Ever dreamed of a sleepover in the middle of a zoo for the night? Here are Australia’s ‘Big 5’ of zoo stays that take the term ‘roar and snore’ quite literally.
1. Jamala Wildlife Lodge, Canberra
Jamala offers you a well-appointed ‘African-savannah’-style safari experience with five-star trappings, only 10 minutes from downtown Canberra. Rooms sit adjacent to many of the National Zoo’s animal enclosures, giving you face-to-face encounters with a menagerie of interesting beasties through reassuringly thick glass.
On the outside of the uShaka Lodge, Giraffe Treehouses and Jungle Bungalows you can survey roaming animals as diverse as hyenas and Bengal tigers, while inside you can check out others including a massive bear from the safety of your bubble bath.
2. Roar & Snore, Taronga Zoo Sydney
Zoo with a view: Taronga’s safari tents looking straight across Sydney Harbour.
The safari tents at Roar & Snore at Taronga come complete with show-stopping views to wake up to: straight across the harbour to Sydney’s skyline. On the inside, wooden floors and comfy beds elevate the accommodation well above normal camping.
Behind-the-scenes activities such as giraffe feeding and getting up close with echidnas and meerkats will have the kids in raptures, while nibbles and drinks before the torch-in-hand nocturnal tours will see you right. If you haven’t seen enough animals overnight, you have the entire next day to browse as part of the package.
3. Slumber Safari, Werribee Open Range Zoo
Family accommodation Slumber Safari-style at the Werribee Open Range Zoo (photo: Trent Browning).
Slumber Safari proves that zoo sleeps aren’t just for the young ones.
Half-an-hour out of Melbourne, an evening at Werribee Open Range Zoo comes with grown-up-friendly essentials; drinks and dips at sunset and an ‘African-inspired’ dinner and buffet breakfast.
The children aren’t ignored, of course, with a night walk around the 225-hectare property and scones, jam and cream by the campfire. The safari is an intimate affair, with just eight tented lodges with en suites – each with a balcony – overlooking the Werribee River and the rhinos, hippos, lions, and zebras et al on the ‘savannah’.
The zoo’s showers get the green tick of approval: they are solar powered and with a three-minute time limit.
On the savannah, Werribee Open Range Zoo (photo: Trent Browning).
4. Roar & Snore, Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo
The wide opens spaces around Taronga Western Plains Savannah Cabins.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo is as spacious a zoo experience as you can expect; the animals getting plenty of room to roam around on the New South Wales plains. The accommodation options are similarly generous, ranging from the family friendly tents of Billabong Camp, to self-contained Savannah cabins (sleeping up to six with free wi-fi) and Zoofari Lodge (10 comfortable lodges) right on the cusp of the antelope and giraffe-filled enclosures.
There are plenty of chances to interact with the animals too; hear a talk from a dingo keeper or spotlight African wild dogs after sunset. Zoofari Lodge guests have access to a saltwater pool and bike hire is included too. Dinner itself can be a culinary adventure with crocodile and kangaroo on the menu.
More camping than glamping, but certainly a city zoo sleep worth trying out. Melbourne Zoo’s old elephant exhibit has been transformed into a camping area apt for a family adventure.
You only have to bring a sleeping bag and pillow with just about everything else included: tents, beds, BBQ dinner – with a few wines and beers for the grown-ups – supper and breakfast from the bakery are all included.
The enthusiastic young zoo guides are adept at wearing out the children with a slew of night-time activities centred on the nocturnal animals. The calls of the zoo’s gibbons are a particularly effective alarm clock.
From cabins to canvas, craft distillers to destination dining, Heathcote locals reveal their eco-savvy passions in ways that resonate with those seeking to travel lightly.
Heathcote , on traditional Taungurung Country in Central Victoria, is synonymous with its garnet-hued shiraz, but wine isn’t the only string to its bow. The town itself is sprinkled with heritage buildings from the gold rush era, and beyond that a growing collection of sustainable gastronomy and eco-friendly escapes. Nearby Bendigo, one of only 65 cities in the world recognised as a UNESCO Creative City and Region of Gastronomy, plates up an astonishing calibre of produce, wine and food for its size. Increasingly the entire region is taking up the challenge, though Heathcote in particular shines with its focus on sustainability.
The dramatic landscape of Heathcote’s Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Goodfrey)
The eco-stays bringing sustainability to Heathcote
Yellow Box Wood’s safari-style tents are nestled on 40 hectares of bushland. (Image: Emily Goodfrey)
Andee and Lisa Davidson spent years working in southern Africa before settling in Heathcote. “We had a vision of how this could be,” explains Andee. “We wanted a retreat, but one that was off-grid and environmentally sustainable.” Now, at Yellow Box Wood , two luxury safari-style tents are at the heart of 40 hectares of rolling hills and native bush, with kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, goanna and birdlife aplenty. It’s all solar-powered, wood for the fire is mainly fallen timber, and water is collected on the carport roof. No lack of creature comforts though – en suite with rain shower, espresso coffee maker, comfy seating, wood-burning fire all set to go. There’s also a solar-heated, mineral salt pool in a bush setting, walking tracks, and even a mini bush golf course. On my visit, I put the vision to the test. Cocooned in the plush four-poster bed I can glimpse the stars, while the heater casts a golden glow on the canvas. In the morning, I wake to a blush-pink sunrise, kangaroos feeding and a soundtrack of magpies.
