Where to meet Australia's cutest animals

By Katrina Lobley

Want to grab a selfie with a koala, kangaroo, Tasmanian devil or quokka? Have you always wanted to spot an elusive platypus? Maybe an echidna? It's easy to meet Australia's unique wildlife both in the wild and in wildlife sanctuaries.

1. Where can I meet a quokka?

Where: Rottnest Island, a 25-minute ferry ride from Fremantle, near Perth.

Koalas and kangaroos might be Australia's best-known animals, but Rottnest Island’s adorable quokkas are perhaps the country's most photogenic furry resident. Visitors love to take photos with the friendly marsupials, as they often look like they are smiling. Even celebrities like Chris Hemsworth and Margot Robbie have posted quokka selfies on Instagram. 

• How to experience it: The best time of day to see these nocturnal marsupials is mid-to-late afternoon – take one of the free daily guided walks to try to spot one.

2. Where can I cuddle a koala?

Where: In Queensland and South Australia.

Some Australian states prohibit koala cuddles, but you can have this iconic experience in Queensland and South Australia at select wildlife sanctuaries. Currumbin is home to more than 50 koalas, and the koalas that are comfortable with humans only work for 30 minutes every three days to make sure they stay healthy and happy. After your cuddle, pay a visit to the park's koala hospital, which treats sick and injured koalas with the aim to re-release them into the wild. In South Australia the 20-minute sessions in the koala enclosure allow time for visitors to take photos and have a cuddle with a koala. 

• How to experience it: Visit Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary near Brisbane or Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast for a Queensland koala experience. In South Australia, head to Cleland Wildlife Park near Adelaide. 

3. Where can I play with a platypus or echidna?

Where: Various zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around Australia.

Platypuses are notoriously shy and quite rare to spot in the wild. Luckily you can get close enough to tickle this elusive national icon at a number of wildlife sanctuaries, zoos and enclosures around Australia. At Healesville Sanctuary, you can step into a pair of waders and into the platypus play pool to splash around with one of these unusual creatures. Most Australian zoos and wildlife parks also feature encounters with the adorable echidna. These spiky little creatures will capture your heart as they come in for a cuddle – they might even sit on your lap.

• How to experience it: You can encounter the platypus and echidna at the Healesville Sanctuary in the Yarra Valley, which is north-east of Melbourne. You'll also find them at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park on Kangaroo Island and Taronga Zoo Sydney.

4. Where can I feed wild dolphins?

Where: Moreton Island just off the coast of Brisbane, and Monkey Mia, 850 kilometres (530 miles) north of Perth. 

As an island nation, Australia offers an abundance of dolphin experiences. If you stay at Tangalooma Island Resort on Queensland's Moreton Island, head to the water's edge to watch wild bottlenose dolphins glide right up into the shallows to receive a fish from your hands. In Monkey Mia, on Australia's west coast, bottlenose dolphins swim into knee-deep water, where visitors can hand-feed them under the supervision of park rangers.

• How to experience it: Feed wild dolphins each sunset with Tangalooma Island Resort on Moreton Island. In Monkey Mia, the dolphins visit close to shore up to three times a day, but mornings are your best chance to experience a feeding.

5. Where can I hang out with kangaroos?

Where: Various zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around Australia.

Our national icon, the kangaroo, is plentiful here in Australia, so there is no shortage of places where you can see them either in the wild or an ethical enclosure. Kangaroos are known to have many different habitats. In the wild, you'll find 'roos' in groups roaming the grassy areas of the bush as well as sun-bathing on the many beautiful beaches across the Australian coastline. You can also find them lazing on grassy golf courses or hopping across the red sand in the iconic Aussie outback plains. It's an exciting feeling to spot a kangaroo in their natural habitat, but if you'd like to have an experience patting and hand-feeding a kangaroo, visit one of our many incredible sanctuaries.

• How to experience it: For an outback experience, don't miss The Kangaroo Sanctuary's afternoon tours in Alice Springs. On the Sunshine Coast, pop into Australia Zoo to stroll the grasslands where kangaroos roam free.

6. Where can I wander with wombats?

Where: Maria Island, two hours north-east of Hobart, and Wolgan Valley near the Blue Mountains, a three-hour drive from Sydney. 

Wombats may be difficult to spot during the day, but seeing these rotund little creatures emerge at dusk is worth the wait. To see them in the wild, take a nature hike or grab a bicycle and explore the many native reserves and nature parks, which are especially stunning early in the morning and at sunset.

• How to experience it: One of the best places to see wombats in the wild is on Tasmania's Maria Island; take the Maria Island Walk for a multi-day experience. At Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley, a conservation resort beyond the Blue Mountains, wombats freely wander around the 2,800-hectare (7,000-acre) property, nibbling at the grass.

7. Where can I meet Tasmanian devils?

Where: Various zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around Australia, mostly throughout Tasmania.

Where better to see the infamous Tasmanian devil than it's eponymous island state? If you're driving around Tasmania, it's possible to glimpse Tasmanian devils in the wild, but they are elusive and difficult to spot. For a guaranteed encounter, there are multiple sanctuaries, zoos and enclosures to get up close and personal to these wildly adorable little critters.

• How to experience it: Head to Devils@Cradle, in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. Book a Day Keeper Tour, an After Dark Feeding Tour or a Dine with the Devil experience. Closer to Hobart is the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo, which offers a Devil Tracker Experience – a 4WD tour on which you help track the devils' movements. 
  

8. Where can I take a dip with sea lions?

Where: Port Lincoln, a seven-hour road trip from Adelaide; or Narooma, a five-hour drive south of Sydney.

These charismatic creatures are as frisky as they are curious, so you can expect to have a few close encounters under the crystal-clear waves. They’ll entertain you with somersaults and backflips while blowing bubbles toward your snorkel mask – they’re so playful, they’ve been dubbed the “puppy dogs of the sea”. 

• How to experience it: In Port Lincoln, Adventure Bay Charters and Calypso Star Charters will bring you by boat out onto the water before you dive in. You can also swim with seals in Narooma. Book a tour with Montague Island Tours or Island Charters Narooma.

9. Where can I see a fairy penguin parade?

Where: Phillip Island, a 90-minute drive south of the Melbourne. 

Phillip Island is a wildlife haven, and one of the biggest drawcards is its population of over 32,000 little penguins. One of the area’s most popular events, the Penguin Parade allows visitors to catch a glimpse of the island's native little penguins as they come back ashore after a day of fishing. You will not be sorry you experienced the magic of watching little penguins waddle home from the ocean to their burrows. Stroll the elevated timber boardwalks around the island to try to catch a glimpse. 

• How to experience it: Head to Summerland Beach for a 180-degree viewing of the parade on their tiered seating. There are also several VIP and guided tours on offer for up-close viewing and ranger commentary. 

10. Where can I have a dingo play date?

Where: Various zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around Australia. 

Want to combine your love for dogs with iconic Aussie wildlife? Look no further than our native dog – the dingo. From the cutest of cuddles with the pack, playing games with their toys through to getting the ultimate photo, these experiences will make a lasting impression. 

• How to experience it: The dingo encounter at Symbio Wildlife Park, just south of Sydney, takes you in behind the scenes to play around with adults and pups. Near Melbourne you can make a dingo date at the Moonlit Sanctuary.