If you like your wild creatures as much as you like your wild wines, then do we have a Queen's Birthday weekend adventure for you. Healesville Sanctuary and Yarra Valley Icons are teaming up to host Wine and Wildlife, a three day mini-festival that lets you hang about in the Sanctuary grounds, sampling local drops and tasty treats, while zookeepers casually pass by with slithery, scaly and soft creatures in hand.
The event will take over six spaces between 11am and 4pm each day between June 9 and 11. When you're not meeting wildlife, you'll be warming up beside open fires and checking out local musical talent. Plus, you'll find a Four Pillars mulled wine and gin bar on the Koala Lawn.
The Wine and Wildlife experience, including tastings, costs $41 — which is only a few dollars more than a normal general admission ticket. Booking in advance is recommended, with all proceeds going towards Zoos Victoria's efforts to save 21 local threatened species from extinction.