Australia's best zoos and wildlife parks

By Carolyn Beasley

Australia is home to an incredible array of wildlife and there’s no shortage of places to admire them. Zoos, wildlife parks, and sanctuaries are perfect for visitors short on time, families with junior travellers, or those who simply want to see our wildlife icons together. 

Our zoos give you the chance to see animals safely and much closer than in the wild, with most Australian zoos offering wildlife encounters and in-depth tours to make your visit extra special. Plus, with strong animal welfare laws in Australia, you can visit knowing the ethical standards will be high.  

Here are some of our favourite zoo experiences from all corners of the country.

Near Sydney

For a unique wildlife encounter just moments from the city, catch the public ferry across the glistening Sydney Harbour to Taronga Zoo Sydney. For a more intimate experience, visit Sydney Zoo located in western Sydney, where animal-loving little ones can become a zookeeper for the day.

Featherdale Wildlife Park and Symbio Wildlife Park offer incredible encounters, and for more of our prolific marine life, visit SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, where you’ll get to safely see plenty of Australian sea creatures, from seahorses to dugongs. 

Outside of the city, check out the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, which offers overnight stays in permanent tents and stylish cabins. Heading north, the Australian Reptile Park will introduce you to Aussie animals both scaly and furry, and at Oakvale Wildlife Park at Port Stephens, you can join a koala educational talk to learn about our furry mates.

Near Melbourne

Take a wander through the Australian bush in the heart of Melbourne to spot southern koalas, wombats, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils and an array of our colourful birds at Melbourne Zoo.

Further afield, escape the city for a day of animal encounters in the sprawling reserves and sanctuaries just outside of Melbourne. At the Koala Conservation Reserve on Phillip Island, you can soak up stellar views of the star fluff-balls in their natural treetop habitat during a woodland walk. Or head to Healesville Sanctuary, just an hour outside of Melbourne, to explore their many nature trails abundant with native wildlife.

South of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, the Moonlit Sanctuary can introduce you to many nocturnal animals, like the spot-tailed quoll, our cat-sized carnivore.

Near Brisbane

South of Brisbane, on the Gold Coast, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has been feeding wild rainbow lorikeets for over 70 years. These days, you can even eat breakfast while watching cute 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, where his family still educates the public on crocodiles and wildlife, and you’ll still hear the word “crikey!”

Near Cairns

Home to the Great Barrier Reef and the world's oldest tropical rainforest, the Cairns region offers the unique chance to interact with incredibly diverse marine life and ancient, tropical creatures that seem more at home in the Mesozoic Era.

In north-east Queensland, Cairns is the main gateway to the Great Barrier Reef where you can learn about the world’s biggest reef at the Cairns Aquarium. In the nearby lush hinterland, visit Rainforestation Nature Park at Kuranda to see tree kangaroos and the huge flightless bird, the cassowary. 

If it’s reptiles you’re after, visit Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures between Cairns and Port Douglas to meet “salties” (saltwater crocodiles), or visit the volunteers nursing sea turtles back to health at the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on idyllic Fitzroy Island.

Near Darwin

Thrill-seekers will love the top end of Australia for its (very safe) up-close encounters with some of our more non-cuddly wildlife.

Australia’s Top End (the top section of the Northern Territory) is crocodile central, and at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin you can challenge your instincts by safely swimming in a glass tube within a croc’s pool. Not your cup of tea? Near Darwin at the Territory Wildlife Park, you’ll see adorable agile wallabies and witness our biggest bird of prey, the wedge-tailed eagle, in flight.

Near the Red Centre

The heart of the Northern Territory outback is known as Australia’s Red Centre, a haven for wildlife species that can tolerate the heat. In Alice Springs, visit Alice Springs Desert Park to learn about the connections between local Aboriginal communities and the animals.

You’ll see weird and wonderful desert creatures, like the bilby with its long ears, and our quirkiest lizard, the thorny devil. And to lay your eyes on our biggest land mammal, the red kangaroo, you’ll want to stop by the wildly popular Kangaroo Sanctuary. You may even get the chance to meet an orphan joey during your visit. The sanctuary is owned by charismatic television personality Chris "Brolga" Barns from the BBC/National Geographic series Kangaroo Dundee.

Near Adelaide

Spending time with our wildlife in the surrounds of their natural habitat is a special experience. Bring a picnic to Cleland Wildlife Park in the hills behind Adelaide, or visit Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary, south of the city, where free-ranging native animals live in their natural habitat, protected by a feral-animal-proof fence.

In the heart of Adelaide, Adelaide Zoo is home to some rare Aussie animals including 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 tammar wallaby and the Tasmanian devil.

Near Perth

Out west in Perth, Perth Zoo offers you the chance to see quirky creatures such as the numbat – our insect-eating marsupial – along with many other animals. Take a dive under the Indian Ocean waves, visiting 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.

Looking for a more immersive experience? Ningaloo Reef is a coral wonderland just a two-hour flight north of Perth. In the town of Exmouth, drop in to the Ningaloo Discovery Centre and Aquarium before you hit the reef’s marine park where you can swim with extraordinary marine life including whale sharks, rays and turtles.  

Near Hobart

Speaking of rare and unusual, the southern island state of Tasmania has its own species that are 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 experiences to visitors. If you’re heading further north to Cradle Mountain, drop in to 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 devils. For something completely different, try the world’s first seahorse aquarium at Seahorse World on the northern coast at Beauty Point.

Near Canberra

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. Join an educational tour to learn more about the species to be reintroduced to the Canberra region.