Koalas, Kangaroos, and Wallabys…oh my!
G’day my adventurous readers! Today we will be venturing out into the wild…Featherdale Wildlife Park that is. This animal encounter park is located in Sydney, Australia and rewards visitors with up-close experiences with some of Australia’s treasured wildlife. This park is marked as one of my favorite experiences while abroad due to its uniqueness and different animal experiences.
When you think of a zoo, I bet you think of walking around a larger form of a park while in the beating sun, looking at caged animals from a far.
Featherdale was nothing close to that thought.
The minute you enter Featherdale you are encouraged to purchase a cup of animal food. I was pleasantly surprised at first, but obliged and purchased a cup. It was rewarding for $2 AUD. After entering the park and collecting the food, your lead into an animal experience like no other.
Immediately I was greeted by the cutest little Quokka. A quokka is a marsupial that is mostly nocturnal and is a herbivorous. They are also commonly known as Australia’s cutest animal. The first exhibit was littered with them everywhere and they were so friendly. It was adorable seeing them eat the food right out of our hands. It was almost as if they were wild running around their natural habitat.
When I wasn’t distracted by the cute Quokkas, I walked around admiring some of the birds and other types of animals in the caged areas.
Guests are free to spend as much time in the areas as they please and each one is separated by a gate. Once I saw all the animals in the first exhibit, I was ready to head to the next one.
This part was honestly one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had. There were kangaroos everywhere. The best part was that we were able to enter their habitats and interact with them. This was seriously an experience like no other, getting up close and personal with kangaroos.
These kangaroos were so friendly and very hungry. They’d come and feed out of your hand, while giving you permission to pet them. Never were they aggressive towards us. They were as curious to see us, as we were to them.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see some hop around when traveling through their exhibit.
Other animals surround the kangaroo area. You will see some penguins, dingos, wombats, and more. These are all caged and you are unable to interact with them.
Onto the next portion of the park, we enter Koala territory! Yes, the cutest creatures have their own section. Around here you will see a number of koalas nestled into their eucalyptus trees taking their naps. These animals sleep for 20 hours a day, making them only active for 4. If you’re lucky, you may see one slowly moving through their tree homes. Along with getting to view the adorable animal, you have the opportunity to pet AND get a photo with one!
For just $25 AUD, you have the chance to pet a koala (yes, it is awake), while you’re getting your photo taken! The park takes a professional photo and several photos with your phone, if you’d like. Along with this, you also get three prints of your koala photo. It is an experience you cannot miss out on.
Fun fact, there are not many places in the world where you get to hold, let alone touch a koala. I did get to hold one later during my trip, but that was in Cairns. The laws in Australia’s states are all different. In New South Whales, we were simply allowed to pet the koala, it is illegal to hold one. In Queensland, it is legal to hold a koala.
After my encounter with the koala, I spent time with more kangaroos and wallabies. These kangaroos were a bit bigger and jumped more than the others. Again, we were allowed into their habitat and had such a fun time interacting with them.
Next to the kangaroos was a habitat almost similar to a petting zoo. There were a multitude of animals in there from pigs to deer.
All in all, Featherdale was an experience like no other. I was able to spend an incredible of time getting to know kangaroos and other Australian animals. Where else will you get to sit down next to a kangaroo?
The trip out here is worth it and fun for all ages. The memories I made here will be remembered for a lifetime.
My Bissy Life 