Really great zoo however take in to account on a very hot day that many of the animals will be sleeping or hiding inside their enclosures. Don't forget sunblock water and a snack as the snacks at the shop can be quite expensive. Just be aware, entry price is quite high at $25 per adult.
Taken children to zoo Labour Weekend... quite pricey yet staff didn't disclose majority of enclosures were empty!! Hadn't been to zoo for about 4yrs, there was plenty of animals of all kind.
Such a disappointment, waste of time & money...
Animals are amazing and great to see species in which we can t see overseas. Compared to other zoos not much to see. Good day out with the family though :)
It's one of the few places in NZ where you can see the Kiwi Bird. I am not a zoo fan, but this place is cute, animals are treated nice and is fun to walk around for kids and adults too.
It was really awfull half of the animals weren't even there.
Beautiful and fun! Excellent structure. I great program for family and a group of friends.
The hills will kill your legs, be warned! Loved the monkeys and giraffes. Saw everything and fed some animals and were done in 2 hours.
Love this zoo so much, been coming here for years as a local, only critique would be it's not very accessible for those with physical disabilities as its built into a hill
Great friendly staff, outstanding experience with the meerkats. Highly recommend.
The animal enclosures and the grounds are beautiful. The animals are cool, but go on a nice day. Many were hiding out of the wind
Meh not exciting at all, not worth the price, never see the lions,tiger,sunbears etc. Needs a make over an more exciting animals. Get more fun on a farm.
My favourite part was the oz enclosure .you got to get up close with the kangaroos and emu.
Great for the kids. Possibly the worst cafe in Wellington though!
Amazing and peaceful. Animals look very well (if possible) treated.
Great spot for families and city visitors! My partner and I got in early and we re lucky enough to see a few of the early feedings for Meerkats and Otters.
Recommend good walking shoes.
Staff were friendly, and the cafe was a little expensive but expected.
Toilets were clean.
All around a very good experience.
Some large animals have very little room, but all seem well cared for. Very hilly so unsuitable if you are disabled at all.
Wellington zoo has put to death four male baboons because they
were fighting one and other. This report is filled with how bad
the zoo staff claim to feel about the situation, but in my eye
it does not all stack up. The report claims the four male
baboons were the only baboons at the zoo. That's interesting
because last time I went to the zoo in 2012 they had between 20
and 30 baboons. What happened to the rest of them?
Another point is having four males with no females might just
have contributed to the aggressive behavior? I'm no ape expert,
but they are a lot like us and experience demonstrates if one
locks up a bunch of guys together with zero female company, the
testosterone does tend to kick in in the form of male
aggression, ask any man who's been to jail and they will agree
on that point.
I do not see why these guys could not placed in seperate
temporary enclosures until a better solution was found, like
maybe getting some female baboons in to keep them company.
Zoo CEO Karen Fifield strikes me as a very self assured
individual, she's closely connected with globalism and promotes
keeping Cats indoors in the media. She has a stack of
qualifications, but not a whole lot of common sense. There is
also the matter of companion Cats killed in and around the zoo
which we are still looking into. Our view is claims the Cats let
themselves into animal enclosures and were killed is very likely
a lie on the part of Karen Fifield and the chances are the Cats
killed fell victim to traps set outside of the main zoo fence on
reserve land as part of WCC's 'native biodiversity' program.
We also note one of the speakers at the last NZCAC conference Dr
Ngaio Beausoleil is quoted in the article and states she is a
member of the zoo animal welfare committee.
Big thumbs down to the folks at the zoo for this gross error of
judgement on their part, in our view their actions amount
anything but effective animal management. All of this business
is worthy of closer investigation.
Great value family pass for 5 only $78 kids loved it about 2hrs to see everything most animals were out to see
This is an awesome place to take your kids make sure though if you do make it in the morning or check to schedule online for the animals you would like to see
Awesome place! It's great how close you get to the animals as well. A visit is great value for money, I highly recommend it.
