Ballarat Wildlife Park
Ballarat Wildlife Park
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Famous for its Australian wildlife and up-close animal experiences, Ballarat Wildlife Park is just 90 minutes’ drive west from Melbourne. There’s around 100 free-roaming kangaroos waiting to be hand-fed as well as other Australian animals including koalas, wombats, little penguins, dingoes and Tasmanian devils. An impressive reptile house is home to ‘Crunch’ the 5-metre-long super croc, snakes, frogs and lizards. Around the park visitors will also see tree kangaroos, giant tortoises, emus, Sumatran tigers and much more. ‘Animal Encounter’ experiences offer a rare opportunity to pat a koala, cuddle a wombat or even have a snake wrapped over one's shoulders! Encounters include a professional photo as a memento of the experience. Ballarat Wildlife Park is open every day 9 am - 5 pm (close Christmas Day).
Does not meet animal welfare
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4.5
1,017 reviews
Excellent
607
Very good
295
Average
85
Poor
16
Terrible
14
chrystal M
Bacchus Marsh, Australia49 contributions
June 2020 • Family
Had a lovely couple of hours here. Due to covid there was no presentations. You can feed the kangaroos, which is really fun. To see the zoo probably tales about an hour, so some might find this too expensive. I imagine this would be much better in warmer weather
Written 15 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
keenskier3481
Melbourne, Australia227 contributions
Nov 2020 • Couples
If not for all the kangaroos laying around the park it would be pretty boring.
One of the tiger enclosure was closed (resting) & if the other had a tiger we could not see it.
We were informed by staff that their eagle died 12 months ago & their looking for another!
There were no penguins as the enclosure was being cleaned!
Melbourne Zoo clean enclosures prior to opening.
At $35.00 per adult this is the same price as Melbourne Zoo & the zoo is 40 times bigger with animals.
Not worth the money
One of the tiger enclosure was closed (resting) & if the other had a tiger we could not see it.
We were informed by staff that their eagle died 12 months ago & their looking for another!
There were no penguins as the enclosure was being cleaned!
Melbourne Zoo clean enclosures prior to opening.
At $35.00 per adult this is the same price as Melbourne Zoo & the zoo is 40 times bigger with animals.
Not worth the money
Written 25 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ert53
Australia409 contributions
Jan 2022
iThis is quite a nice park but could be a lot better. It is quite expensive to enter. There are some nice roaming kangaroos and some good exhibits like the meerkats and the reptile house.
Signage is pretty poor around the park; for example, the tiger enclosure is not well marked- you can only see what it is by looking at the map handout. More signs and map boards are needed. Signs at each place saying what the animals are and when the feedings times/shows are should be provided. The café is OK but does not compare with the café at Bird World.
The most disappointing aspect is what appears to be a lack of concern for, or thought about, visitor comfort and experience.
Some of the animals are not visible (for example the tigers, and Tasmanian Devils), which somewhat defeats the purpose of having them there; and in the reptile house a bench for small children to stand on could easily be provided, as in other zoos, to save parents having to lift them up all the time.
Here is one prime example. We went to see the fairy penguin show. Some people had clearly waited for ages. But at the last minute a lot of other people arrived and stood at the railing, effectively blocking the view of all the people sitting in tiered seats, who had been waiting for so long. Nobody policed this, although nobody except those latecomers could see underwater (if the penguins had decided to swim, which they didn’t) or even above the water. The person giving the show, although he must have clearly seen what was happening, didn't ask people to stand back. I suspect that nobody ever says anything. I was quite disgusted, really, and it spoilt my enjoyment of the visit.
Signage is pretty poor around the park; for example, the tiger enclosure is not well marked- you can only see what it is by looking at the map handout. More signs and map boards are needed. Signs at each place saying what the animals are and when the feedings times/shows are should be provided. The café is OK but does not compare with the café at Bird World.
The most disappointing aspect is what appears to be a lack of concern for, or thought about, visitor comfort and experience.
Some of the animals are not visible (for example the tigers, and Tasmanian Devils), which somewhat defeats the purpose of having them there; and in the reptile house a bench for small children to stand on could easily be provided, as in other zoos, to save parents having to lift them up all the time.
