My son’s birthday coincides nicely with the Sydney Vivid festival, where “art, technology and commerce intersect” – three weeks of light shows and sculpture that brighten up the city during the cold (and sometimes wet) winter here.

Taronga Zoo has put on an event for the last few years, with wonderful light sculptures that look like giant stained-glass animals. Needless to say, an afternoon at the zoo, followed by a trip through this surreal landscape after dark has become a favourite.

(Click on images in gallery to see full size).