Roaring with joy at incredible experience right on our doorstep

Feeding baboons. Photo: Tayler Filbin.

Like most sane people, I absolutely love animals! I mean, I went to a wildlife park for my 21st birthday instead of a cocktail bar.

This adoration for fauna has made me uniquely qualified to say that ZAMBI Wildlife Retreat is a sanctuary that every animal lover from Penrith and beyond needs to visit.

Tucked away in Wallacia down an unassuming street is the home of lions, tigers, meerkats, marmosets, exotic birds, baboons, a leopard, and a red panda.

These animals find their way to ZAMBI for many reasons. Some are retired from the circus or the film and TV industry, and others come from private zoo collections.

“This place is like a retirement village for animals,” said zookeeper Izzy Ambrose as she walked my tour group through the gates. As though in agreement, a lion roared from somewhere deeper in the sanctuary.

Ally Hall takes in the Big Cat Experience. Photo: Tayler Filbin.

To begin the tour, we were introduced to some incredible birds. We said hello to some sun conures – beautiful bright orange parakeets given to ZAMBI as unwanted pets – before moving on to an inseparable pair of macaws.

After watching the macaws play, we ventured over to the cutest animals I’ve ever seen – a family of common marmosets.

These little monkeys were addicting to watch. The tufts of white fur growing from either side of their heads made them look like mad scientists as they bounced around their enclosure. The energetic monkeys moved as though their legs were made of springs and it wasn’t until they stopped you could see how long their stripey tails were.

On the other end of the pattern spectrum was spotty Sri Lankan leopard, Phoenix. Phoenix was born at Darling Downs Zoo as part of a global conservation initiative.

Phoenix. Photo: Ally Hall.

The nimble leopard showed off some agility exercises from his tropical enclosure before we visited more big cats including Nika the Siberian tiger; ex-circus African lioness’ Kiara and Maisie; lion pride Kibulu, Mali, Zambi and Sukari; tiger family Zoran, Mischa and their six-year-old cub Xena; and tiger sisters Melah and Maliah.

Also on the agenda were some cheeky meerkats, screeching baboons, more stunning birds, and the newest member of the ZAMBI family – a red panda named Phinju.

Throughout the tour, I was overwhelmed with happiness. I couldn’t stop remarking about how this incredible sanctuary is only 15 minutes away from home. I also couldn’t believe how sociable every animal was towards Izzy and the group.

I got a good impression of every animal’s personality – from goofy to aloof to grumpy to playful – and that’s not an experience you can replicate at a zoo.

Common marmosets. Photo: Tayler Filbin.

I almost forgot that these were wild animals until I did the Big Cat Experience.

Through the bars of the enclosures for the lions and tigers, I hand-fed them chicken. I watched as they gracefully approached the barrier, marveled at their size as they took the food from my hand, and listened as bones broke between their powerful jaws.

Spending a Saturday morning at ZAMBI Wildlife Retreat is one of the best experiences I’ve had in Penrith. The care given to the animals is evident, their personalities are prevalent, and the zookeepers have so much knowledge to share.

Please do yourself a huge favour and book a tour at http://www.zambiwildliferetreat.org today.

Ally Hall

Ally Hall joined the Weekender in 2024, and focuses on entertainment and community stories. She's a graduate of the University of South Australia and has previously worked as a Video Journalist with Southern Cross Austereo and as a News Reader with Australian Radio Network.

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