Wildlife & zoos

Encounter curious Australian animals in national parks in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges, or get up close to your favourite creatures at the famous Healesville Sanctuary. 

Iconic encounters of the wildlife kind
Stare into the snarling jaws of a Tasmanian Devil and peer at a joey in the pouch of a passing kangaroo at Healesville Sanctuary. Find the camera-shy platypus in its nocturnal creek habitat and explore the Flooded Forest Aviary. Join a Meet the Keeper session and be awed by the spectacular Birds of Prey presentation. Discover animals you didn't know existed with over 200 species on show in walk-through exhibits and meandering paths. 

Find your way into the hidden forests at the National Resources Conservation League in Warburton to meet the resident pair of sugar gliders. 

Local creatures in their natural habitats
Watch out for wombats, swamp wallabies, possums, lyrebirds, platypus and deer in the region's magnificent national parks. Take a guided spotlight forest walk in the Upper Yarra Reservoir Park near Warburton to meet nocturnal animals, or pursue mobs of kangaroos at dusk in Cardinia Reservoir in the Dandenong Ranges.