Oakvale Wildlife Park

Overview

About a 25-minute drive out of Nelson Bay is Oakvale Wildlife Park, a farm and park filled with native Australian animals that you can interact with. The park was first established in November 1979 and remains a family owned and operated business to this day.

You'll need to reserve a good few hours to explore this 25-acre animal wonderland, which is filled with native species including kangaroos, dingos, koalas, quokkas and Tasmanian devils. There are exotic animals like llamas, highland cows, water buffalo and camels to see, too. If you'd like to get up close and personal with some of them, there are a few wildlife encounter packages available on top of the $29.50 entry fee (family passes available, too). You could have a ring-tailed lemur sit on your shoulder, feed a koala or meerkat or hold a reptile. Various shows and talks occur throughout the day, too, so you can go home having fed some baby farm animals and armed with facts on koala conservation and the cassowary.

Images: Destination NSW