There are so many places to visit just outside of Melbourne, just an hour or two away, so it’s easy enough to fit in a side trip during a four day visit.
Our first day trip was spent at Ballarat Wildlife Park. It takes around 90 minutes to drive from Melbourne and it’s a beautiful park to spend an afternoon in, especially as they have koalas. You do have to register your names at the entrance and pay a bit extra for the koala experience, but as these cuddly creatures are becoming more extinct I thought it was worth it. The park is situated on 37 acres of bushland and has more than 100 free roaming kangaroos.
We spent a couple of hours here looking at all the different animals and it is a very hands on place, being able to feed the kangaroos. Judging by the amount of food on the ground I think the kangaroos are pretty bored with it and definitely not hungry.
Our encounter with the koalas
These are just a few of the photos I took of all the different animals there, and the ones I could get decent shots of! The other animals they have are penguins, birds, crocs, Tasmanian tigers, snakes, emus, wombats, quolls and aligators. There are also two Sumatran tigers there.
There is a licenced cafe there where we had lunch. In my opinion though it’s probably better to bring your own picnic.
PARK INFORMATION
Opening hours: 9-5 pm daily. Closed Christmas Day
Admission: $35 for adults – $19.50 for children. There are group discounts for families.
Animal Encounters: – $40 – $80, I believe for groups of four or less.
As you can see it makes a great family day out, admittedly not cheap but it’s good to see the animals well cared for in a natural habitat.
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On our way back to Melbourne we had a quick pitstop at Lake Wendouree. A beautiful spot to have a picnic and a walk. Then it was back to the city for dinner. A very tasty Korean.
Until our next trip!
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