Mt Ida Eco Cabin is rustic and simple but oozes comfort. (Image: Graham Hosking)
If a tent is not your style, Stephen and Cally Trompp’s carbon-neutral Mt Ida Eco Cabin might entice with its generous deck and farmland views. Inside the cabin, corrugated iron walls as rusty as a shearing shed, gleaming (recycled) floorboards, timber truss ceiling (crafted by Stephen), wood-fired heater and an old-school turntable with a pile of vinyls to spin. It’s fun, and a little boho.“Everything is recycled. The cabin takes maximum advantage of the sun in winter. It’s all solar-powered. Don’t panic, though,” says Stephen, “you can still charge your phone and get 4G reception!” Settle into an Adirondack chair on the deck or pedal off on a mountain bike to suss out the wineries.
A taste of Spain in Central Victoria
Three Dams Estate make Spanish-style wine.
Another person with a vision is Evan Pritchard at his Three Dams Estate where the wines reflect his deep love of Spain and of Spanish-style grapes, such as tempranillo. Afternoons in the ‘wine shed’ or cantina are matched with music (flamenco is a favourite), Spanish bites from tapas to paella (with Evan on the pans!) and views to Mount Alexander. Sustainability is also a passion. “You don’t need to buy anything. We decided to be off-grid from the start, but it is a lifestyle change,” he says. “You need to think about it and be careful.” Everything here is recycled, reassembled, refurbished. Evan has an electric car (with solar-powered charger), solar-power for the winery, and even a jaunty little electric tractor/forklift. “I love the idea of all the things you can do using the sun.” Sipping a crisp rosado (a Spanish rosé) with Evan in the sunshine, I couldn’t agree more.
The vineyard redefining sustainable winemaking
The Silverspoon Estate winery is completely off-grid. (Image: Graham Hosking)
On the other side of Heathcote, Silver Spoon Estate demonstrates sustainability on a more extensive scale. Tracie and Peter Young’s winery, cellar door, award-winning restaurant and their own house are all solar-powered and off the grid. Sustainability is intrinsic to everything they do. The property sprawls across 100 hectares, with 20 hectares under vine – shiraz, viognier, grenache, tempranillo. As the climate has changed, so too has the approach. These are dry-grown vineyards. “We prune for drought. That means lower yields but more intense flavours,” says Peter. The fine-dining restaurant offers sweeping views, a wood-burning fire and a deck for languid lunches. Head chef Ben Hong sources regional, sustainable ingredients and weaves estate wines into the menu – think crispy wild mushroom arancini, viognier-infused chicken breast.
Silver Spoon’s award-winning restaurant.
Heathcote’s other hidden gems
Heathcote Wine Hub is housed in a 1855-built timber church.
Not all local wineries have a cellar door, but I find local treasures at the Heathcote Wine Hub , a petite 1855 timber church in the main street, lovingly returned to life by Karen Robertson and Carey Moncrieff. “Carey is a scrounger,” says Karen. “He doesn’t throw a single thing away.” He does, however, craft things into something quite special. Heritage floors, light-filtering lancet windows and shelves of regional wines create the perfect ambience for wine tasting. Or order a glass and linger over a cheese platter.
Heathcote is not all wine, of course. Nathan Wheat and partner Vanessa Curtis run Envy Distilling with a committed sustainable ethic – and a serious love of gin. Their small-batch distillery produces grape-based gin, and soon brandy. Distilled water is reused in an ingenious cooling system. All waste is treated on site. They buy excess wine from winemakers to distil and buy recycled barrels. “Distilling with the sun,” as Nathan says. Each Envy gin has its own story. Spicy, award-winning The Dry, is designed to capture the region’s dry, rugged nature. Pull up a stool at the bar (reclaimed timbers and tiles, of course), order a Gin Flight, or kick back with a cocktail and let Nathan share his eco journey.
Sample gins at small-batch distillery Envy.
A traveller’s checklist
Getting there
It’s less than two hours’ drive from Melbourne. The scenic route we take goes past Sunbury, then along a splendid country road through Romsey and the magic, boulder-strewn landscape of Lancefield. Watch for kangaroos on the road!
Staying there
Go off-grid in style at Yellow Box Wood for glamping or try Mt Ida Eco Cabin for a couple’s weekend hideaway.
Eating there
Award-winning French restaurant Chauncy.
At award-winning Chauncy , French chef Louis Naepels and sommelier wife Tess Murray have created a tiny, elegant pocket of rural France. Meticulously restored 1850s sandstone building, sun-drenched dining room, impeccable service, a menu suffused with local flavours and thoughtful wine pairings.
Fodder is both cafe and social hub. Chef Mo Pun and sister Lalita serve classic Aussie breakfast-to-lunch fare, though their Nepalese heritage sneaks through.
Playing there
Sip on wines among the vines at Sanguine Estate. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)
Sanguine Estate ’s cellar door and terrace overlook bucolic vineyards. Its award-winning, dry-grown wines include the distinctive D’Orsa Blanc dessert wine, reflecting the family’s Swiss-Italian heritage. Order a charcuterie board and stay a while. Keep it carbon neutral by cycling some (or all) of the 50-kilometre O’Keefe Rail Trail to Bendigo.
At Bridgeward Grove , learn about the property’s Old Mission Grove heritage olive trees, do a sommelier olive oil tasting, and stock up on sustainably grown olives and oil. Explore the unique landscape, wildflowers and wildlife of pink cliffs geological reserve.
