Koala Conservation Reserve, Phillip Island, Victoria © Tourism Australia
Koala Conservation Reserve, Phillip Island, Victoria © Tourism Australia
Australia’s best zoos and wildlife parks
From koala encounters to getting up close to adrenaline-inducing crocs, experience Australian animals at one of these top-quality zoos and sanctuaries.
Known for its glistening harbour and city beaches, Sydney also has brilliant zoos and wildlife parks. The most famous is Taronga Zoo Sydney, and the journey there is half the fun via a public ferry across Sydney Harbour. For a more intimate experience, little ones can become a zookeeper for the day at Sydney Zoo in western Sydney, or say g’day to an abundance of marine life at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium. Further afield, Dubbo’s Taronga Western Plains Zoo is a favourite among Aussie locals, and the Australian Reptile Park makes the perfect stop on a road trip from Sydney to Newcastle.
You can spot an array of cuddly (and not-so-cuddly) creatures in the heart of the city at Melbourne Zoo. There are plenty of locations for animal lovers outside of the city too, whether you fancy visiting the fluffy residents at the Koala Conservation Reserve on Phillip Island, spotting native creatures along trails through Healesville Sanctuary or spotting nocturnal animals at Moonlit Sanctuary on the Mornington Peninsula. For a spot of adventure, you can also embark on a safari among the exotic residents at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
South of Brisbane, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast has been a haven for wild rainbow lorikeets for over 70 years. These days, you can also experience local Aboriginal cultures through a traditional dance and eat breakfast while watching the koalas. Closer to Brisbane, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is home to koalas, echidnas and other Aussie critters, and can be accessed by road or the Mirimar river cruise. Just north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast, famous “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin’s legacy lives on at Australia Zoo.
Home to the Great Barrier Reef and the world's oldest living tropical rainforest, the Cairns region offers the unique chance to interact with incredibly diverse marine life and ancient creatures. Learn about the world’s biggest reef at the Cairns Aquarium and visit Rainforestation Nature Park to see tree kangaroos and cassowaries. If it’s reptiles you’re after, visit Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures between Cairns and Port Douglas to meet saltwater crocodiles. See volunteers nursing sea turtles back to health at the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on idyllic Fitzroy Island.
Thrill-seekers will love the north of Australia for its safe, up-close encounters with some of the country’s prehistoric wildlife. Australia’s Top End (the top section of the Northern Territory) is crocodile country, and at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, you can challenge your instincts by plunging into a glass tube within a croc’s pool. Prefer your wildlife cuddlier? At Territory Wildlife Park, you’ll see adorable agile wallabies and witness Australia’s biggest bird of prey, the wedge-tailed eagle.
The heart of the Northern Territory outback, known as Australia’s Red Centre, is a haven for wildlife species that thrive in the heat. Visit Alice Springs Desert Park to learn about the cultural significance of native wildlife to local Aboriginal communities, and see wonderful desert creatures like the long-eared bilby and the quirky thorny devil. Also in Alice Springs, lay your eyes on our biggest land mammal, the red kangaroo, at the wildly popular Kangaroo Sanctuary. You may get the chance to meet a joey (baby kangaroo) during your visit.
Spending time with Australia’s wildlife in their natural habitat is a special experience. Visit Cleland Wildlife Park in the hills behind Adelaide, or visit Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary, where free-ranging native animals live in their natural habitat. Adelaide Zoo is home to the cheeky Australian sea lion, found only in southern Australia. Further east, Monarto Safari Park hosts animals from around the world and also breeds many rare Australian marsupials like the adorable tammar wallaby and the Tasmanian devil.
In Western Australia, Perth Zoo offers you the chance to see quirky creatures such as the numbat – an insect-eating marsupial – along with other fantastic animals. Take a dive under the Indian Ocean at the Aquarium of Western Australia, where kids will love the sharks and rays swimming overhead. If your journey takes you south of Perth to the wine and beach region of Margaret River, check out the Eagles Heritage Raptor Wildlife Centre for the largest display of eagles, hawks, and owls in Australia. Or, stay dry while exploring the depths of Geographe Bay in the Underwater Observatory at the Busselton Jetty.
The southern island state of Tasmania has species found nowhere else, with the elusive Tasmania devil topping the “must-see” list. Just 30 minutes from Hobart, meet the devils at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, a social enterprise and wildlife hospital that rescues animals and provides eco-education for visitors. If you’re heading north to Cradle Mountain, drop into Devils@Cradle to learn about their vital conservation work. Also in the north of the state, Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary showcases Tasmanian species like the pademelon and the eastern quoll and offers up-close observations of wombats and Tassie devils.
Australia’s capital city, Canberra is home to the National Zoo and Aquarium, where you’ll find many of Australia’s must-see native animals like emus, dingoes, koalas and wallabies. If you want to see animals from your pillow, stay at Jamala Wildlife Lodge, where you’ll be immersed in an incredible animal experience. At Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary, just north of Canberra, locally extinct animals (including bettongs, a teeny relative of the kangaroo) are being bred within the safety of a predator-exclusion fence.
