Top 10 Nature & Wildlife Areas in Queensland, Australia

An oasis for wildlife, the Gardens feature 52 hectares of plants from Australia and all around the world. Horticultural and art and craft shows are displayed in the Auditorium most weekends and free volunteer guided walks leave the Information Centre, Monday to Saturday (except public holidays) at 11 am and 1 pm. Alternatively you may like to explore the Gardens via one, or all, of the three self-guided trails available.

Discover over 70 species of Australian native animals in a beautiful, natural bush setting at the world's first and largest koala sanctuary. Meet a koala, hand-feed kangaroos, marvel at the playful platypus, and enjoy a full daily schedule of keeper talks and activities, including Sheep Dog Show and Wild Lorikeet Feeding. Amenities: free wiFi everywhere, parents' rooms & cafes.

Billabong Sanctuary is Australia's best interactive wildlife experience. There are interactive talks and feeding shows throughout the day commencing at 9:15 am. At these wildlife presentations you will learn all about the unique characteristics of Australia's native animals. The talks are not only informative but a lot of fun, so will have one of your best experiences at an Australian attraction. The native animals are displayed in their natural habitats of wetlands, eucalypt forest and rainforest. Highlights of the Sanctuary are holding a koala, hugging a wombat, hand feeding a cassowary, holding a small crocodile and wrapping a python around your neck. You will also be able to sit next to a dingo for a photo opportunity and watch feeding of giant estuarine or saltwater crocodiles. The wildlife presentations are repeated in the afternoons so nobody misses out. You can also return the following day with no extra charge. There are picnic areas with free gas barbecues or enjoy a meal at the Blinky Bill Cafe. You can also cool off in our tropically landscaped pool.

The largest butterfly flight aviary and exhibit in Australia - an all weather experience in the heart of the Kuranda village. Home to over 1500 magnificent butterflies, youll be enchanted by the arial dynamics of these elusive wonders of nature as you wonder through the aviary's rainforest gardens.

Situated at Port Douglas, Queensland, the award winning Wildlife Habitat is a leader in eco-tourism and conservation. This immersion wildlife exhibit has five distinct Habitats - Woodlands, Wetlands, Rainforest, Savannah and Nocturnal, which are set over 8 acres of land to provide an interactive, and educational native wildlife experience. Meet an abundance of Australian animals including koalas, emus and the endangered Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo and Southern Cassowary. Hand-feed wallabies and kangaroos and cuddle a koala. Enjoy Breakfast With The Birds or Lunch With The Lorikeets and enjoy a sumptuous buffet meal and meet some feathered friends.

Mon Repos Turtle Encounter is the only ranger-guided turtle encounter available on the east-coast and is instrumental in the research into turtle conservation, specifically the endangered Loggerhead turtles that frequent this beach. Take an unrivalled peak behind the curtain of a natural wonder thousands of years in the making at Mon Repos Conservation Park. Watch as mother turtles lay their clutches of eggs from November – January on a ranger-guided tour at the Mon Repos Turtle Encounter. In January – March form a pathway to the ocean for the baby turtles as they begin their dangerous journey into adolescence with only 1 in 1000 turtles making it to maturity. Come witness a miracle at the Mon Repos Turtle Encounter and create memories to last a lifetime.

Capricorn Caves is a multi-generational family owned attraction located 23km north of Rockhampton and just minutes off the Pacific Coast Way. Accessible walkways and ramps allow you to experience the breathtaking acoustics in the Cathedral Cave on the hourly tour. The intimate Capricorn Explorer and Capricorn Adventurer tours allows further exploration with breath-taking views from the summit and a true bucket-list experience. As an Advanced Eco-Tourism attraction Capricorn Caves is a home to an abundance of native wildlife and endangered species which you can discover on tour. Experienced local guides deliver the captivating stories of this ancient Australian landscape on small-scale interpretive tours.

Home to the largest single collection of free flying birds in Australia (some 500 of them!), Birdworld Kuranda in the Australian highlands of the Atherton Tablelands displays no less than 75 species of the most spectacular birds from all corners of the planet - as well as from the earth’s fast diminishing rainforests.Visitors are free to wander through the lush, tropically landscaped bird sanctuary to observe the birds in their own specific - yet natural - habitats. Two lakes connected by a tumbling waterfall for example are home to waterbirds such as stilts, herons and Australia’s own unique Black Swan. In Birdworld's rainforest canopy overhead, blue, gold and scarlet Macaws dazzle with colourful brilliance as they soar above the tree tops. One outstanding Birdworld denizen not to be missed is that rare avian giant, the Cassowary - an Australian bird now officially enlisted as endangered.Designed to "create a centre where birds would be showcased in their natural environment without the barriers of cages coming between them and their admiring public", Birdworld Kuranda is a photographer's paradise. (And without those barriers, visitors often find a feathered friend nestling on their shoulder - a golden photo opportunity!) Birdworld Kuranda can provide guided tours for all group bookings.