Great zoo. Been through a few times now and a really nice environment with lots of interesting animals. Amazing to get so close to a kiwi too
The Zoo is very nice, but don't eat the food at the entrance Cafe, the lentil soup was awful.
Went on a Friday to avoid crowds (social distance win!) and it was great, I was disappointed cause I didn t get to see the otters or the penguins but there were loads of monkeys and kunekune pigs and other adorable critters so I wasn t sad for long! Great was to spend a day.
Awesome place to go during cheap days as the usual prices are out of reach for most Students. Zoo is really well laid out and its easy enough to walk a loop and not miss anything. Staff are always friendly and the animal enrichment and daily encounters really bring it to life.
Beautiful grounds, great layout. Clean, vibrant, educational and fun for whole family.
Thank you very much!
Adventure-like zoo!
I enjoyed it.
It was fantastic...lovely helpful staff and all the animals put on a great display for us...thoroughly enjoyed it
Awesome but the que at the grazing post and the disorganization was crazy majority of enclosures were under construction and half the animals inside
Newton Park is right next to the zoo. Park car under a shady tree and enjoy the moments.
Great for the land they have, good for little ones, went in the afternoon which meant lots of the animals were snoozing
Recommendation to visit the zoo in the morning when the animals are slowly waking up
The cafe is cool as u can watch some of the animals without even going into the zoo. But the zoo it's self it the best little zoo I have been to
Great zoo, really nice staff, surroundings felt really natural and we really liked the up close experiences and lack of glass at the exhibits which allowed for some great photos, not the biggest zoo we have been to, but one of the best.
Shame the red panda didn't want to come out. Other than that it was awesome
Good Zoo, alot of uphill. Not as good as Christchurch or Auckland
Great kiwi house. Never been to a kiwi house where you can get so close to the birds
Small and easy to walk around. Friendly staff. Happy animals.
Awesome overnight sleepover. Thanks to Zak the zookeeper who showed us round.
It is a small but nice zoo. Animals seem to be well looked after. Make sure to take your own food or snacks, the bar is ok but really expesive. Kids will like it very much.
Always enjoyable at the zoo. The meerkat encounter was superb, special thanks to the keeper who was great.
i love visiting the zoo, it was my 1st ever visit to Wellington Zoo
We did the capybara close encounter and it was so much fun! The keepers were friendly and knowledgeable and made sure both human and capybaras were safe throughout the whole encounter. I was slightly disappointed we couldn't touch the capybaras though
Great Zoo for a day trip with the kids, loads of activities to do, has lots of places to sit down to rest, and has food on sale at the kiosk, *Note* lines can be a little long at lunch time, so get there early for a feed :)
Great zoo with cute little otters to greet you right as you enter. Got up close to the giraffe and enjoyed the multiple talks from the handlers. Built on a hill so you'll definitely get a little exercise as you walk back and forth.
I loved it that we've spotted the kiwi. A highlight ood the day. Staff is extremely friendly and they recycle the zoo map by reusing them. Perfect. Parking is free of charge if you are I time.
I just ran into many cages where I did not spot any animal at all. Also, a lot smaller than I expected.
It was great amazing place
Nature We can enjoy whole Wellington lookout from. There
If you live in Wellington with kids, worth just getting the membership
Great place to take the grandees. Lots of educational info. Changes regularly. Loved it.
Awesome zoo with friendly staff and great experiences
I like the hills at this zoo, I have skinny calves so I find the work to get up the hills can only be good. Only bad thing about the zoo, they have not got any hippos, which are my fav. Also bring your whole family, even the ones you don't like, because the lions get hungry, and they have developed a taste for people at this zoo.
Stay for the lion and red panda talks and you get to see the animals pretty close up
Fantastic experience. Went to all animal talks. The rangers were very knowledgeable.
