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 (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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wind through fern tunnels, stop for a wine in a tram bar, or chase giant murals across the wheatbelt. These drives and rides prove Victoria’s best stories are found off the straight and narrow.
There’s something unmistakably Australian about a road trip: car packed, playlist on, landscapes shifting. Travelling down the highway toward Healesville, in Victoria’s Yarra Valley , the mountains rise, flanking me on both sides. I feel its embrace, a silent invitation to explore what lies beyond.
Moss-covered embankments rise on either side, and towering mountain ash trees form a green tunnel overhead. Road signs warn of wombats and cyclists but with giant ferns lining the roadside, the landscape feels prehistoric, as if a dinosaur might suddenly emerge. This, the Black Spur , is one of my favourite road trips.
The Black Spur
Through the forested canopy of The Black Spur drive that winds from Healesville to Narbethong. (Image: Neisha Breen)
The Black Spur is short compared to other Victorian road trips, just 30 kilometres, stretching from Healesville to Narbethong. But what it lacks in distance, it makes up for in scenery. Just outside Healesville, Maroondah Dam offers bushwalks and scenic views. However, if pressed for time, Selover’s Lookout is an easy roadside stop offering uninterrupted views of the dam.
In Narbethong, close to the Marysville’s snowfield, is the Black Spur Inn , a charming double-storey brick hotel that’s been welcoming travellers since 1863. Here, diners cosy up by the roaring fire or gaze through the floor-to-ceiling windows, imagining horse-drawn coaches carrying hopeful gold seekers to the eastern goldfields.
Victoria’s Silo Art Trail
The Silo Art Trail in the Wimmera Mallee region. (Image: Visit Victoria/Anne Morely)
Location: Various towns across the Wimmera Mallee region Duration: More than 200 kilometres / 4–5 hours but best over a minimum of three days
What began as a way to draw travellers back into town bypassed by highways – places such as Nullawil, Sea Lake and Patchewollock – has grown into a celebrated outdoor art movement. The Silo Art Trail now includes 23 silos, each transformed with large-scale mural portraits sharing local stories, celebrating community heroes, Indigenous history, farming life, or regional identity.
The Nullawil silo, for example, is a portrait of a local farmer in a chequered flannelette shirt alongside his loyal kelpie, painted by artist Sam Bates (AKA Smug). And the silos at Albacutya in the Grampians, painted by artist Kitt Bennett, depict her joyful memories of growing up in the countryside. Many of the murals sit right in the heart of small towns, such as Rochester and St Arnaud , making them perfect spots to pause for a country pub meal or something sweet from a local bakery.
Location: Gippsland Duration: Approximately 220 kilometres / 4 hours
The Gippsland Lakes are a much-loved holiday spot in Victoria, but road-tripping further east reveals much more. Begin in Metung and time your visit with the monthly farmers’ market, or simply linger over lunch on the lawn of the Metung Hotel. Twenty minutes away is Lakes Entrance , where you can watch the fishing boats return with their catch.
Continue to Marlo, where the Snowy River spills into the sea, and Cape Conran for its many beaches and walks. If needing to stretch your legs, Croajingolong National Park is home to the historic Point Hicks Lighthouse and the Wilderness Coast Walk. Birdwatching and rainforest trails near Bemm River are worth a pit stop before arriving in Mallacoota, where the forest meets the sea.
Great Ocean Road
The 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road. (Image: Tourism Australia/Two Palms/Harry Pope)
Location: South-west Victoria, from Torquay to Allansford Duration: Approximately 250 kilometres / 4–5 hours but best over a minimum of three days
Victoria’s most famous road trip delivers it all: world-class surf breaks, rainforest walks, clifftop lookouts and wildlife encounters. The journey begins in Torquay, the state’s surf capital, then hugs the coast past Anglesea and Lorne to Apollo Bay, before curving inland through the lush rainforest of the Otways. Stop at Cape Otway Lightstation or take to the treetops at Otway Fly.
Between Cape Otway and Port Campbell lies the most photographed stretch – seven of the Twelve Apostles still standing, alongside the golden cliffs of Loch Ard Gorge. Further west, Warrnambool is a winter whale-watching hotspot, before the road winds to Port Fairy, a charming fishing village of whalers’ cottages, walking trails and offshore seal colonies further along the coast.
Location: Bellarine Peninsula Duration: Approximately 80 kilometres / 2–3 hours
The Bellarine Taste Trail is a feast for the senses, winding through coastal towns, past boutique wineries and artisan producers. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure style trail – simply grab a map and build your own delicious journey.
You might wander historic, seafront Queenscliff, sip wine in a converted tram bar at Terindah Estate , sample a locally distilled whisky at The Whiskery in Drydale or pick up a jar of honey at Wattle Grove in Wallington. Seafood lovers can head to Portarlington, famous for its mussels. Eat them fresh at local restaurants or head out on the water with Portarlington Mussel Tours.
O’Keefe Rail Trail – Bendigo to Heathcote
Pink Cliffs Reserve in Heathcote can be seen on the O’Keefe Rail Trail. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)
Location: Central Victoria Duration: Approximately 50 kilometres / 4 hours cycling
Travellers first journeyed between Heathcote and Bendigo in 1888, when the railway line was built to link the towns. Trains stopped running in 1956, but today the route has a new life as the O’Keefe Rail Trail . The path is mostly level for easy riding, and along the way you’ll cycle past bushland, waterways and reserves. There are plenty of places to picnic, birdwatch, and if you’re lucky, spot a platypus.
The trail is well supported with water stations, bike repair points, shelters, and signage. Axedale makes a great halfway stop, with the pretty Campaspe River Reserve for a rest and local cafes for refuelling. Begin in Heathcote, known for its wineries and cafes, or in Bendigo, which is easily reached by train from Melbourne/Naarm. Shorter sections, such as Heathcote to Axedale, are also popular.
Goldfields Track – Ballarat to Bendigo
Location: Central Victoria Duration: Approximately 210 kilometres / 2–3 days cycling
The Goldfields Track traces a route once so rich in gold it made Melbourne one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Starting at Mt Buninyong, south of Ballarat, the trail leads mountain cyclists and walkers north through Creswick, Daylesford and Castlemaine before finishing in Bendigo. Along the way, you’ll encounter granite outcrops, eucalypt forests, rolling farmland and remnants of the region’s mining past.
As it passes through the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung and Wadawurrung people, the track shares gold rush history and Indigenous stories brought to life by interpretive signs. Walk or ride the full trail or choose from one of its three distinct sections. With cosy stays, cafes and pubs, it’s easy to mix wilderness with comfort.
