Out west where the wild things are

The thunderous roaring of lions close by makes me shiver in spite of the warm night air. It's one thing to read about how a lion's roar can strike terror into the bravest heart but quite another to be close enough to feel the air vibrating.

Our safari lodgings are extremely comfortable - there's even a shower and a toilet - but are the canvas walls strong enough to keep out a determined predator? I guess so, because I'm still in one piece next morning, bleary-eyed and heading off on a dawn safari.

Suddenly, there they are, a male with a big black mane, sitting sleepily on a knoll and looking entirely disinterested, and two females, looking entirely too interested for comfort.

One of them openly stalks us while the other pretends not to notice but sidles around to get behind. "She's getting herself into position for when the other one makes her charge," says John Brett, our guide. "They're sisters and they work together incredibly well." Seems like a good time to move on.

Not far away some African wild dogs - extremely rare these days - are fighting over a carcass. After an initial free-for-all, several of the dogs back off, while the dominant animals tuck in. "They will all get something eventually," explains John. "Wild dogs are very family minded. It's just a matter of precedence."

Family minded, maybe, but the way they tear into the carcass, ripping away chunks of bloody meat, suggests you wouldn't want to be around if there's a serious domestic dispute. Still, getting up close but not too personal with ferocious carnivores is what makes a stay in Australia's Western Plains Zoo so special.

Sorry, didn't I make it clear I wasn't in Africa, but in Dubbo, central New South Wales?

If you can't get to Africa, a stay in one of the Zoofari Lodges on the Western Plains Zoo is probably the next best thing.

It's an adjunct to Sydney's famous Taronga Zoo and has 2000 animals - plus several hundred wild kangaroos - roaming in its 300ha of bush and grassland.

The lodges where guests sleep are similar to those you would find in sophisticated safari camps in Africa. It also features a central lodge with a restaurant, bar and marvellously cool pool, and animals all around.

The nearest neighbours to my lodge on one side were the lions and on the other side the elephants.

I didn't hear the elephants trumpeting during the night but one of the behind-the-scenes tours offered to zoofari guests allowed us to watch them being tucked in for the night.

These are African elephants, much bigger than the Indian variety usually found in zoos, and much stroppier. "They really hate possums," says John. "If a possum gets in here at night and the elephants can't get at them they throw whatever's available with their trunks. And unfortunately that is dung, which means we have a hell of a clean up job in the morning."

While we are watching the elephants a peacock turns up and starts admiring itself in the shiny hubcap of our safari vehicle.

Our guide explains, the poor thing doesn't have much alternative to showing off in hubcaps. "There aren't any females - we got rid of them - so the males are now reduced to performing to their own reflections. I've seen one making love to a bale of hay."

It must be even more frustrating for the peacocks to know that for endangered species such as the black rhino, Prezwalski's horse - the original Mongolian horse - from Asia, the maned wolf from South America and the Australian bilby, the zoo runs programmes which encourage breeding.

The after-hours tours are a good chance to meet one of the success stories of the breeding programme, a black rhino and her calf, when they trot over to our guide for a feed of tasty casuarina branches.

Another success story, the bouncy little bilbies, mostly sleep during the day so twilight, when the zoo is closed for the night, is the best time to see these cuddly little marsupials in action.

The Mongolian horses also seem more sociable in the evening, when the press of visitors has gone, and they cluster round in friendly fashion. The breeding programme has reached the point where they have been reintroduced to Mongolia but they're still so rare that each carries its world stud book on its rump.

Another highlight of staying in the zoo is the chance to catch the early morning chorus of the siamang ape. This is an extraordinary performance involving spectacular aerobatics and a yowling duet.

It is even more impressive than the show put on by the white-handed gibbon. Most of the animals, however, are motivated by hunger not exhibitionism.

As the sun sets, giraffes stride over on their stilt legs to eat carrots from our hands. Hippos gather to munch on hay. Dingos slink up for a snack. Even the sleepy Sumatran tiger acknowledges our presence in the hope of an extra nibble on something.

The Western Plains Zoo is a fascinating place to visit during the day with its hundreds of animals and wide open spaces that help you to forget it isn't actually Africa.

But it comes alive at night and you can't help wondering whether those lions really are securely caged, or becoming acutely aware of how easy it would be for a mighty claw to rip those canvas walls.

* Jim Eagles visited Western Plains Zoo as guest of Tourism New South Wales and Air New Zealand.

Western Plains Zoo

The zoo is on the web at the Zootopia website.

Staying at a Zoofari Lodge costs from A$229 ($250) a person a night, including breakfast and dinner.

Dubbo

Dubbo is about one hour's flight or an easy five-hour drive from Sydney.

The city is the centre of a growing winemaking area. It has several art galleries and Aboriginal craft centres plus an export boomerang factory.

The Old Dubbo Gaol has been turned into a tourist attraction where holograms of former inmates tell of their harsh lives.

Further information

Information on visiting New South Wales is available on the web or phone 0800 100 006.