Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Opened in 1977 as the country cousin of Sydney's Taronga Zoo, the Western Plains Zoo uses three hundred hectares of open country to keep large animals in moated paddocks rather than cages, and visitors follow a five-kilometre loop road by car, bicycle, electric cart or on foot. The collection is strongest in African and Asian megafauna, with elephants, black and white rhinoceros, giraffe, hippopotamus, lions and Przewalski's horses, alongside Australian species. The zoo runs significant breeding programmes for endangered species, particularly black rhino. Overnight stays in lodges and tents inside the grounds include after-hours access, and standard tickets are valid across two consecutive days.

History

The idea dates from the late 1960s, when Sydney's Taronga Zoo needed room for large plains animals such as elephants and antelopes that its harbour site could not give them. A former Second World War army camp on the edge of Dubbo was turned into a 300-hectare zoo of woodland and irrigated grassland, and it opened on 28 February 1977 as Western Plains Zoo - the first new zoo built in Australia in 60 years, and an open-range design from the start, with hidden moats in place of walls and fences. It took its present name on 21 January 2008, to point visitors to the work of the Taronga Conservation Society that runs both zoos (Wikipedia, Taronga Western Plains Zoo).

What you'll find

• The open-range paddocks - large animals in moated enclosures along the loop.
• The rhino programme - black and white rhinoceros in a long-running breeding effort.
• The five-kilometre circuit - driven, cycled or walked at your own pace.
• The overnight lodges - accommodation inside the grounds with after-hours access.

When to go

April to October for comfortable temperatures; Dubbo summers regularly exceed thirty-five degrees, and animals and visitors alike retreat to shade. Early morning is the most active period. School holidays are busy and cart hire books out.

Before you go

The circuit is long and walking it fully takes most of a day in open sun. Cart and bike hire adds significantly to the cost. In hot weather many animals are inactive and hard to see. Dubbo is a four-hour drive from Sydney.

Nearby

Dubbo's Old Dubbo Gaol is in town; the Warrumbungles lie northeast.

Key facts