Sydney 2011: Australian Reptile Park

On our way back from Umina to Sydney, we made a stop by the Australian Reptile Park. This park was well-rated in the reviews I had read online and it was therefore one of the must-gos on my itinerary.

Unfortunately, the weather was wet and cold on the day we wanted to go. It continued to be wet and rainy for the rest of the time we were in Australia so it was not as if it would have made a difference if we went another day anyway. The sky was grey and it was threatening to pour when we arrived, but we decided to go ahead since we were already there. It started to rain shortly into our visit but we were glad we went. It is a rather well-maintained park with quite a bit to see.

 The keeper, baiting the crocodile out of the water. The croc is Elvis, NSW's largest crocodile, and it was huge! 

Shudder.

 Noey really wasn't keen on going too near. 

 Alligators that lurk below the surface in the big pond they have on-site. We counted at least 6? It was actually quite creepy seeing them glide noiselessly through the water. Sometimes you barely see them till they're up close.

Little sleeping Tasmanian Devil.

 The Tasmanian Devil wondering about the little Singapore version, terrorising her grandfather. 

 Beautiful Dingoes.

 Where to, Little Wombat?

 A Cassowary (they roam free) deciding on lunch.

 Getting up close with a Mama kangaroo and her joey in her pouch.

 A family pic! Might be our only one. In front of the entrance to the Lost World of Reptiles.

When it was pouring, we were glad that there were a number of indoor exhibits for us to visit. The Lost World of Reptiles was particularly impressive, both in its size as well as the type of exhibits they had.

A large and rather scary looking Perentie, Australia's largest lizard.

 Magnificent Tree Frog. Yes, that is actually it's name. I know this is not a reptile, but it was housed together with them! 

There was also Spider World, which featured, yes, spiders. There was a section with a number of huge tarantulas that was really rather freaky. Viewing it was like viewing a train wreck - I couldn't tear my eyes off the sight even as I couldn't bear to look. Noey was scared off by the giant mechanised spider which started speaking when you entered the chamber and refused to stay inside, so we only got a short look at this.

The cold started to get a bit much for the kids so we bundled them back into the car and headed off shortly before lunch. It was too much for Naomi, and she knocked out in the car. Unfortunately I think the rain that day caused her to catch a chill and she started having a pretty bad cold from that day. Sigh. To think we were in Sydney in Summer!

The rain aside, the Australian Reptile Park is quite worth a visit if you're in the Central Coast. There were plenty of live shows and talks where you could get up close and personal with the animals. The picnic grounds also looked like it would be a lovely spot for lunch on a nice day. Maybe we'll be back again the next time we're in Sydney. 

Knocked out!