Entry to Auckland Zoo is quite expensive (adult single day pass is $24 – reduced while they revamp their South East Asia precinct). If you can afford it, however, I highly recommend it. I recently visited the zoo with my brother and his girlfriend, and we saved $29 by presenting my student ID card (I’m no longer studying but the card hasn’t expired) and an entertainment book voucher.
We started by visiting the otters (sooooo cute) and the Australian animals. We spent a lot of our time looking at the various monkeys and cats, but only looked briefly at the birds and other non-mammals. Here are some of the photos I took. Enjoy!
Make the most of your visit
Avoid weekends: the weekend is when all the parents take their kids out. As a result, the zoo can feel a bit noisy and overrun by small children. We went on a Saturday and there were a lot of children. Despite watching our path so we didn’t trample anyone, my brother still had a toddler crash into his legs.
Take your own lunch: the zoo has several places where you can buy food. However, the prices are horrendous (we paid $12 for two pottles of chips to share between us – very good chips, but so expensive that we went to McDonalds for a proper lunch after we were done).
Try for fine weather: most of the zoo is outside, and while there is plenty of shade, much of it is under trees and entirely unsuitable for shelter from rain. The day we went was mostly sunny but cold and very windy.
Auckland Zoo recommends that you start with the African animals, followed by New Zealand and South America on a loop around the zoo. Alternatively, you can start with the South East Asian and Australian animals. I’ve done it both ways and neither seems any better than the other.
