Ballarat Wildlife Park, Victoria: Animals, experiences and ticket prices
At Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria, it’s possible to hand-feed kangaroos and have close encounters with snakes, koalas and a giant tortoise. But the best reason to visit the Ballarat Wildlife Park is being able to hold a wombat.
Ballarat Wildlife Park is one of those classic Australian wildlife parks where visitors can get close to native Australian animals. Like Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney, Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas or the Boronong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania, kangaroos roam freely. Pay a couple of dollars for the feed, and you can hand-feed the kangaroos.
Ballarat Wildlife Park isn’t exactly inventing the wheel on the Australian wildlife park model, but it is still one of the best things to do in Ballarat.
Kangaroos at Ballarat Wildlife Park
There are hundreds of free-roaming kangaroos at Ballarat Wildlife Park. And, yes, you can hand-feed them.
4 Ballarat experiences to book in advance ⬇️
- Sovereign Hill tickets – visit Australia’s best open air museum. Give it a full day, too – there’s so much to see and do.
- Ballarat Wildlife Park entry – meet loads of cute native Aussie animals.
- Kryal Castle admission – enjoy a bizarre knights in armour theme park.
- Beer-making course – learn to brew, with tastings and lunch thrown in.
Other Australian animals on display include koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and crocodiles. From further afield, there are meerkats, alligators, giant tortoises and Satu the Sumatran Tiger. The little penguin enclosure, where visitors can watch the little penguins swimming around in their pool, is arguably a highlight.
As with many other wildlife parks, you can pay extra for close encounters with the animals. The Ballarat Wildlife Park animal encounter programme offers experiences with meerkats, a giant tortoise and big snakes. If you’ve ever wanted to put a boa constrictor or python around your neck, this is your chance.
Cuddle a wombat in Ballarat
There are also koala encounters. But by Victorian law, you can only have your photo taken next to one – you can’t hold or cuddle a koala in Victoria. This means that by far the best animal encounter at the Ballarat Wildlife Park is with the wombats. Visitors are allowed to cuddle and hold a wombat. It’ll just cost you another $50.
Entrance to the Ballarat Wildlife Park costs $35 for adults and $19.50. If you’re thinking that money would be better spent going to Sovereign Hill instead, you would be correct. That gold rush relic is unquestionably the highlight in this Victorian city, although other attractions include Lake Wendouree and Kryal Castle.
Getting to Ballarat Wildlife Park
The Melbourne to Ballarat drive takes around an hour and 22 minutes. But you can make a day of the drive to Ballarat by visiting the Organ Pipes National Park, Trentham Falls and the Lerderderg State Park on the way. Or, alternatively, drop by while driving from Melbourne to Halls Gap in the Grampians.
Wrap up warm in the winter months – the Ballarat weather can be notoriously cold and windy.
Places to eat in Ballarat include traditional Spanish restaurant Meigas Ballarat, Latin American joint Pancho and the lakeside Boatshed Ballarat.
More Victoria travel
Go surfing at Gunnamatta Beach on the Mornington Peninsula.
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Play golf at the Heritage Golf and Country Club in Chirnside Park.
How long does an AFL game go for?
Descend the Gibson Steps on the Apollo Bay to Warrnambool drive.