Zoos and wildlife in NSW

Wildlife parks in regional NSW 

The whole family will love visiting Taronga Western Plains Zoo, a sprawling open-range zoo in Dubbo that is home to over 4,000 animals from 350 species. There are native animals like koalas, kangaroos and wombats, as well as exotic species from all over the world. 

Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo - Credit: Rick Stevens | Western Plains Zoo

Take a truck tour through the Lion Pride Lands and see African big cats up close. Walk through the immersive Wild Herds exhibit, hand feed a giraffe or let a curious meerkat crawl onto your lap. You can walk, drive or ride a bicycle through the zoo, and even spend the night among the animals at the self-contained Savannah Cabins. There’s also the Zoofari Lodge and Billabong Camp, where you can observe nocturnal activities in the friendly native wildlife section. 

Zoofari Lodge at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo - Credit: John Patrick Photography

You can go behind the scenes and see rare white lions, rhinos and other exotic animals as well as native kangaroos and goannas at Altina Wildlife Park. The park is near the Murrumbidgee River, a popular spot for fishing and canoeing. Also in the Riverina, the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens encompass a mini zoo, free flight aviary, children's adventure playground and rainforest section. 

Wildlife parks on the South Coast 

Symbio Wildlife Park, located just south of Sydney, is where you’ll meet meerkats, lemurs, tigers and cheetahs. You can spot Australian animals such as wombats and echidnas, hand-feed kangaroos and take a selfie with a koala at the sanctuary near Stanwell Park, a popular hang-gliding spot on Grand Pacific Drive.   

Symbio Wildlife Park, Helensburgh - Credit: Kevin Fallon

At Shoalhaven Zoo in Nowra, listen for a cacophony of calls from lions and monkeys and watch out for Australian natives like koalas, cockatoos, kookaburras and crocodiles, too. Visit Birdland Animal Park in Batemans Bay and Mogo Wildlife Park, where endangered animals are bred. 

Shoalhaven Zoo, North Nowra

Wildlife parks on the North Coast 

Watch Elvis the five-metre saltwater crocodile being feed on weekends at the Australian Reptile Park on the NSW Central Coast, then to see spiders, snakes, platypus and even a giant Galapagos tortoise and Komodo dragon up close. Further north in Port Stephens, cuddle a wombat or feed a kangaroo at Oakvale Wildlife Park.  

Crocodiles on the banks of the waterhole at the Australian Reptile Park, Somesby

Australia Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary is a short drive west. It's where you’ll walk among interesting Australian animals and native plant life, too. A one-hour drive north, attend a daily show, watch monkeys being fed, touch a reptile and more at the Hunter Valley Wildlife Park. 

Port Macquarie Koala Hospital

In Port Macquarie, the Koala Hospital is the world's first hospital dedicated solely to the care and conservation of koalas. Visit the exhibit enclosures, treatment clinic, intensive care units, rehabilitation yards (many of which have trees for koalas to learn to climb as part of the rehabilitation process) and Koalaseum. Also in town is the award-winning Billabong Zoo, where visitors can pat, stroke, feed, hold, hear and see over 80 species of mammals, reptiles and birds. 

Red Panda at Billabong Zoo, Port Macquarie - Credit: Billabong Zoo: Koala & Wildlife Park

Further north of the Coffs Coast, drop into the Butterfly House, a unique experience in which you can stroll among hundreds of live Australian butterflies in an indoor subtropical rainforest setting. Less than a 15-minute drive away, swim with dolphins and seals at the Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Learn about Australian animals at Byron Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, a bio-park formerly known as Macadamia Castle, where you can meet the cute sugar gliders Sebastian and Samson, the wise Socrates the barn owl, and plenty more creatures and critters. 

Aquariums & marine encounters 

Incredible experiences like patting sharks and interacting with stingrays await on your animal odyssey at Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters in Port Stephens. There are 190 sharks and rays in residence here, including a three-metre tawny nurse shark and a giant smooth ray. 

Epaulette Shark Pup at Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters - Credit: Lia Pereira

More aquatic adventures await at Solitary Islands Aquarium in Coffs Harbour, Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre in Terrigal, John Lake Centre in Narrandera and Merimbula Aquarium in Merimbula.