9:45am – Time to check out my favourites, the African Lions! Here, I like to sit down on the bench and take my time with Jelani, Makeba and Uzuri. Sometimes they sit right up against the glass, or if you can’t find one on first glance, double check that each ‘rock’ doesn’t have a fluffy mane and tail.

10:30am – After enjoying some quiet time with the lions, it’s time to say hello to the Southern White Rhinos. It’s a nice, shaded area, so I’ll sit down and have a snack break while watching the rhino enjoy his hay or if it’s warm, he’ll be splashing about in the mud bath.

11:00am – Onto Spotted Hyaenas. These two boys like to take advantage of the shadiest parts of their habitat. My top tip: keep an eye out for the flick of a tail or twitch of an ear at the very back!

11:30am – Head up to the giraffe hut. Here, I take another little break to just sit down and enjoy watching the giraffe herd eat from the tall trees.

12:00pm – Next onto the Meerkats! These guys are always an absolute crowd-pleaser. Check if you can spot which meerkat is on sentry duty.

12:30pm – I finish up my perfect morning in the African Savannah by ducking to the vending machines, grabbing a sweet treat and watching the slow antics of the Galapagos Tortoises.

11:00am – Made it to the boardwalk, ready to listen to the zoo keeper. Keeper Talks are one of my favourite parts of a Zoo visit because they are super informative. For orangutans, you can learn a lot about their interesting behaviours and how you can make small, easy changes to help them in the wild.

11:15am – The talk runs for about 15 minutes, and afterwards I spend some time watching the orangutans. They are great at building nests, so often I like to look up into the tall enclosure and watch them build or hide in the various materials. Often they are exhibiting cool behaviours that the zoo keeper has just talked about – like using tools to problem solve.

11:30am – Now onto probably my favourite part of the Zoo, the Primate Trail! My best tip for the Primate Trail: It’s best to walk through slowly and quietly so the animals don’t retreat into a hiding place. And listen very closely! A lot of the little monkeys are very vocal and chatty, so sometimes you’ll hear them before you see them.

Normally, the primate trail animals get a feed in the morning, so I always check the feeding platforms to watch them munching away on snacks. The marmosets are adorable when they eat!

We have a family of four Black-and-White Ruffed Lemurs, they love to rest and chill in the trees and hammocks. But if you stick around long enough you’ll see they have moments of big energy, they can be very loud and vocal – lots of fun to watch!

Tufted Capuchins are super active and can even use their tails to grip and balance as they run across the ropes at the top of the exhibit. I could go on about the primates forever… can you tell this is my favourite part of the Zoo?!

12:15pm – Now, onto Amazonia for Squirrel Monkeys! This group is so active and so much fun to watch. My best tip? Look up! The monkeys are always running through the overhead tunnels to keep you on your toes.

12:30pm – I end my perfect primate day with a walk back past the orangutans and up to visit to the Javan Gibbons at the top of the Zoo.

9:40am – Now head up the boardwalk to say hello to the Javan Gibbons. Gibbons are a lot of fun to watch, and in this habitat they sometimes come right up to the glass.

10:00am – Time for the Bull Elephant Talk. Keeper talks are one of the best ways to see an animal getting active, and to learn some insider knowledge about our animals and how we work to conserve them.

10:30am – Now, over to some of my favourites: the Sun Bears! Here, I like to sit down and just take my time watching them climb trees or tackle an enrichment puzzle. When you spend time watching them, it becomes easier to tell them apart – my easiest tip is to look for Bopha’s pink nose!

10:50am – Now it’s time for the otters. As you walk towards the exhibit, see if you can hear their little squeaks! The otters get fed about four times a day because they’re super active, so if you’re hopefully you’ll catch them enjoying a meal.

11:20am – Next up is Komodo Dragon, Raja. He’s incredible to see up close, and often he’ll be right at the window underneath his heating lamp. Look extra closely if you can’t see him straight away, his scaly skin can blend into his surroundings.

11:40am – Now it’s time to head down to the Sumatran Tiger habitat and play a game of hide and seek with Jaya. He is the king of camouflage and even as his zookeeper, it takes me a few minutes of searching to find him!.

12:00pm – What a morning! I finish up the Asian Rainforest visit by grabbing a snack from the vending machines and sitting down in the Elephant amphitheatre. It’s the perfect spot to chill out under the trees.

9:30am – Just behind one of the cutest animals in the Zoo, you’ll find one of our most powerful – the cassowaries! These big birds are one of the closest living relatives to dinosaurs and are incredible to see up close. Their bright colours are just amazing.

9:45am – Into the bushwalk! There’s plenty of free-roaming wildlife through this immersive arid exhibit. Walk slowly and quietly and you’ll notice plenty of kangaroos lounging in the sun or hopping along the paths, and the smaller wallabies having a munch on some leafy browse.

After a loop of the bushwalk, I’m ready to see crocodile, Dangalabba.

(Psst – don’t forget to come back to the bushwalk after lunch at 2:15pm to catch the free keeper talks!)

10:30am – Now we’re going to head back to see our Estuarine Crocodile. He’s likely to be lurking in his pool, but also keep an eye out for him in any patches of warm sunshine.

11:00am – Onto the wetlands!

11:15am – Phew - made it to the free Keeper Talk on Little Penguins! This is one of the most popular talks in the Zoo and is always super busy. I love watching the penguins swim around before they get a fishy snack.

In this habitat, you’ll also notice terns flying around and zooming down to pick up any fish that the penguins miss. These birds are super fast!

11:35am – After that penguin fun, time to go to the Australian Reptile Encounter next door. The reptiles have a lot more personality than people give them credit for so make sure you have a good look through each habitat.

12:00pm – What a morning! I’ve certainly worked up an appetite for lunch.