lovers at 7.30am at the entrance to WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo. We were then split into two groups with a zoo keeper taking each group for the tour.
Like humans, it would seem some of WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo’s residents are morning people and others are just not keen on early morning visitors. Princess the Cassowary was bright eyed, the kangaroos were keenly supervising the cleaning of their enclosure and the reptiles seemed unfazed by us peering in during the early hours. The Tasmanian Devils however were the sensible ones, they stayed huddled in their burrow and despite the keeper’s best bright voice calling them by name, they were having none of it, which I kind of loved. I wish I could ignore my early morning wake up alarm named Braeden but he doesn’t have a snooze button.
It’s always wonderful touring with zookeepers as they have such a wealth of information to share and know the personalities of the various animals and are keen to share everything with guest’s eager ears. One of the fun facts we learnt is that Princess is in fact a male Cassowary.
You’ll have to visit WILD LIFE Sydney to find out how he got his name.
Of course all that learning leads to big appetites so it’s good there’s a hearty buffet breakfast at the end of the tour.
A cooked breakfast awaited us with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans. Everything was hot and tasty.
Toast is also available for guests to cook to their liking.
Fruit salad, tea, coffee and juice is also provided.
The koalas are fairly predictable with their breakfast choice with fresh eucalyptus leaves a permanent fixture on their menu.
Wheelchair accessibility at breakfast with the Koalas at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo
Wheelchair accessibility at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo is excellent throughout. There is one ramp at the start of the attraction which requires a bit of muscle power for manual wheelchair users but then it’s easy wheeling throughout.
Windows to the animal enclosures are mostly floor to ceiling or extremely large making for easy viewing for everyone.
There are stairs and a lift provided for access to the koala rooftop enclosure.
Once on the rooftop there’s plenty of room between tables to circulate with a wheelchair and the breakfast buffet is at a good height for a wheelchair user. A photo with a koala is included with the experience and access within the koala enclosure is step-free and easy with a wheelchair. Keep in mind that in NSW you cannot hold a koala so the photo will be of the koala in the tree behind you.
A unisex stand-alone accessible bathroom is available about half-way through the zoo and another is available near the exit.
You can read more about accessibility and download a visual story can be downloaded from the WILD LIFE Sydney website.
If you are a Sydney-sider looking for a unique wheelchair accessible activity, or if you are a visitor from overseas, this is a really lovely start to any day in our gorgeous city. Sharing WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo with just a small group of eager early bird guests, having a zookeeper as a guide and with a finale of a satisfying breakfast and a cute koala pic to take home, this is definitely something to put on your wish-list. It would also make a great gift.
We were hosted by WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo but as many of you will know, Braeden is a regular visitor with his annual Merlin Pass.
You can read more about the Breakfast with the Koalas experience on the WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo website.
