Wild Lights at Taronga Zoo

Vivid Sydney is back. After two years of postponements and cancellations, the always-popular festival of lights, music and ideas is finally returning to Sydney from Friday, May 27. One Sydney icon that always gets involved in the celebrations is Taronga Zoo, utilising its unbeatable harbour views and utterly adorable animal inhabitants to create vibrant experiences during the festival.

This year, the zoo's Wild Lights series will give visitors the opportunity to explore the zoo after dark, with a luminous light walk guiding you through the park and 18 festival-favourite animal lanterns returning for another year. As you explore the attractions and installations, you'll be greeted by a lit-up lion pride and gorilla troop among the iridescent animals.

Other installations you can expect to find at Taronga over the three weeks include a Sydney visual artist Digby Webster's dome-shaped sculpture The Imaginasium, motion-activated bees and cicadas and an illuminated jellyfish bloom.

If all of this isn't exciting enough, the cable car Sky Safari will be running after-dark as well, offering patrons the opportunity to take in the sights of both the zoo and of Sydney Harbour during Vivid from high up in the air.

Those looking to completely immerse themselves in the experience can book a stay at Taronga Zoo's on-site Wildlife Retreat. If you prefer your overnight getaways with a healthy dose of wildlife thrown into the mix, Taronga Zoo's Wildlife Retreat is for you. For the uninitiated, the luxurious accommodation is located right in the heart of the zoo, meaning you'll be treated to the sights and sounds of the animal enclosures during your stay. With panoramic harbour views and rooms among the animal habitats available, you can treat yourself to a dream animal-lovers stay with access to all the zoo has to offer throughout the day and during Wild Lights.

Open each day throughout Vivid until Saturday, June 18, tickets to Wild Lights will grant you entry at your choice of two ticketed entry times — 5.30pm or 7.30pm. Tickets are $29.95 for adults, $24.26 for concession and $19.95 for children.

Images: Destination NSW