It’s pitch black outside, and oh so quiet, but we alight from our camouflaged safari truck bravely, putting all our trust in Trinity, our expert guide. She is leading us, single file under trees and through scrubby ground cover, via a glowing infra-red headlamp, on a night safari to find lions.

“Come on Meerkats”, she calls to us as we catch up to the group disappearing into the darkness. ‘Meerkat’ is the name of the accommodation we checked into earlier this afternoon, and it is also the moniker given to us for the duration of our stay here at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

‘The Meerkat’ is a luxurious tent-style Lodge positioned on the edge of an open Savannah plain, upon which an assortment of animals roam free. 

Our lodge boasts a decadent canopy bed, a huge bathroom with deep soaking bath, a mini bar, and a large viewing deck reminiscent of an African safari lodge. In fact, we are staying in what is called an ‘Animal View’ Zoofari Lodge, a name completely justified as soon as you set foot on its deck.

In front of our tent roam giraffes, rhinos, zebras, impala, eland and even a rogue ostrich with an unusual penchant for a certain giraffe! Animals are everywhere and all we can say is ‘Wow!’ over and over and over!

The Zoofari Lodge complex sits just past the actual Western Plains Zoo entrance, and on arrival we are given our itinerary for the next 24 hours and shown to our Meerkat Lodge. We immediately settle onto the deck and watch the insanely African, wildlife scene before us. We are in love!

We spend an hour taking numerous photos of the freely roaming animals, then head off to Cocktail Hour at the Lodge Guest House, overlooking the pool area. Here we meet some of the other guests and enjoy a visit and tail display by resident peacock ‘George’. 

On the dot of 4.45pm, as per our itinerary, we are whisked off on our first animal encounter, a carrot feeding session with the beautiful giraffes we have been ogling from our deck since we arrived. We entice them over to us with a drum full of carrots and they graciously oblige by sauntering over to our feeding station when called. It is a surreal experience. These bad boys are so tall and gentle, it’s hard to believe they could kill you with one swift kick.

Afterwards, back at the Lodge House, we enjoy an authentic African-inspired dinner served to us by our attentive, multitasking guides. We are building strength for the highlight of our night, that trek through the dark, dark night I mentioned earlier…

We follow Trinity’s infra-red headlamp, looking for those elusive lions. We reach the relative safety of a chain link fence where we stop and wait. Trinity calls out loudly into the darkness, the only sound piercing it, but there is no guarantee any lions will come, or even care about who is trespassing on their domain.

Suddenly, a shape appears out of the gloom and into the red spotlight in front of us. It’s a male lion! Regal, powerful and enviably agile. He leaps towards the fence, almost playfully, then shakes his unruly mane and turns to chase a female who has appeared above him on a rocky outcrop. The gasps from our group are audible, involuntary and excited. The night safari is a success!

Our overnight stay at Zoofari Lodge also includes a line up of other after zoo hours activities and back of house tours, as well as dinner, breakfast, free zoo entry for two days, and free bicycle hire to get around. After watching the lions, we head back to ‘Meerkat’, for a well-deserved rest, excited for what new delights tomorrow’s activities will bring.

After a sublime sleep in our comfy canvas abode, we awake to the sound of an elephant trumpeting in the distance. We jump up, and ready ourselves for our next activity, a 7.15am pre-opening visit to the zoo.

We are treated to a personal keeper talk while watching a white rhino, and then a mother and son black rhino, chow down on their branchy breakfasts. We learn about the differences between these two magnificent breeds, their unique characteristics, and their zoo histories.

At our next stop we witness the delightful morning bathing ritual of the elephants. Bath time is one routine elephants love. Not only does it bring the animals and carers closer together, it also gives keepers the opportunity to carry out regular checks and maintenance on their enormous charges. It is fascinating to watch the elephant offer its feet up to the keeper to be washed, and open his cavernous mouth to have its teeth rinsed!

All this, and before breakfast too! We head back to the Lodge House for a leisurely bacon and eggs and coffee, before checking out at 10am.

We spend the rest of the day exploring the zoo during its regular opening hours, watching feedings, attending keeper talks and wandering the many other exhibits in this expansive 300 hectare natural habitat zoo. Unlike the other visitors to the zoo however, we hold a special secret….

We are Meerkats! We have slept in a tent on the savannah, we’ve fed carrots to giraffes and watched rhinos enjoy a hearty breakfast. We’ve witnessed the intimate ritual of elephants bathing, and have bravely hunted for lions after dark….

We’ve been on Zoofari!

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Before You Go:

• For more info visit Taronga Western Plains Zoo

• For more about Zoo accommodation visit Zoofari Lodge Experience

• Qantas Link flies to Dubbo Regional Airport

• We drove from Tamworth which takes approx. 3hrs 40min

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• Don’t miss the Silo Art at Dunedoo if you drive through this small town

• For accommodation in Tamworth visit: booking.com

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