Places - Tropiquaria Zoo, Devon

Places - Tropiquaria Zoo, Devon

Sometimes we come across little gems where photography is a pleasure and a few hours can be spent away from the normal rush of the world. Tropiquaria is one of them. It's not dissimilar to the South Lakes Animal Oasis that we also enjoy, a small, rough and ready zoo with good access to the animals, sometimes even with them roaming free. Tropiquaria is nice in that it has some more exotic birds, reptiles and even fish. As its name suggests. The outside diplays are OK, but for me the exciting stuff was in the tropical house and the aquaria.

The tropical house is heated by excess energy from the BBC radio transmitters next door, and the main Tropiquaria building is in fact the old transmitter station. There is a Radio Museum on site and this is also a pleasant diversion. It's hot in there, but needs to be for the creatures housed there.

We found the owner and staff most amenable, and they had a wheelchair on hand for sister-in-law Diane who had broken her hip earlier in our stay in Devon. There is also a cafe which is very reasonable if basic, but even that has a sort of appeal.

I used the Pentax K-5 and mainly the 18-135mm WR zoom. Some fish images were shot using the 43mm f/1.9 limited lens as down in the aquaria it was very dark indeed.

Well worth a look in and I'd suggest allowing at least 2-3 hours to fully enjoy the potential, maybe longer if you have a specific interest.



Wallabies






Bearded Dragon



Green Iguana



Nemo Found!






Young Otter