For my Birthday treat this year JJ booked us a night in one of the Jungle Bungalows at Jamala Wildlife Lodge. Jamala is part of the National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra and offers a truly unique all-inclusive luxury hotel experience. Five-star African-inspired rooms and suites adjoin various animal enclosures. Our bungalow animal was kept a secret until check-in so my pre-trip excitement level was off the scale.

USHAKA LODGE

After a 4-hour drive from Sydney, we parked outside the Jamala reception area and were shown to the uShaka Lodge lounge. The National Zoo & Aquarium is privately owned which is why many of the enclosures are much bigger than those found in other urban zoos. uShaka Lodge used to be the zoo owners’ home, with 7 accommodation options, an aquarium and a swimming pool. Can you imagine your family living right next to their own private zoo?? WOW.

We were a little early for our arrival afternoon tea so we spent about 30 mins exploring the lodge with its tropical gardens and massive shark tank. Apparently uShaka is a Zulu word that means shark. Everywhere you look there are fine carvings, artworks and artifacts from all over Africa. There was also time to befriend the resident colobus monkeys (Colin and Colby) and look around the aquarium.

Once we’d eaten our fill of delicious afternoon tea, we headed outside to meet a couple of the zoo’s most famous inhabitants. Solo the cheetah and his companion dog Zama. Solo was born a single cub which is rare, the average cheetah litter size is 3-4 cubs. Cheetah mums have difficulty producing milk for a litter of only one and so Solo had to be hand raised. Zama was specially selected for her Border Collie/Belgian Malinois traits. She has plenty of energy to try and keep up with the world’s fastest land mammal 🙂

AFTERNOON ZOO TOUR

Before going to see our bungalow, JJ and I were given the option of a zoo tour from 2:30-4 PM. Our guide was Kelly who’s enthusiasm was really infectious. We learned the history of the National Zoo & Aquarium as well as hearing stories about the animals that we saw. Staying at Jamala Wildlife Lodge funds the zoo’s conservation and breeding programs that are helping save endangered species from extinction.

On this tour, we visited roughly half of the enclosures. To begin with there were super cute squirrel monkeys, tiny marmosets and cotton-top tamarins. We came across Arataki the Malaysian sun bear, who ambled over to us looking for snacks. Then we met a colony of little penguins who are all named after famous rappers like Snoop Dog, Tupac and so on. In the Australian natives area, we got to feed an emu. I saw my first ever tree kangaroo. And finally, we watched some meerkats and a red panda eating their lunch.

JUNGLE BUNGALOW 1

I was absolutely thrilled to discover at check-in that our Jungle Bungalow animal was the lion. A pride of 3 lions to be exact. When making a booking you’re able to state an animal preference, but it can’t be guaranteed. The other room options at Jamala have you sleeping next to either sharks, lemurs, a giraffe, a cheetah, bears, or tigers. A big cat room was mine and JJ’s number 1 choice so we felt very lucky. The Jungle Bungalows are luxurious individual suites with only a reinforced glass wall separating you from your designated animal/s.

Bungalows feature a comfy lounge area, king bed, full bathroom, AC, WiFi, sound system, TV and the softest bathrobes. Top of my agenda was to draw a bath and hope that a lion felt like venturing closer to our patio. The pride was lazing around in the remaining sunlight at the furthest end of their enclosure. Bathtime was indulgent and relaxing but no luck with the lions, they were keeping their distance. I was confident of a closer encounter after dinner when the mostly nocturnal cats would be more active.

DINNER IN THE CAVE

At around 6:30 PM JJ and I left our bungalow and walked through the zoo back to the aquarium. On the way, we managed to spot a leopard (no pun intended). Leopards are notoriously good at hiding, even in a zoo environment. Our dinner venue ‘The Cave’, was downstairs through the Aquarium Rainforest. While enjoying appetising canapes like oysters and shumai with a glass of champagne on the terrace, we met more zoo residents. First Zuburi and Pinduli the hyenas, then stunning Mischka and Jake the white lions.

Continuing the African theme, we eventually joined the other guests at banquet tables for a mouthwatering African dinner party. During the meal, we all eagerly chatted about our day’s activities and which animal rooms we had. For starters, I had tuna tartare, a gazpacho shot and a crab croquette. My choice of main was salmon and dessert was the cheese plate with a glass of Amarula. All courses were accompanied by great wines and the food tasted amazing. At around 9:30 PM it was time to board a minibus transfer back to our bungalow.

THE LION (DOESN’T) SLEEP TONIGHT

When we arrived back at our bungalow we noticed that the blinds had been drawn during turndown service. All blinds except for one opposite our bed. As we peered out of that window, staring straight back at us were the eyes of Millie the lioness. Then suddenly we heard a deafening roar and started hurriedly opening all of the blinds to reveal that Millie’s sons, Marjan and Sabi, had also graced us with their presence. JJ and I were totally gobsmacked. How incredible to be so close to such mighty creatures!

Throughout the night every time we drifted off, one of the male lions would roar and startle us awake again. At one point I sat up and saw either Marjan or Sabi standing at the foot of the bed roaring directly at me. We found out later that the lions love hearing their own voices reverberate off the glass ‘cos it makes them feel even more powerful and intimidating. At around 6 AM, having given up on sleep, we decided to get up and dressed for breakfast. The pride was starting to wind down at this point but they remained closeby so that we could get some photos. Tiredness was a small price to pay for this awesome opportunity.

DEPARTURE DAY

Breakfast was back at The Cave. I was still pretty full from dinner, but the fresh fruit, pastry selection and my chorizo omelet looked irresistible so I made space. At 8 AM we rendezvoused with Kelly (our lovely guide from the day before), for another zoo safari. On this tour, we got to see some of the enclosures that we’d missed previously and it was a bit more interactive. Upfront was a visit to the lemurs and hand-feeding some deer. Then we wandered past Solo the cheetah and some dingos, before feeding carrots to an eland. Our final interaction was with Ubunto the white rhino who seemed to genuinely enjoy being petted.

From 9:45 AM until check-out, we had a few final moments of feline awe back in our bungalow. During this time reception called to let us know that we had one more surprise to look forward to – a “lion encounter”. I was over the moon and beyond excited. A keeper called Shane collected me and JJ at around 11 AM. We made our way to the far end of the lion enclosure, where we took turns to offer the pride small pieces of meat through the fence. While faffing to get the right camera angle, I half expected Millie to impatiently snatch the tongs out of my hand. On the contrary, she was such a calm and gentle girl.

What a fantastic experience! Bags packed and checked out, we were free to spend more time exploring the zoo at our leisure. There were only a few species that we hadn’t seen yet so we made sure to visit those enclosures before heading off.

NATIONAL ZOO & AQUARIUM CONSERVATION TEAM

There’s no doubt in my mind that all animals at the National Zoo & Aquarium are extremely well cared for by knowledgeable and passionate people. While keeping wildlife in captivity might seem less than ideal sometimes, it’s important to know the individual animals’ backgrounds. A few of Canberra’s zoo residents have been saved from extremely cruel fates. One specific example would be poor Otay the sun bear who was rescued from the restaurant trade. Sadly, animals that have been traumatised in captivity often can’t be released back into the wild, they simply wouldn’t survive.

If you’re interested in learning about the conservation programs that Jamala Wildlife Lodge helps fund, here’s a link to more info.

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Exploring the South Coast of NSW, Australia

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