Australia is renowned for its sometimes weird but always wonderful
critters. From making friends with are wombat to kicking back with kangaroos, here are some of the best wildlife experiences on offer.
Meet and help preserve koalas near Melbourne, Victoria
Koala populations have been decimated by bushfires, so help ensure their future with a Koala Recovery Experience. You’ll plant the trees these adorable marsupials live in at the You Yangs range, which offers fertile land an hour west of the city.
Participants will work with social enterprise Echidna Walkabout, members of the local community, and volunteers from the Koala Clancy Foundation. In the afternoons you’ll go on guided nature walks and spot wild kangaroos and emus, and, of course, meet the koalas whose lives you are helping preserve.
From £621pp for a two-day experience, including meals and accommodation, echidnawalkabout.com.au
Get up close to seals and penguins on the New South Wales south coast
Montague Island Nature Reserve is a renowned wildlife destination that’s home to little penguins, a huge colony of Australian fur seals and 90 bird species (nationalparks.nsw.gov.au). It’s located five miles off Narooma, four hours south of Sydney in the south coast’s Eurobodalla region. You’ll discover why the friendly fur seals are called ‘puppies of the sea’ on a seal snorkel with Narooma Charters, (£55pp, naroomacharters.com.au). And don’t forget to charge your phone camera for the sight of penguins waddling back to their nests after a day of fishing on a sunset tour (£76pp) with Montague Island Discovery Tours, montagueislandtours.com
Don’t leave Oz without seeing a dingo on Queensland’s Fraser Island
The world’s largest sand island, K’gari (Fraser Island) is also known for being home to wild but cute-looking locals: dingoes. There are up to 30 packs of them here, with numbers totaling around 200.
Dingoes love to swim and are known to walk up to 25 miles per day. The best place to spot them is on the beach at sunrise or sunset. An important part of the island’s ecology, they’re a protected, pure-breed species. Other wildlife to discover on this World Heritage-listed wonder includes manta rays, turtles, dolphins and humpback whales (Aug-Oct). Two-day Dingo Tag-along tour, from £241pp, fraser-tours.com
Take a bush safari around Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory
Enjoy an Animal Tracks tour with an aboriginal guide around Kakadu National Park, where the terrain encompasses wetlands, rivers and striking sandstone escarpments. You’ll learn about aboriginal culture and spot anything from wallabies and crocodiles to turtles and dingoes. The highlight is a sunset supper by a lake where you’ll see hundreds, if not thousands, of birds gather to roost.
From £120pp, available June-September, animaltracks.com.au.
See ‘roos and more on Kangaroo Island in South Australia
Kangaroo Island is a nature lover’s paradise just a short hop from Adelaide. Intrepid’s five-day Kangaroo Island Adventure trip focuses heavily on the wildlife. Highlights include a visit to a colony of rare sea lions at Seal Bay with a local ranger, a penguin tour, a sheep-shearing experience, and visits to locations such as Flinders Chase National Park. And, of course, you’ll get the chance to see the kangaroos the island is named after.
From £1,265pp, including accommodation, some meals and transfers, intrepidtravel.com
Encounter little devils and more in Tasmania
Tasmanian devils supposedly got their name thanks to their red ears, wide jaws and sharp teeth, not to mention the unearthly screaming sounds they make. Indigenous to Australia’s smallest state, you can find them, plus more weird and wonderful creatures, at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, not far from the capital Hobart. This social enterprise looks after injured or vulnerable animals until they can be released back into the wild, and you’ll discover everything from echidnas – aka spiny anteaters – to possums and eastern quolls (marsupials). You can book a number of experiences, from getting up close and personal with a wombat to hand-feeding kangaroos and seeing the devils themselves.
Admission from £18; animal encounters and feeding experiences from £14, bonorong.com.au
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source https://metro.co.uk/2023/04/16/the-best-once-in-a-life-time-wildlife-experiences-in-australia-18614139/
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