By Jane Ng

The most challenging part about our recent Sydney adventure was getting my husband to agree to take our toddler son on the trip.

With a seven-hour flight followed by an eight-day trip in 10 deg C winter temperatures, it was reason enough to hesitate, he reasoned. But like any doting father, he relented and 2 1/2-year-old Jason got to hug kangaroos.

Animals were top of the agenda. We made sure to cover as many animal attractions as his afternoon nap would allow.

Featherdale Wildlife Park, Taronga Zoo, Sydney Aquarium - you name it, we covered it. Not in detail and not the way I would have done myself, but by spending much of the time at exhibits that interested Jason and his girlfriend Xinying (a toddler of friends we travelled with). That way, they were happy and when a child is happy, his parents are happier.

If you were to ask Jason to rate the three mentioned attractions, Featherdale Wildlife Park would win hands down.

Located at Doonside in the Blacktown region, we visited it en route our drive up the Blue Mountains. It is about 45 minutes away from Sydney city.

The sight of free roaming wallabies (they look like kangaroos but have shorter ears) caught his attention from the gate and he slipped in while we were still sorting out the tickets.

By the time I ran in after him, I saw his arms around the neck of one of them which was about his height.

I probably scared it away in my excitement to get a picture of both of them because it scuttled off quickly.

Thankfully, there were many other kangaroos and wallabies in that first enclosure to keep him entertained for a good 30 minutes.

The best thing about Featherdale is that many of its tamer animals are left to roam on their own, including lambs, chickens and ducks. That meant many chances to get close to the animals, feed them and take pictures with them.

Feeding of animals at Taronga Zoo

In fact, I think our group of city-bred adults were more entranced by the lambs than the kids. I kept trying to tell Jason that's the lamb from the nursery rhyme, Mary Had A Little Lamb, but he was far more interested in getting the kangaroos to eat the leaves off his tiny hand.

To him, if an animal was caged up and thus too far away to touch or too inanimate to respond to his advances, like the cute sleeping koala, then it was not worth wasting his time over.

Thus, he paid cursory attention to the wombat, pelicans and Tasmanian devils that the adults were wowing over.

It was the same at the sprawling Sydney Aquarium which is centrally located at Darling Harbour.

It was the touchpool with its colourful sea stars that caught his gaze. The next best thing to touching them was, of course, getting his fingers wet and then splashing the water on everyone else.

My favourite was the last exhibit at the aquarium - a huge viewing tank that transported us to the depths of the ocean, giving us a final glimpse of the sharks, rays and multi-coloured fish.

Complete with carpeted steps and looking like a movie theatre, the darkened room, natural air-conditioning and soothing ocean music lulled Jason to nap for 90 minutes, giving me a chance to browse leisurely through the gift shop twice.

Your kid can explore the water play area at Taronga Zoo with its numerous fountains and spouts or check out the sea lion.

As for Taronga Zoo, half the fun in visiting it was in getting there.

First, we took a 15-minute ferry ride which provided spectacular views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

As the zoo is built atop a steep hill, one would normally take a cable car to the gate at the top and walk downwards. The only snag was that the high winds that day meant all cable rides were suspended and we had to take the bus up instead.

Jason had fun petting the guinea pigs, feeding the rabbits and driving a disused van that emitted cheerful tunes at the kids' petting area.

But the highlight for him was the water play area with its fountains and spouts, even though I couldn't bear to touch the icy cold water myself.

Visit the Opera House with kids? Sure

We decided to visit the much-talked-about Blue Mountains and our party of eight drove up in two rental cars (complete with child seats and GPS system) and spent two nights at a refurbished, old-fashioned farmhouse called Old Leura Dairy.

The Worker's Cottage where we stayed was filled with modern amenities and became a playground for the kids.

Neglecting the colouring books and games we had brought, they poked around the nooks and crannies of the three-bedroom cottage - think unused fireplace and cosy kitchen shelves - and even discovered an old travel journal on the well-stocked bookshelves.

Even more fun were the winding, narrow alleys around the cottages, which made morning walks in the chilly 2 to 3 deg C temperatures very bearable.

Before exploring the mountains, we stopped by the Glenbrook Visitor Centre to pick up some brochures and ended up spending a good hour there because the children could not tear themselves away from the fantastic outdoor playground which had a make-believe train station and railway track amid swings and slides.

At Scenic World in Katoomba, a neighbouring mountain town, Jason surprised me when he endured an hour-long rainforest walk (partially on his stroller) with little whining. It was probably the cool weather coupled with interesting signboards we read to him along the way that kept him entertained.

We also enjoyed the steep train ride to view the famous Three Sisters rock formation, and the glass-bottomed cable car which thrilled even my 12-year-old sister.

Catching a show at the Opera House may be out of the question when you travel with your toddler, but they will enjoy chasing sea gulls up and down the steps.

We drove back to the city the day before our departure and ended our trip with a visit to the Opera House.

While catching a show there was out of the question, Jason kept us more than entertained with his antics on the steps of the world-famous landmark - by chasing away sea gulls that were eyeing his hard-boiled egg sandwich and clamouring up and down the numerous steps.

Its vicinity to the Royal Botanic Gardens also allowed the kids to roll about on the grass there while watching the yachts sail past in the sunset.

Eight days passed in a flash and I couldn't help thinking about the places we had planned for but did not have time to visit - the interactive Powerhouse Museum, the ZigZag Railway in Blue Mountains and Mrs Macquarie's chair at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

It turns out I wasn't the only one feeling that way. As we packed our bags that night, my husband said: 'This is not enough, shall we come back again in December?'

We shall see.

janeng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The Straits Times on August 26, 2008.

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