With off-road wheels, bulletproof glass and slash proof mesh, the bus Linzi Aland drives isn't your ordinary bus.
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She drives a purpose-built safari truck as one of the visitor experience officers leading the lion Pride Lands Patrol tours at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.
"It's interesting to see how they interact with each other and the bus and the weather and everything like that," Linzi Aland told the Daily Liberal.
"It's amazing just watching them really explore those surroundings and watching their little minds explode as they see the long grass and the lake and the water and everything is really rewarding."
After a short hiatus, the Pride Lands Patrol tours are back and allowing zoo guests to get up-close with the largest lion group yet. The 45-minute tour takes guests on a loop around the three-hectare lion habitat.
Ms Aland has been working at the zoo and leading the tours for about seven years.
"I really like animals and I have a background in performance as well so this kind of combines both of those, which has worked really well for me," she said.
"One of the great things about working with lions is that it's very different to your standard day at the office because you never quite know what you're gonna be facing out there.
"But that makes it really interesting and really fun to do."
The zoo's youngest lions, five-month-old Bahati, Jabari and Zawadi, have just made their debut in the display alongside their older sisters Amali, Imani and Mara and their mum and dad.
Lion keeper Melanie Friedman said it's fantastic to see such a large family group at the zoo again.
"I have been working with the lions for well over a decade now so I've seen multiple lion groups," she said.
"When the exhibit first opened, it was probably the last time we had a large pride out here. So it's been quite a number of years since we've had this number of lions out here.
"Everything's pretty special about working with them... Just having one of the lionesses roaring and vocalising as she's coming in, it just resonates through your body. It's pretty special to be that close to them and form bonds with them as well."
While visitors can't get as close as she does as a keeper, she said the Pride Lands Patrol tour is about as close as the public can safely get without jumping on a plane to the African savannah.
"It's to allow visitors the opportunity to see what it might be like if they went over to Africa and went out on a safari," she said.
"We've obviously got the purpose built truck so it's safe for people to be in there and it just allows them to get a much closer up close personal experience with our lion pride."
Ms Friedman said the best time to see the lions is during the cooler months and in the morning when they are most active.
"The cubs have a grand old time out there and play with dad as well, which is really great to see," she said.