Here is one prime example. We went to see the fairy penguin show. Some people had clearly waited for ages. But at the last minute a lot of other people arrived and stood at the railing, effectively blocking the view of all the people sitting in tiered seats, who had been waiting for so long. Nobody policed this, although nobody except those latecomers could see underwater (if the penguins had decided to swim, which they didn’t) or even above the water. The person giving the show, although he must have clearly seen what was happening, didn't ask people to stand back. I suspect that nobody ever says anything. I was quite disgusted, really, and it spoilt my enjoyment of the visit.
Written 5 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Chunky Traveller.
Ballarat, Australia200 contributions
Jan 2020
I was initially skeptical of the entry cost, a smoggy cold day, experience has taught me these aren’t the conditions suited for animal viewing. I am well happy to be proven wrong. The presentations were organised so you could move from one to another thus keeping you occupied the whole day. The keepers were organised and happy to answer questions and the cafe with the parrot Avery as a back drop made for a delicious and entertaining meal.
Well worth a trip.
Well worth a trip.
Written 6 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for visiting Ballarat Wildlife Park and for taking the time to write a TripAdvisor review. We're thrilled to receive your feedback and so glad we could exceed your expectations. Thank you for noting you were impressed by the presentations, the keepers and the cafe.
Written 6 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
traveller87
Melton South, Australia206 contributions
Jan 2022 • Family
I wish I could have given this a 5/5 however, the price has knocked it back.
Firstly it's a really really good park, with Australian animals that you can get hands on with and up close. There were so many kangaroos just roaming around that you could go and feed. You buy some kangaroo food at the ticket booth and go nuts! The kids really really loved that! Even my husband and I did too!
There were some great exhibits, these include, reptiles, tortoise, iguanas, penguins, Komodo dragons, crocs, alligators, wombats, Tassie devils, koalas, eagle, emus, tigers, Dingoes, meerkats, alpacas (possibly more). The kangaroos, emus and alpacas were roaming around.
We paid for a koala encounter which was great value, $50 for upto 4 people. This prices included you going into the exhibit with the keeper, getting real close with them, patting them and receiving a digital photo. It lasted only about 5-10 minutes, which was fine. It was some great memories for us.
It was a very small park, we walked around it in probably an hour and a half. Once you've fed a few kangaroos, you've fed them all, and some were getting full because they didn't want the food anymore. We tried to stay at each section as long as possible before we headed to the koala experience.
There is a cafe there that you can eat in or takeaway food. My husband just ordered a coffee.
For the price
$35 for adults, $19 for kids under 5 free and $50 for the encounter, it got expensive with minimal to do. It would have been great of there was a play ground for kids, or a few more stops for kids to play at. Just so you really could spend the day. We had to try and find something to do for about an hour before the encounter.
Overall, it was a great fee hours out, we all loved feeding the kangaroos and patting the koala. Will definitely bring overseas family here for the experience!
Firstly it's a really really good park, with Australian animals that you can get hands on with and up close. There were so many kangaroos just roaming around that you could go and feed. You buy some kangaroo food at the ticket booth and go nuts! The kids really really loved that! Even my husband and I did too!
There were some great exhibits, these include, reptiles, tortoise, iguanas, penguins, Komodo dragons, crocs, alligators, wombats, Tassie devils, koalas, eagle, emus, tigers, Dingoes, meerkats, alpacas (possibly more). The kangaroos, emus and alpacas were roaming around.
We paid for a koala encounter which was great value, $50 for upto 4 people. This prices included you going into the exhibit with the keeper, getting real close with them, patting them and receiving a digital photo. It lasted only about 5-10 minutes, which was fine. It was some great memories for us.
It was a very small park, we walked around it in probably an hour and a half. Once you've fed a few kangaroos, you've fed them all, and some were getting full because they didn't want the food anymore. We tried to stay at each section as long as possible before we headed to the koala experience.
There is a cafe there that you can eat in or takeaway food. My husband just ordered a coffee.
For the price
$35 for adults, $19 for kids under 5 free and $50 for the encounter, it got expensive with minimal to do. It would have been great of there was a play ground for kids, or a few more stops for kids to play at. Just so you really could spend the day. We had to try and find something to do for about an hour before the encounter.
Overall, it was a great fee hours out, we all loved feeding the kangaroos and patting the koala. Will definitely bring overseas family here for the experience!
Written 3 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LucasT
Melbourne, Australia33 contributions
Feb 2022 • Family
Was a great experience at the wildlife park. Had been here before and recommended it to many friends, most appealing fact is the free talking kangaroos and other animals, loved feeding and petting the kangaroos.
