Taronga Zoo and Vivid Afloat dinner cruise
My Ninang Chel and Ate T (my godmothers) arrived today from San Francisco! After they freshened up, we met up with them and went to the Taronga Zoo which is across Sydney Harbour. We took the ferry to the other side of the harbor and took a cable car up to the top to get to the entrance of the zoo. We had a great view of Sydney from the water and then high above from the cable car.
I was so excited that my mom included the zoo in our itinerary despite me being the only kid on this trip. We saw a lot of different animals but my favorites were the kangaroo and the koala. I think the adults enjoyed the zoo just as much as I did. If you decide to go, even if you’re not traveling with kids like me, I would still suggest taking the trip to see it. It costs around $50AUD for adults and about $30 for kids and I would suggest you buy your zoo tickets in advance or when you purchase your ferry ticket so you can ride the cable car to the entrance. Ninang Chel, Ate T and Tito Jech did not purchase their zoo tickets with the ferry tickets so instead of taking the cable car, they took the bus to get to the top. My parents, Ninang Jamie and I bought our zoo tickets at the ferry station in Circular Quay. Everyone takes the cable car to head back down to the ferry dock but I would rather ride on the cable car than a bus. =)
You can see more of our trip to Taronga Zoo on my Youtube Channel, TravelKid Michelle or watch the video below.
The rain started to pour after we got back from the zoo which was unfortunate because we had a dinner cruise planned (called Vivid Afloat) that evening so we can see the vivid lights while sailing on the water. It rained really hard so the water was choppy, and the boat staff had to cover the windows with plastic. Although it was clear plastic, it was dotted with droplets of water which makes for zero visibility.
What was worse was the food. It was absolutely, positively inedible! I don’t remember having been served a meal worse than the one we had on this boat. I’m a picky eater (kids are, in general) but even the adults took one bite of their food and then said, "well, I’m looking forward to getting back on land and getting something else.” The boat was also packed; there were not enough chairs for everyone. The whole experience was just horrible! If you’re in Sydney for the Vivid Festival, skip the dinner cruise and just walk around Circular Quay or around the city for your dose of Vivid lights. The Vivid Afloat dinner cruise is Travel Kid DENIED!
Although we failed to see Vivid from the water, our hotel was located near Darling Harbour and we were able to see some of the lights from our hotel balcony.
On the next post, will be about our 2 rainy days in Sydney. Not the best when you're on vacation, but always make the most of the situation and keep a positive attitude. Until next time!