I’m just gonna call it the Hong Kong Zoo, but it’s proper name is the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Regardless, apparently it’s one of the worlds’ largest zoological and botanical centers in the world. But this is different to being the largest zoo in the world. It’s the largest park in Hong Kong and covers about five and half hectares in mid-levels. You can walk here from Central, it’s a bit up the hill but nothing too steep.
As long as you understand that the Hong Kong Zoo is not really a zoo, you’ll be fine. Consider it more what it’s real name is, Zoological and Botanic Gardens and your expectations are more likely to met. For sure, it’s quite nice walking around here but as far as the animals go, there’s not much to see. There’s some monkeys, orangutan’s, turtles, lemurs, alligators and a whole lot of birds. If you have younger kids, like toddlers, they’ll think it’s alright and might get a kick out of the animals, but older kids (say 5 and over) will be underwhelmed especially if they’re used to, and expect to see a proper zoo.
The bird bit is probably the largest area and there’s some flamingo’s, parrots and a couple of big ass ones that look weird that provide for some entertainment. Once we were walking around and one of the Hong Kong Zoo staff had some orangutan’s with him and let us take a few photos so that was exciting, relatively speaking. Good on him because I’m sure had the fun police been around that would have been frowned upon and he’d have got a severe smacking on the hand.
I don’t think I’d travel from TST to see the Hong Kong Zoo, but if you’re around central and the kids are bored, it’s probably worth walking up to have a look. At the least, it’s nice walking around and kind of weird to be in greenery then look up and see some massive skyscrapers. The Hong Kong Zoo is free, which it should be, because it’s not worth paying for. All in all, a good way to spend a few hours if you’re over in Hong Kong Island and the kids are getting bored.
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