7 Aussie animal encounters your kids will love you for

Rachel Pedroza Rachel Pedroza
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Teach your kids about the wild world the best way possible: getting up-close-and-personal with the feathery, furry and scaly kind.

1. Meet the devils – Monarto Zoo, SA

Your little devils can meet Tasmania’s endangered ones with Monarto’s Devilish Native Experience, which takes you into the exclusive breeding facility for one of Australia’s most troubled animals.

Tassie devils at Monarto Zoo.
Tassie devils at Monarto Zoo (photo: Dave Mattner).

Experience feeding time for the Tasmanian devils and also learn about Monarto’s conservation efforts in saving the black-footed rock and mainland tammar wallaby, brush-tailed bettong and bilby.

 

Prices start from $65 for non-members; ages 6+.

Address: Old Princes Hwy, Monarto South SA

2. Play with platypuses – Healesville Sanctuary, VIC

This is a world first! ‘Wade with the Platypus’ is a fabulous encounter for kids interested in one of Australia’s mysterious egg-laying mammals.

Platypus
Who wouldn’t want to see a beautiful platypus?

Offered at Healesville Sanctuary, children will be briefed by keepers before jumping into waders and venturing into the play pool.

 

Here they’ll be able to pat, play and feed the platypuses in a safe environment. $199; ages 12+.

Address: Badger Creek Rd, Badger Creek VIC

3. Feed seahorses – Beauty Point, TAS

Is there anything cuter than a baby seahorse?

 

Like no other experience we’ve heard of, Seahorse World has it all, allowing kids to learn about the lifecycle of the seaweed-dwelling creatures with a glance into the seahorse farm.

Seahorse World_Rob Burnett (5)
One of Seahorse World’s fascinating displays (photo: Rob Burnett).

The Kids’ Discovery Program has your children feeding the baby seahorses and sharks, and handling hermit crabs, star fish and more.

 

$15 per person (adults welcome); ages 4–10.

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Address: 200 Flinders St, Beauty Point TAS

4. Make feathery friends – Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, QLD

Each school holidays the Creature Keeper program focuses on a different species – in April, it’s all about birds.

 

Designed for young adults, they will gain access to behind-the-scenes areas, learn about how each enclosure is designed to house its feathery occupants, what foods they eat, watch how the keepers follow chick development within the egg, meet a wedge-tailed eagle and have their photograph taken beside one of the sanctuary’s wonderful birds.

 

Two-day course from $135; ages 12–17.

Address: 28 Tomewin St, Currumbin QLD

5. Be a zookeeper for a day – Australia Zoo, QLD

Kids can live out their ‘When I grow up’ fantasies and see the real side of zookeeping at Australia Zoo on this day-long adventure.

Australia Zoo, Queensland
Be a zookeeper for a day at Australia Zoo!

They can spend the morning with a variety of animals such as resident Aldabra tortoises, Igloo and Goliath, as well as rhinoceros, giraffe and binturong, to name a few.

 

Each program is unique, so be prepared to care for some unlikely creatures. $85 per person; all ages.

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Address: 1638 Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah QLD

6. Rendezvous with reptiles – Australian Reptile Park, NSW

Spiders and snakes and crocs, oh my! If your child likes creepy crawlies, then this is the program for them.

Australian Reptile Park
Tawny owl feeding at the Australian Reptile Park.

The Australian Reptile Park lets its littlest keepers see the ‘off display’ reptile room, handle lizards and snakes and observe spider-milking.

 

They also get to meet Hugo the tortoise, play with Tassie devil babies, interact with Tawny owls and much more. $70 per child; ages 8–12.

Address: 69 Pacific Hwy, Somersby NSW

7. Have an exotic encounter – National Zoo, ACT

Imagine this for show and tell: ‘I got up-close-and-personal with a lion, met a brown bear, hand-fed a giraffe, patted a rhino, and held a python, all in one day!’

 

The Zooventure at Canberra’s National Zoo and Aquarium is two hours of rare animal encounters that average zoo visitors can only dream of.

 

Prices start from $75 per child; ages 5–12.

Address: 999 Lady Denman Dr, Yarralumla ACT

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Rachel Pedroza

Rachel Pedroza

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5 of the best day trips from Hobart

(Credit: Samuel Shelley)

    Rachel Lay Rachel Lay
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    Hobart has quietly become our coolest capital, but the real wonder lies just beyond the city limits.

    In the cool shade of Kunyani/ Mt Wellington, Hobart has earned a reputation. Home to culture-defining Dark MOFO, the city blends rugged, raw wilderness and rule-breaking galleries. But, step beyond the thrumming capital’s border and you’ll find a new perspective: historic towns, Jurassic-era cliffs and a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. Fill your days with epicurean odysseys and wild scenery on the best day trips from Hobart.

    Where to stay

    Hobart stay with sleek style at Mövenpick hotel
    Elevate your Hobart stay with sleek style at Mövenpick.

    Behind every good road trip is the perfect home base. Somewhere central to review your camera roll, make the most of Hobart’s dining scene and relax before setting off again.