Real friendly staff and enough parking and easy bus route. Completely wheelchair accessible with some steep hills - great for getting a bit of a workout. Plenty of seating and restrooms along the way. They usually have amazing talks on the different animals and regardless of how you feel about the animals being in a zoo, they really create awareness and talk about ways to protect those few who are still fortunate enough to live in their natural habitat in the wild. You can easily be entertained for most part of the day here and there are places you can eat and/or buy lunch. The layout is sensible and practical and there is always something to see. The map they provide you with at the entrance comes in handy too. Totally worth a visit!
Good to see all the animals, great fun,but the grazing post is not great for food, best to bring your own.
While not a large zoo, it is very well organised with a number of animal talks. Thoroughly enjoyed my time here.
Wellington zoo is a great little zoo. We take the kids there regularly for a run around. It's well worth investing in a year round pass if you plan to go more than 4 or 5 times in a year. We usually seen between 1.5-2hrs there. They're continually developing the attractions (we love the Kea enclosure). Take a picnic blanket and some snacks for the kids, there are plenty of places to stop and chill out for a while. Keep an eye out for the talk times, especially feeding the Sumatran tigers... If you're lucky enough you'll get to see them check some of the animals in the vet clinic (x-ray etc).
Enjoyed the zoo as a family outing. Very well kept gardens. Animals look happy. Fair prices. Suggest an app to give more information as we tour the zoo. Well done to the zoo staff!
Great zoo one only a bus ride from the city. A good selection of animals. Theres also a Australia section where some animals roam free. Enjoyed my day there and would visit again.
Small zoo, so you can get through it in a few hours. Nice collection of local fauna, in nice habitats. Able to see kiwi bird and blue penguins.
Too expensive and the animals dont seem to have adequate areas
Great experience, kids had a blast. Too bad the weather was not very good. Most of the animals wanted to stay warm!!
Wellington Zoo: Connecting People with Animals and Saving Wildlife
Wellington Zoo is a world-renowned zoo located in Wellington, New Zealand. It is the world's first carboNZero certified zoo, which means that it has achieved carbon neutrality by reducing its carbon footprint and offsetting any remaining emissions. The zoo is committed to sustainability and conservation, as well as providing an unforgettable experience for visitors.
The mission of Wellington Zoo is to connect people with animals and inspire them to take action to save wildlife. The zoo achieves this through its various exhibits, programs, and events that showcase the diversity of animal life on our planet. Visitors can see over 500 animals from more than 100 species at the zoo, including lions, tigers, giraffes, meerkats, kiwis (New Zealand's national bird), and many more.
One of the unique features of Wellington Zoo is its focus on conservation efforts both within the zoo itself and in the wild. The zoo partners with various organizations around the world to support conservation projects that protect endangered species such as orangutans in Borneo or penguins in Antarctica. In addition to these global initiatives, Wellington Zoo also runs several local programs aimed at protecting native New Zealand wildlife such as tuatara (a type of lizard) or kākāpō (a flightless parrot).
As a charitable trust member of both ZAA (Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia) and WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums), Wellington Zoo operates under strict ethical guidelines for animal welfare. This means that all animals are provided with high-quality care by trained professionals who prioritize their physical health as well as their mental wellbeing.
Visitors can enjoy a range of experiences at Wellington Zoo beyond just viewing animals in their enclosures. There are daily talks given by knowledgeable staff members who share fascinating facts about different species; behind-the-scenes tours where visitors can see how things operate "behind closed doors"; interactive encounters where guests can get up close with some animals; special events like "Zoo After Dark" where visitors can explore the zoo after hours; educational programs for schools or groups; volunteer opportunities for those interested in helping out; plus much more!
In terms of accessibility for visitors with disabilities or special needs - Wellington Zoo strives to be inclusive so everyone can enjoy their visit equally! There are wheelchair-accessible paths throughout most areas of the park along with accessible restrooms available too.
Overall - if you're looking for an unforgettable experience connecting people with animals while supporting conservation efforts worldwide then look no further than Wellington Zoo! With its commitment towards sustainability & environmental responsibility combined alongside amazing exhibits showcasing diverse animal life from around our planet - there truly isn't anything else quite like it anywhere else!
wellingtonzoo.com
