It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon, and from my wildly (pun intended) comfy bed, I’m watching a bank of clouds push through the city, chasing ferries across the harbour. The view looks like it was plucked from an album of the world’s most relaxing cityscapes: just plants, water and the skyline beyond. The Opera House stands in the centre with its unrelenting elegance, unphased by the oppressive clouds, and the Harbour Bridge cuts its iconic arc through the mist that pushes down on the city to the west. A view like this – an uninterrupted vista punctuated by Sydney’s most famous landmarks – is exceptionally hard to come by. Taking into account the koala who’s hugging the tree to my left, I'd be forgiven for thinking I’d entered an AI simulation of Australia. In reality though, I was splayed on the bed of one of the 62 carefully designed rooms at the Wildlife Retreat at Taronga: a far more desirable, similarly surreal place to spend a weekend.
We arrived at around 5pm, just missing the 4.40pm guided tour that saw our fellow guests don their rain jackets and head out into the sanctuary that envelopes the retreat. From the floor-to-ceiling walls that form the southern wall of our room, we watch them wind their way through the grounds, stopping to learn from the zoo guide about the creatures who reside just metres from where we’re staying for the night. My friend identifies a couple of strange, grey birds patrolling the grounds “Look: a swan-turkey-thing!”, and once the group of humans have disappeared into the trees, an echidna appears and navigates his uneasy, clueless way along the path.
All of this would be magical enough without the additional 4,000 creatures just a few minutes’ walk from our bedroom. Wildlife Retreat at Taronga is – as the name suggests – located in the heart of Taronga Zoo, Sydney’s most well-known conservation-focused zoo. And though you can be up close and personal with Taronga’s pygmy hippos, giraffes and elephants in under ten minutes, the sanctuary in which the retreat is built feels totally secluded. Around 1700m2, and home to more than 25 animals, the retreat is a secluded space within the grounds – shrouded by native plants and invisible to other zoo-goers.
And while it’s physically carefully separated from the zoo, every element of the hotel has been curated with a nod to its animal-centric home. Platypus toys are given as gifts to guests staying on special occasions, an ethereal artwork formed of floating birds is suspended in the ceiling of the lobby, and the cocktail menu is inspired by animals (I ordered the Night Owls: a whisky-spiked concoction that came garnished with a delightfully-boozy gingerbread).
After a drink and a game of cards in the cavernous, safari-retreat-style lobby, we make our way to dinner. Me Gal restaurant – named after the Cammeraigal word for ‘tears’, an ode to the surrounding saltwater shoreline – is located on the first floor of the Retreat, with wrap-around windows offering unbeatable views of the harbour. The focus here is on heroing fresh, locally-sourced produce through a menu that changes with the seasons.
We order a plate of freshly shucked oysters which are perfectly, divinely creamy, and doused in a sweetly zingy desert lime, cucumber and dill mignonette. I could have eaten four servings of the same, but we decide to branch out, ordering the stracciatella with heirloom tomatoes that sings with lemon myrtle and aleppo pepper. We’re told this dish is best enjoyed with a plate of sourdough and whipped wattle seed and ricotta butter, and don’t argue. For our mains, we order Murray River cod that comes crowned in mustard leaves and dashi, along with broccolini with walnuts and feta and an absurdly creamy beetroot risotto. There’s tiramisu on the menu, so we’re morally obliged to order dessert.
After a movie with Sydney’s sparkling harbour as our backdrop, we fall asleep until it’s time to join the morning tour of the sanctuary – which offers guests the chance to explore particular areas od the zoo before it opens. We’re led through the aviary as rare birds swoop overhead, then through to where some of Taronga’s Tassie devils are having their morning nap, and past a couple of kangaroos grazing on the lawn in front of the lower-storey bedrooms. The only other guest joining us on the tour has stayed at the retreat a few times before, and recalls meeting one of the resident platypuses, and hearing the lyrebird deploy his terrifyingly accurate impression of the evacuation alarm. As we’re making our way through the sanctuary, he tells us: that’s the trick with zoos, you need to visit more than once. As we head into breakfast, the guest tells us he’s staying with his family for his dad’s 93rd birthday, and I make a note that when I turn 93, this is exactly where I want to be.
With room rates starting at around $550 per night, a stay here isn't cheap, but nor should it be. The accommodation – though lacking an on-site spa that many of Sydney's most luxurious hotels boast as standard – is high-end and hyper-comfortable, the views are excellent, and the neighbours are second-to-none. Plus, revenue from the Retreat goes towards supporting Taronga's vital conservation efforts – ultimately delivering an experience that's utterly priceless.
You can learn more and book your stay over here.
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