    For modern, Tasmanian-inspired design, book a stay at the Movenpick Hotel Hobart. Standing at the Salamanca Markets, look to the Hobart skyline, and the award-winning hotel will catch your eye. As the third-tallest building in the CBD, the views across the harbour toward Antarctica are totally unique from your room. Here, end each day at the daily free chocolate hour (plus a free Movenpick ice cream for the little ones).

    For a more budget-conscious option, head to the picture book, sandstone buildings of Macquarie Street. Nestled along the buzzing, historic streetscape, you’ll find Tasmania’s biggest hotel: the Ibis Styles. Return home each day to defrost in one of the hotel’s two saunas. Make use of the proximity to MONA, or take an easy stroll to the candy-coloured cottages of Battery Point between your adventures.

    1. Bruny Island

    Bruny Island Neck is an isthmus of land connecting north and south Bruny Island.
    Begin your adventure with a climb and a view. (Credit: Elise Weaver)

    Craggy cliffs and tropical-hued, white sand beaches signal your arrival to Bruny Island/ Lunawanna-Alonnah.

    Start your day trip at the island’s most iconic spot, the Neck Game Reserve. Scale the Trunganini steps to gaze out over the teensy stretch of land that juts through the sea connecting the two ends of the island.

    Catch a rare glimpse of the white-furred wallabies that call Bruny Island home at Adventure Bay. Then, for ocean-fresh oysters, pull into the drive-thru window at Get Shucked. Sample Bruny Island cheese at the cellar door before catching the ferry home with an esky full of local produce.

    2. Mount Wellington

    Mount Wellington Summit tasmania
    Climb through alpine forest to the summit. (Credit: Samuel Shelley)

    At 1271 metres, Mount Wellington watches protectively over Hobart. Follow the winding road to climb through alpine forest and tufts of snow to reach the summit. Gaze down over Hobart and out to sea, or over your shoulder to the southwestern wilderness.

    Reset your adrenaline with a mountain bike ride back down. Or, make like the locals and head into the mountain on foot. Try the hike to the Jurassic-period Organ Pipes, which slips under the mountain’s magnificent dolerite cliffs (perfect for families thanks to the trail’s minimal incline).

    For a view of Mount Wellington itself, hike nearby Cathedral Rock.

    2. Port Arthur

    Port Arthur tasmania
    Wander through convict-built grounds and gardens. (Credit: Alastair Bett)

    Constructed entirely by convicts, the manicured gardens and penal buildings of Port Arthur offer a day trip that practically hums with history.

    The rugged, seagirt location was chosen for its difficult escape conditions. Now, you can cruise the coast below the towering, jagged cliffs of the Tasman National Park or wander the sloping fields of fragrant lavender.

    Tickets to Port Arthur include a walking tour and harbour cruise. See the Isle of the Dead where 1000 men are buried in marked and unmarked graves. And Point Puer, Britain’s first prison for children.

    3. Launceston

    Duck Reach Power Station Bridge Cataract Gorge launceston
    Walk the sunlit paths of Cataract Gorge. (Credit: Nick H Visuals)

    You’ll find Launceston at the confluence of three rivers after an easy 2.5-hour drive from Hobart. Launceston is a patchwork of old and new. Here, heritage streetscapes meet modern architecture.

    Visit Cataract Gorge, the green, sun-dappled heart of the town and sacred meeting point for Tasmania’s indigenous communities. Pull up at roadside produce stalls that dot the Tamar Valley, or dine out. Launceston is, after all, a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.

    Should the local wine scene persuade you, simply extend your time in Launceston at Peppers Silo (but definitely at least stop by the onsite restaurant, Grain of the Silo, for a farm fresh menu) or Mercure Launceston before heading back to Hobart.

    4. Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary

    woman with wombat at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary
    Snap a cuddle-worthy encounter. (Credit: Tourism Australia)

    Take a 35-minute drive from your hotel and you’ll find Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. This social enterprise is run by a team of extremely passionate Tasmanians with a mission to look after critically endangered species who have found sanctuary here after facing extinction on the mainland.

    Choose to wander the sanctuary at your own pace or join a guided tour (free with your ticket) to come face to face with Tassie’s most iconic species. Tasmanian Devils, wombats and echidnas are part of the free tour. You can book up close encounters with your favourite animals, too.

    5. Richmond Village & Coal River Valley

    Richmond is a picture-perfect town in the Coal River Valley wine region, offering a glimpse into early colonial life, one of the best day trips from Hobart.
    Trace the river through history and wine country. (Credit: Alastair Bett)

    Richmond is a town that belongs in a snow globe. Fifty colonial-era, Georgian buildings have been painstakingly restored and turned into cafes, cosy restaurants and galleries. Visit Richmond Gaol, said to be the home of a prisoner so vile he inspired Charles Dickens to pen Oliver Twist’s Fagin.

    Then, follow the Coal River as it flows past grassy, duckling-dotted knolls and under the iconic Richmond Bridge, the oldest bridge in Australia. From the crest of the bridge, see the oldest Catholic Church in Australia. The river crawls past many cellar doors, perfect for a day of wine tasting.