Halls Gap Zoo
Situated at the foothills of the majestic Grampians mountain ranges, the Halls Gap Zoo comprises over 120 species of native and exotic mammals, reptiles and birds.
Halls Gap Zoo is Victoria's largest regional zoo exhibiting native and exotic mammals, reptiles and birds from cheetah, giraffe, meerkats, monkeys, red pandas and bison to kangaroos, koalas, Tassie devils, wombats, crocodiles, snakes and dingoes.
Observe our inquisitive meerkats, playful monkey's, pure bred dingoes, grand barbary sheep and a plethora of wallaby and kangaroo species.
Nocturnal House - See the creatures of the night during the day. The silky, playful, endangered bilbies are a sight to see along with dunnarts and hopping mice and several other desert species. And watch out for the reptiles!
Animal Encounters - Get up close and personal with our delightful Meerkats or experience holding an alligator, snake, chameleon or play with Australia's largest carnivorous mammal, the Dingo.
The Zoo is actively involved in breeding and conservation programs for Brush-tailed Bettong, Tasmanian devil, Bilby, Bush Stone-Curlew, Quoll and Rock-wallabies.
Make the Halls Gap Zoo a part of your next Grampians experience.
Opening Hours:
Opening Hours
Cost:
Entry Prices
Review:
Overall there was a very good range of animals spread over quite an area and you can easily spend three or more hours here. There is also a chance for the kids to get close to some of the animals such as wallabies and deer and feed them. Apparently the dingos can be safely touch through the enclosure.
The entrance price is very reasonable but the cost can escalate if you participate in the animal encounters where you can get up close with either meerkats, dingoes, alligator, snake or lizards (the price per person varies from $10 to $30 per person and conditions apply e.g. the minimum age for the meerkat feeding is 9 years old).
The zoo comprises a central hub which houses the entrance, nocturnal house, fossil cave, reptiles, crocodile, black flying fox, curlew, farmyard animals and quolls as well as a playground, shelter with tables and BBQ. The playground is fun and includes two cute metal jalopies, pink elephant to ride on, full-size real speedboat and a structure with slide plus swings.
This area has a number of smallish enclosures and is not recommended for those people who want the animals to be roaming about in large natural spaces. The curlew looked so out of place in a small enclosure.
When you are in this area don't miss the Cotton Top Tamarins from Colombia which are super cute and active. Some other favourites in this area were the colourful scarlet macaws and a replica dinosaur display. The iconic meerkats, which are on every ones favourites list, are also on the side of this area.
Outside this central part there is basically a one-way path through large paddocks which hold more animals such as giraffes, alpacas, ostriches, emus, cheetah, dingoes, bisons, Barbary sheep and birds in aviaries. Our favourite area was the wallabies where you can get up close and personal. Special animal food may be purchased from the kiosk which can be fed to the deer, kangaroos, wallabies, goats, Barbary Sheep and Himalayan Tahr.
There are good information panels about the animals which includes their distribution, habitat, diet, social interaction and status (how close to endangered).
Since wildlife can potentially carry zoonotic diseases it is advisable to thoroughly wash your hands after contact with the animals and before eating or drinking.
Opening times are 10am-5pm. It would be nice if the opening times were extended during the part of the year when evenings are pleasant.
Photos:
Location
4061 Ararat - Halls Gap Road, Halls Gap 3381 Map
✆ (03) 5356 4668
Email Enquiry
Web Links
→ hallsgapzoo.com.au
→ Halls Gap Zoo on Facebook
