maru koala and animal park

If you want to see Kangaroos and hand feed them, this is the best place to go. You will see a free range of Kangaroos roaming around you . You can get a close look of Koalas also. There are others like Emus, sheeps/ sheep sheering....but I was particularly interested in Kangaroos and Koalas for my kid. Its 2$ for buying food and you can feed them yourselves to Kangaroos and wallabies. Trip is worth the money and its the place to go if you want to have a close look at Kangaroos.

Hi RobGlad you enjoyed the sheep shearing and our albino kangaroos. Pirate Pete's Mini-golf certainly is unique with several 'special' holes, the most popular with the kids being the 'outback dunny' where the man yells at the kids to leave him alone! We look forward to hopefully seeing you back again to enjoy maybe the Wildlife Show and other keeper talks.

It is a state law Victoria wide that we do not let visitors pick up and hold the koala, but by being able to see and pat the koala in its branch, it remains at rest and is less disturbed. Koalas in the south of Australia are also much larger than in Queensland. Our males can reach up to 12-14kg but in Qld only 7-8kg. So the koalas that are being handled in Brisbane are also much smaller in size. Glad to hear that you found our staff friendly and that they provided important information for you about our wonderful native koala species.

Hi JohnIt's great feedback to receive about the staff and we will let them know that their friendly and courteous manner has been recognized. We are continually improving our park and displays and will take on board what you have suggested about the layout.

If don't enjoy seeing captive animals then you are probably not going to enjoy any animal park or zoo. Our animals are fenced in as they need to be contained but I would not call them 'cages'. The dingoes are behind cyclone fence with a roll over top to prevent escape and by law it must not allow for visitors to be able to put their hand through the fence. The dingoes are only young so like all pups they tend to chew on everything and we carry out enrichment activities with all of animals, including the dingoes, every day. Their enclosure is over twice the size that we are required to provide by law and we will post a photo so that everyone can see for themselves and make up their own minds, but we believe the enclosure size is adequate and reflected by the great physical and mental health of the dingo pups. The welfare of our animals is paramount to us and displaying captive wildlife for visitors to see gives us the opportunity to educate and inform and raise funds to support our Wildlife Hospital for rescue, rehabilitation and release of injured and orphaned native wildlife. You can't see the actual work of our Wildlife Hospital as these wild animals our kept out of the public view with minimal human contact which allows for a successful release back into the wild again once they are recovered.

Some people do prefer to see animals totally free in the wild and others who may not have the opportunity to see them this way appreciate being able to see our native animals in zoos and parks. We only have two of what I would call 'cages' which are our parrot aviaries and all of our other animals are in large fenced enclosures. A large walk through aviary is being built this year which will do away with those last few 'cages'. We do work very hard to provide an environment and enrichment that reflects what that species would naturally encounter but all captive animals in all zoos, parks and sanctuaries are ultimately fenced in or confined. By allowing visitors the opportunity to see captive wildlife we aim to provide an empathy and connection with the animal through which we can provide information and education encouraging conservation of both our wonderful native species and their natural habitat in the wild.

Hello TaraBest day in Australia - wow, thanks for sharing your experience. We are happy to hear you enjoyed the information from the park staff and signs as our aim is to educate our visitors in an enjoyable manner. Hopefully your experience with us fosters a respect and appreciation for our native animals and their habitat in the wild. We look forward to seeing you and your family back again soon.

Hi John and thanks for your comments. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed your visit and sounds like you got only 'good vibes' from your experience. The $2 you paid for your animal food goes 100% directly towards the cost of running our Wildlife Shelter at Maru where we rescue, rehabilitate and release injured and orphaned native animals from the wild - so thanks for your support!

Hi Mary, thanks for bringing your group along for the day and we are pleased that our Pirate Pete's mini-golf was so tempting that you played as well and enjoyed the course. As a family run business with young children of our own, we are very family focused and aim to offer animal displays, amenities, services, facilities and prices that are all family friendly.

Hi CandJ. We are so glad you stopped in this time to try the experience. Our Pirate Pete's mini-golf greens and course was totally renovated in November last year. Maybe we will see you at our annual Pirate Festival which this year is on Sat 28th March - see our Maru website for more details.

Hi LauraI recall meeting you in person at Maru and am pleased to hear that the staff accommodated your needs so that you could just focus on enjoying the experience. We have won several awards for 'Good Access' as it is important to us to ensure that our amenities and services are accessible for all visitors and that our staff welcome all visitors equally at Maru.

Hello DarrinOur shearer Danny and his roustabout 'Stan' are very entertaining and we are glad that you enjoyed the sheep shearing show. The dingoes are lots of fun and as a family with young children ourselves, it pleasing to hear that you enjoyed your day out at Maru.

Hello YangZClose encounters are a great experience and thank-you for letting us know that you also found it exciting and our staff are polite and friendly. We provide lots of training for the staff and only employ people who really enjoy animals and sharing information with our visitors.

Thanks for your review. You were lucky to see the dingos not long after they arrived as they grow up so fast! If a koala is resting in the fork of the tree we do not wake it up for an encounter experience and this means that there is no stress or health issues for the animals so thanks for being understanding. Your money not only supports our captive bred Maru animals but also the work of our Wildlife Hospital for wild animals, so we really much appreciate your visit and support.

We lucked out to have an opportunity to stop by Maru Koala & Animal Park on our way down to Phillip Island for the daily sunset Penguin Parade. Originally we were scheduled to stop at the Koala Conservation Centre. It is about an hour's drive from the CBD of Melbourne. I am not sure if any public transportation comes by here or not. This park is small but offers such an incredible experience to have a close encounter with the marsupials. We were only allowed approximately 1 hour time to get a photo with the koalas, feed the wallabies and kangaroos if we purchased the food, watch the sheep shearing, see the other marsupials on display, shop, and eat. We had to skip a few in order to enjoy our visit as we found the wallabies and kangaroo enclosure to be the true highlight of our visit. Fortunately we purchased a container of food for $2.00 to feed the wallabies and kangaroos as it was non-stop action interacting and feeding them,They charge by person to have your photo taken with the koala- an additional $18 and for 2 people $27. You may only photograph the koalas alone without any charge. It is worth it as the photos turn out so nice and professional and the koalas are awake. I went to one koala photo session (not at Maru) and they only bought out a sleeping koala but we had no other choice at that time. They actually have quite a few koalas out on display.The swamp wallabies that are around the koala enclosure are not exactly that receptive to people feeding them, maybe because they are frequently fed since most people visit the koalas and feed the swamp wallabies here. Many people do not realize that there is another kangaroo and wallaby enclosure on the left of the koala exhibit, pass the Tasmanian Devil exhibit that leads to the Kangaroo and wallaby enclosure. It was a big area for the kangaroos and wallabies to exercise in. Anyhow, glad that we found the enclosure as that was where the cute little 18 month old albino wallaby "Luna" was. She was so happy to see us and loved it when we fed her. She did not want to leave. She was so gentle and non-aggressive while we fed other wallabies and kangaroos (one with a joey in her pouch also). Luna's father, "Casper" albino wallaby was out here too. What a rare encounter. I don't think there are too many albino wallabies in this world! Wish we had more time to spend feeding them but the one hour was just like a blink of the eye. Maru Koala Park is not really advertised but do stop by if you have a chance. It is not your typical type of zoo as the interaction with the animals is a memorable experience. There is also a small gift shop and café right at the entrance where you pay to enter. A unique experience for sure!