The Auckland Zoo

7-Jul-2011 • Auckland New Zealand

It was nearly 3 pm when we arrived and we had the zoo practically to ourselves. I must say, I enjoyed myself there. I didn't realize that it was just the first of two zoos we were going to visit on our trip to New Zealand and Australia. Besides, I do think it is a must to visit zoos when one comes to Oceania to see the varieties of animals that live there and nowhere else.

We saw many birds in a park walking about without any fear of people. We took this picture close range and unlike many birds which would have flown very quickly at the sight of cameras and the clicking sounds that cameras made, this bird just went on walking right beside us without any care in the world. I wish I knew what kind of bird it was.

Black swans swimming in a pond in the park we walked through to get to the Auckland Zoo.

Wild ducks and chickens at the park next to the zoo. I swear it felt like we were already in the zoo given all the wild birds walking about practically everywhere. It was cute!

Wild chickens in wintry Auckland

A rooster in the park next to the zoo. I truly find it funny to see such animals in the place where they were because in the US you will be hard pressed to see them in public places. Hawaii was the only place where I saw chickens roaming about in the wild.

This lizard welcomes you to the Auckland Zoo. You will see it right away as you get close to the ticket booth as its size is enormous.

This Sumatran tiger was the first animal we got to see as soon as we entered the zoo. It attracted the most visitors while we were there.

Here's another shot of the Sumatran Tiger as it continued to gnaw on the rubber buoy inside its cage

Another Sumatran tiger in the Auckland Zoo. Unlike its fellow Sumatran who was bent on gnawing the buoy in the pond, this one opted to just walk around.

Just look at his very cute emu (pronounced ee-myuh by Kiwis and Ozzies)

I must confess, I was totally scared of this huge bird at first. I actually just stayed by the entrance of the area where they were housed. I remember telling Marc that I wasn't going in. They walked around freely in a huge corral and visitors could walk right up next to them. After a few minutes, I did give in and went inside. These birds turned out to be absolutely harmless.

Another emu at the open air corral inside the Auckland Zoo

A partial view of the corral where the emus roamed together with some peacocks

Here's one the of several peacocks sharing the corral with emus inside the Auckland Zoo

Two Red Tailed Black Cockatoos

There were so many kinds of birds in the Auckland Zoo, you could easily spend an hour touring just this section. Here are some more of the birds we saw.

Another type of cockatoo

There were hundreds of Spider Monkeys in the Auckland Zoo. They loved hanging on to the ropes that crissed crossed their open air enclosure. These are just three of the very many.