Zoos and animal sanctuaries play an important role in conservationism and wildlife education and, since Australia’s flora and fauna are so unique, the need to protect our wildlife is even more urgent. To know something is to love it, so fall in love with cuddly, fierce and majestic creatures all over again at these thrilling zoos!
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Perhaps the best-known place on this list, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary has been around since 1927 — the oldest in the world! — and it started with just two koalas, Jack and Jill. Founded to protect the species against the fur trade popular in that time period, the Sanctuary is named after a huge hoop pine that stands at its entrance to this day!
The space hosts kangaroo and lorikeet feedings daily, raptor and sheep dog shows, talks on koalas and dingos, as well as koala moments throughout the day, giving you the chance to feel the softness of one of Australia’s most representative animals and even snap a selfie with them! They also organise school holiday programs, which teach different age groups how to care for nature and foster their curiosity about the world.
💲Price: $42 per child, $59 per adult
📍Lone Pine Tree Sanctuary, 708 Jesmond Rd, Fig Tree Pocket
SEE MORE: Get Your Cuteness Fix With This Adorable Koala Live Cam
Daisy Hill Koala Centre
Since 1995, in the midst of the Daisy Hill Conservation Park this hidden gem is waiting for you to discover the secret world of koalas, which you can observe from two different viewing levels. Because it’s first and foremost a conservation centre, visitors are not allowed to handle or touch the animals, but what Daisy Hill Koala Centre lacks in interaction it makes up for in learning!
You can watch short films all about the creature’s life cycle and biology at the Woodland Theatre, learn how to identify symptoms of injury or sickness in koalas, learn what the Queensland Government does to protect them, and find out how you can get involved. Best of all, the koala-ty experience is free!
💲Price: Free!
📍Daisy Hill Koala Centre, 253 Daisy Hill Rd, Daisy Hill QLD 4127, Australia
David Fleay Wildlife Park
Established in 1952 by Australian scientist, Dr. David Fleay, known as “Australia’s Father of Conservation” David Fleay Wildlife Park — then known as Fleay’s Fauna Reserve — quickly became a mecca for both scientists and the general public with an ever-growing thirst for knowledge of their native fauna.
David managed to breed for the first time, in captivity, 48 different species of fauna, contributing to saving some of them from the threat of extinction. It is now one of the only places on the Gold Coast where visitors can see the Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, which was thought to be extinct for over 30 years!
The enclosed reserve offers 7.5 acres of inviting parkland, allowing visitors to observe a diverse array of habitats and wildlife, including all the usual suspects, as well as some rarer specimens such as the endangered southern cassowary from the rainforests of North Queensland, near-threatened Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo and endangered mahogany gliders.
💲Price: $12.25 per child, $27.05 per adult
📍David Fleay Wildlife Park, Loman Lane, Burleigh Heads
Paradise Country
Although Paradise Country has all the classic Aussie animals you would expect for you to marvel at, the authentic farm experience is where it truly shines! Sheep shearing, pony rides, a stockman show, and dingo and snake encounters are just a few of the immersive options the place has to offer, allowing you to get up close and personal in a way that perfectly combines the wild and the domestic.
💲Price: $49 per child, $59 per adult
📍Paradise Country, Production Dr, Oxenford
Dreamworld
You may know it primarily as Australia’s largest theme park, but make no mistake, Dreamworld also happens to be a wildlife conservation park and the largest zoological contributor to tiger conservation worldwide through the Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation!
Aside from some of Australia’s most famous flora and fauna, you’ll find presentations about many of the zoo’s furry, feathery and scaly residents, encounters and feedings — are you brave enough to feed tigers and crocodiles? — and walkthroughs in different types of habitats like rainforest and wetlands.
💲Price: $119 per person (entry valid for all of Dreamworld)
📍Dreamworld Pkwy, Coomera
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
And hour’s drive from Brisbane, these heritage-listed zoological gardens and animal hospital are known as one of the best wildlife parks in all of Queensland, and for good reason!
With everything from cassowaries and emus to tamarins, crocodiles and kangaroos, there is no shortage of animales to see and, in some cases encounter: have breakfast with koalas or meet Jerry and Elaine, the zoo’s adorable capybaras!
Originally started by Dr. Alex Griffiths in 1947 as a simple lorikeet feeding display, all in the name of keeping the birds from eating his flowers, this remarkable place has been a non-profit since 1976 and a wildlife hospital since 1989.
Now, as their conservation efforts protect a number of majestic species, the Sanctuary continues to grow and attract visitors, with Today, light shows like Astra Lumina, kids’ shows, and even a Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Presentation, where you can watch vets and nurses help sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife while hearing all about it firsthand!
💲Price: $50 per child, $70 per adult
📍Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, 28 Tomewin St, Currumbin
Australia Zoo
A place that almost needs no introduction, the zoo established by beloved Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, is known as one of the best in Queensland, if not the whole country. Although the Irwins have been operating this space since 1970 under different names, it was only in the 90s, once Steve had found fame as the Crocodile Hunter and had married Terri, that it became Australia Zoo.
Now, with dedicated habitats for tigers, elephants, cheetahs and, of course, crocodiles, it’s a truly unmissable destination for animal lovers! Hand feed kangaroos, go behind the scenes at their wildlife hospital, get up-close-and-personal with giraffes or even be a zookeeper for a day during the school holidays!
The zoo has more chances for encounters than you can shake a stick at, so if you’re worried about being short on time, the fun can start from the moment you wake up with a stay at the Irwins’ very own Crocodile Hunter Lodge, a luxury retreat where you can observe red kangaroos, emus and koalas in their natural habitat, and that gives you unlimited entry to Australia Zoo during your stay!
💲Price: $49.95 per child, $74.95 per adult
📍Australia Zoo, 1638 Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah
READ ALL ABOUT IT: Wake Up To Kangaroos, Emus And Koalas At The Irwin Family’s Crocodile Hunter Lodge
Wildlife HQ
Right by the iconic Big Pineapple, Wildlife HQ got its start in 2014, when Alma Park Zoo closed to make way for a housing development in the area. Owner Julie Seabrook and her team negotiated with Alma Park Zoo to accommodate the 200 animals safely in their new permanent home!
Now, with plenty of exotic creatures to discover, including endangered species such as the Cotton Top Tamarin, and encounters with lemurs, meerkats, and even a python, the wildlife at Wildlife HQ truly got a second chance to thrive.
💲Price: $35 per child, $49 per adult
📍Wildlife HQ, 76 Nambour Connection Rd, Woombye