Everything was great and positive apart from the presentations. In the presentations it felt like a competition to actually be able to see the animals, especially in the tiger one. This was in very hot weather and many many people crammed up close to r trying to see was not overly positive. The most looked forward to, the giant crocodile presentation, was cut short after waiting for them to be fed as the alligators were being fed. The way presentations work may need to be revised and possibly more times of different animals to accomodate for large crowds. Some notice at the front gate or on the schedule or the loud speaker would’ve been good about the change on the crocodile presentation. The food was a bit of a wait but that is expected for midday Saturday. Possibly having staff watching over common places of where the kangaroos are roaming to make sure people are doing the right things with them (I.e. feeding correct foods, not carrying) and some more rules on how to interact with the kangaroos other than just not carrying them. Also, some more view points and possibly a second observation deck around the new tiger inclosure may help with the quality of the tigers.
Overall it was a great experience. Would recommend it to anyone I see, I love the upfront interactions with a wide variety of animals. Just a couple of fix-ups and the wildlife park will be the best it can be. Would definitely recommend for anyone wanting to see other zoos over than the popular Werribee and Melbourne Zoos. I would love to see this park expanded someday, would definitely increase its popularity and for Ballarat. Keep up the good work.
Everything was great and positive apart from the presentations. In the presentations it felt like a competition to actually be able to see the animals, especially in the tiger one. This was in very hot weather and many many people crammed up close to r trying to see was not overly positive. The most looked forward to, the giant crocodile presentation, was cut short after waiting for them to be fed as the alligators were being fed. The way presentations work may need to be revised and possibly more times of different animals to accomodate for large crowds. Some notice at the front gate or on the schedule or the loud speaker would’ve been good about the change on the crocodile presentation. The food was a bit of a wait but that is expected for midday Saturday. Possibly having staff watching over common places of where the kangaroos are roaming to make sure people are doing the right things with them (I.e. feeding correct foods, not carrying) and some more rules on how to interact with the kangaroos other than just not carrying them. Also, some more view points and possibly a second observation deck around the new tiger inclosure may help with the quality of the tigers.
Overall it was a great experience. Would recommend it to anyone I see, I love the upfront interactions with a wide variety of animals. Just a couple of fix-ups and the wildlife park will be the best it can be. Would definitely recommend for anyone wanting to see other zoos over than the popular Werribee and Melbourne Zoos. I would love to see this park expanded someday, would definitely increase its popularity and for Ballarat. Keep up the good work.
Written 25 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
keenskier3481
Melbourne, Australia227 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
I personally think this is a great place to visit with children as they can interact/ touch the many kangaroos calmly laying on the grass.
This is not a Zoo, it is a Wildlife Park for Australian Native animals, therefore it does have tigers/lions etc.
A must see when your in Ballarat
This is not a Zoo, it is a Wildlife Park for Australian Native animals, therefore it does have tigers/lions etc.
A must see when your in Ballarat
Written 14 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for visiting Ballarat Wildlife Park and for the great feedback! We're pleased to hear you enjoyed meeting the kangaroos.
Written 23 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hayleylauren1984
Ballarat, Australia2 contributions
Dec 2022
Such a lovely park! Staff were friendly and welcoming. I think the entry price reflects that its a locally owned and run park, not like the zoo for example that receives funding etc Animals seem content and well cared for, live in lovely enclosures. Cafe has a good range of food and drink, nice cosy spot to sit. I love that they also welcome bringing your own picnic too. Great place to relax and unwind. Highly recommend.
Written 8 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Wandering Reviewer
Melbourne, Australia12,189 contributions
Apr 2021 • Solo
I'm not a fan of zoos and parks like this but have to say I was pleasantly surprised. There is a line to be drawn between captivity and education. They do it well here and recommend a visit.
As soon as you walk in, you'll see the meerkats which frankly, if I could live stream them on my computer, I'd watch them all day. There are around 100 free roaming kangaroos and although there are signs on 'how to feed' them, I'd recommend not.
The penguins are adorable as are the dingos, wombats and koalas. Sad to see a tiger pacing up the back of the cage but he/she certainly let out a roar which took me by surprise.
The reptile centre was very interesting and of a high standard of presentation.
There are scheduled times to meet the animals 'up close and personal' and recommend you plan your day around some of these.
