Where to see Australian animals?

[Maya Adachi]

We are taking our two children, ages 7 and 9 to Australia next year and are wondering where the best places would be to see Australian animals. There's the Sydney Zoo, which is supposed to have a great collection of local creatures. We plan to go there , but we also want to try to see animals in the wild. Any ideas? I've herad the the Serendip Open Range Sanctuary is a good place too, and I'm wondering if anyone has been there. Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

[redcentre]

G'day Maya,
sorry that I haven't replied earlier but have only just returned from a few months on the road.

The Serendip Open Range Sanctuary is a great place. I often take my guests ther on our way to the Great Ocean Road.
It's not far out of Melbourne and easy to get to by car.
If you are in Melbourne for some time then another place I can recommend is the Healesville Sactuary.
Sanctuaries of course are not entirely "free range", but those 2 are not as fenced in as some others.
To see native animals completely in the wild you will need to travel further from the cities.

Let me know your Australian Itinerary and then I may be able to make some other suggestions.
Enjoy your time in Oz,
Mike

[byokids]

hi
If you are heading up qld way, then Australia zoo is an excellent place to pay, cuddle and learn about australian animals. the kangaroos and koalas are inside a huge enclosure but you enter the enclosure with them and just walk around and you can touch them etc.
the whole zoo is very,very good
cheers leah

[lauras]

Tasmania is another place to see animals in their wildlife parks - Bonorong WIldlife Park is one where you're likely to see wallabies, Tasmanian devils, wombats, and koalas. Cradle Mountain Lodge in Cradle Mountain/Lake St. Clair National Park is another place to consider visiting. It is a lovely mountain destination and its rangers will take kids exploring. You can often see wombats and other animals from the cabin windows! It has a ropes course, nighttime animal viewing tours, spa, excellent restaurant and bar featuring New Zealand wines, canoeing in summer, tobogganing in winter, mountain bikes.

[Maria_Cairns]

Hi Lauras,

Cairns and the whole area of Tropical North Queensland has some good zoos where to see Aussie animals. Magnetic Island is great to see koalas, you can have a tour of the Daintree river and spot crocodile, in Mission Beach you may sometimes spot Cassowaris and kangaroos and wallabies can be seen along the whole area. But seeing animals in the wild is getting more and more difficult, so zoos are a good option.

In this page you have all the information about all the zoos and wildlife parks in the area, hope it helps you. www.cairnsunlimited.com/zoos.htm

Cheers and enjoy Oz,
Maria

[imlavinia]

Wow... Your kids would really love that.

[johnnymac]

Smother them with roos and koalas, I say. Cute-ness factor for the kids!

[Pthomas156]

If you are up north in Queensland, don't miss the RAINFOREST HABITAT WILDLIFE SANCTUARY in Port Douglas. In this habitat, you are basically wandering around with any Australian wildlife that's not dangerous. You can feed kangaroos and hang out with them. The dangerous stuff, like crocodiles, are of course in a safe enclosure. You can also see cassowaries here, though we did miraculously manage to see one while driving down the road in this area. Australia is much more casual about animal interaction than the USA is, so depending on what part of this big country you're in, you're likely to find someplace that will let you hold a koala, feed a kangaroo, etc. Just ask around. The Habitat also has a wonderful brunch that gives you a chance to taste all the exotic fruits of Australia -- quite amazing! Many exotic birds hang out in this brunch too, which is quite fun. One thing not to miss if you are snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef is to have a look at giant clams -- you know, the enormous one with purple or teal lips that make you pinch yourself to make sure you're not in a Disney movie. There's what everyone calls a giant-clam garden off Lizard Island that was one of the top 5 sights of my life. On the other hand, in Kakadu in Darwin we rousted everyone out of bed at the crack of dawn for the bird-watching boat trip, and my 14-year-old said it was "the most boring two hours of vacation EVER." I kind of liked it, but not worth the dough if kids are bored! Better bird fun was the tree jam-packed full of cockatoos outside a restaurant near our crocodile-shaped Kakadu hotel. And viewing that was free!