Why Mosman residents in ritzy north shore suburb are furious about the return of Taronga Zoo’s Sky Safari

Plans for a taller and bigger version of Taronga Zoo’s retired cable car have divided Mosman locals in the affluent north shore suburb amid fears it will be a visual blight on their Sydney Harbour views.

The proposed $77million replacement for the much loved Sky Safari, which from 1987 up until last year took 20million visitors from the nearby wharf up the steep incline to the zoo entrance, will have pylons higher than 35 metres that will support larger gondolas. 

Mosman Parks and Bushland Association member Bob Clark fears the towering transportation will result in ‘an imposing scar on this important harbour foreshore area’.

‘It’s not just the poles; you’ll have the gondolas whizzing around in circles. It will have a significant adverse impact in terms of visual amenity,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Clark believed the pylons were being made higher was ‘to get those harbour views across to North Head and South Head’ towards the stop of the top of hill.

He described it as ‘exploiting the harbour when they don’t need to’.

The Taronga Conservation Society has lodged plans for the new Sky Safari cable car with NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully, who will decide whether the project will go ahead. 

Some Mosman residents fear that the upgraded Sky Safari will impact on their views of Sydney harbour. Pictured is Taronga Zoo

The society said the higher pylons reflect ‘Taronga’s commitment to preserve the current tree canopy, including avoiding the need to cut through heritage-listed hoop pines’ and would allow for canopy growth. 

While the Sky Safari would be ‘a new prominent feature’ of harbour views towards Bradleys Head, it would ‘reinforce the identity and location’ of the zoo. 

‘The impact is considered to constitute a moderate change over a restricted area that is ongoing but capable of being reversed,’ the plans state.

The new cable car would provide ‘family-focused sightseeing tourism infrastructure’ with ‘no unreasonable impacts … in terms of views, traffic, acoustic impacts during construction and ongoing operation’.

A Taronga Zoo spokeswoman said the larger gondolas would fit 10 people each, compared with the previous system’s six, and have flip-back seats to allow larger wheelchairs and prams.

An artist’s impression of the new Sky Safari cable car, which is currently being considered by the NSW government for approval

‘The larger cabins and easier connection to public transport means guests who have previously found it challenging to navigate the zoo will be able to do so with greater ease,’ the spokeswoman said.

Mosman Mayor Ann Marie Kimber said the council had ‘generally supported’ the proposal despite concern from residents about the project’s larger scale and noise.

‘We’ve asked for ongoing communication with affected residents and the council, and for no advertising on the outside of the gondolas as there were concerns about the visual impact,’ she said.

The new system will have 20 to 25 cables cars on rotation travelling around 1.5km across the 28ha site.

At this stage, the cost of using the new Sky Safari will be included in the zoo admission ticket, as with its predecessor. 

The original service was first installed in 1987 before it was upgraded in 2000. 

In January 2023, the zoo announced the ‘ageing asset’ had ‘sadly reached the end of its workable life with significant upgrades needed for it to continue to operate.’

‘Its retirement paves the way for a proposed upgrade which would see the Sky Safari transformed into an unforgettable and fully accessible family experience,’ Taronga Zoo said at the time.

If approved, the zoo’s plan for an upgraded Sky Safari could open its doors to customers in 2025.