Plenty of car parking, picnic tables available and wide open grassy areas.
There is a cafe but it wasn't open when I was there. The gift shop is stocked with adorable stuffed animals and tourist items.
Excellent for school groups, families or the day tripper like myself.
As soon as you walk in, you'll see the meerkats which frankly, if I could live stream them on my computer, I'd watch them all day. There are around 100 free roaming kangaroos and although there are signs on 'how to feed' them, I'd recommend not.
The penguins are adorable as are the dingos, wombats and koalas. Sad to see a tiger pacing up the back of the cage but he/she certainly let out a roar which took me by surprise.
The reptile centre was very interesting and of a high standard of presentation.
There are scheduled times to meet the animals 'up close and personal' and recommend you plan your day around some of these.
Plenty of car parking, picnic tables available and wide open grassy areas.
There is a cafe but it wasn't open when I was there. The gift shop is stocked with adorable stuffed animals and tourist items.
Excellent for school groups, families or the day tripper like myself.
Written 25 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aussie Travel
Geelong, Australia230 contributions
Oct 2020 • Family
Our second visit was great, the kids loved feeding the kangaroos (too many) and seeing the penguins. The tigers are sad and unhappy though. It’s small enough to get around quickly. Kids enjoy patting the kangaroos. Unfortunately the shows were not open due to the fake virus the government is spreading
Written 30 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sorry it’s not possible to bring them
Inside. Hope this helps
Written 21 January 2020
Their website is down; can you book a close encounter beforehand or is it just luck on the day?
Written 1 February 2019
You can definitely get a close encounter with the kangaroos, for the koalas I believe there is charge
Written 30 March 2019
Are the animals viewable in June?
Written 20 January 2019
Hi, Ballarat Wildlife Park is open every day except 25 December. Animals are viewable year-round.
Written 29 January 2019
Are you allowed to have a picnic there?
I wanted to hire the bushland hut but I feel like it's aimed more at little kids and my group will mainly be all adults.
Written 13 January 2019
I’m not sure what the official Guidelines are , however we had 5 adults 2 kids and had a picnic lunch outside of the cafe, we purchased drinks cold and hot from the cafe . We were not instructed not to eat . Hope that helps .
Written 17 January 2019
May I know what the entrance fee of 31.50$ (when booked online) includes? I am aware that theres kangaroo petting and shows to catch, but getting close to the Koala/Snakes/Wombats requires additional pay?? So meaning I can only see them and not pet them unless I pay the extra 40$? Please let me know what I can do with just the entrance fee and if so, how long I should spend here. Thank you!
Written 13 February 2018
Hi
Your entry fee includes all Keeper Talks, a Guided Tour at 11am and you are free to roam around all day if you wish. You can pat Kangaroo's for free and get really close to all our other animals. If you want a photo as a memento of your visit, with an animal of your choice, that is an extra fee. Just a reminder you can get up close to Koala's in Victoria but you are not allowed to hold them.
Best regards
Julie-Anne
Written 13 February 2018
How long should I spend here? half a day?
Written 20 December 2017
i spend at least half a day to a full day if i want to catch all the shows...especially the crunch show my kids 8/4/1.5 absolutely love it here
Written 24 December 2017
Hi There
$35.00 Adults
$29.00 Concession
$19.50 Children (5-15)
$95.00 Family – 2 Adults and up to 4 children
If you book online, you can save 10% or 20% if you are an RACV member.
Written 22 December 2017
Hi, if you are traveling with children, and you were to choose between Ballarat Wildlife park and Melbourne zoo, which one will you go?
Written 22 July 2017
Our Park is a more intimate Park where you can pat Kangaroos and get up close and personal to all of our non venomous animals.
We certainly hope you come and visit.
Best regards
Julie-Anne
Marketing Manager
Written 26 July 2017
Fransiska
Jakarta, Indonesia
Hi,,, I'm planning to visit Ballarat wildlife park and Sovereign hill on the same day. Can anyone recommend me, which one should I visit first? Wildlife or Sovereign? So I can get to see all/most animal show. Thx
Written 26 June 2017
It depends on what takes your interest most. There is a loot more to do and see at Sovereign Hill and I suspect you will spend most of your time there. The only practical suggestion is to time limit yourself at the first place you visit so you have plenty of time at the second location.
Written 26 June 2017
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