As most of us know, Australia is a country that has one of the most unique wildlife in the whole world. There are so many interesting animals that you can see and interact with, from cuddly koalas to some of the most dangerous animals in the world. Australia has it all.
 | Kangaroo against the sunset. |
So, in order to experience everything that you need to as an animal lover, here is a list of the best places to see wildlife in Australia.
1. Get A Closer Look at Exotic Animals in Taronga Zoo, Sydney
One of the most iconic zoos in Sydney is the Taronga Zoo. It is the best place for animal lovers to get to know Australia's native wildlife and they offer fun shows you can watch on a daily basis. There you'll be able to see platypi, feed giraffes, get an insight into penguin life and many other animals. To get the full experience make sure that you go on the famous 12-minute ferry ride across the harbour and enjoy the breathtaking views.
2. Experience the Sea Life in Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, Sydney
If you are someone who is fascinated by marine life, there is no better place for you than The Sea Life Aquarium. This magical place is the home to thousands of tropical fish like turtles, sharks, seahorses, stingrays and many more interesting beings. What makes this place stand out from others is the fact that they have two dugongs.
And there are only three other ones on display in the whole world. This is something that needs to be on your Australia bucket list. But that is not all, you can even go behind the scenes and go snorkeling with their impressive marine life.
3. Go Whale Watching on The Harbour, Sydney
Another fun thing you can do is go whale watching in Sydney. There are so many different courses that will take you to the best whale-watching spots. Depending on which one you pick it can take anywhere from half an hour to a couple of hours on the open water. If you are a whale lover there is nothing that will be more enjoyable than spotting whales and enjoying the sun and water.
4. Meet Native and Exotic Animals in The Symbio Wildlife Park, Sydney
Symbio Wildlife Park is home to many different exotic and native animals such as meerkats and koalas. There you will be able to spend all day learning and getting to know Australia's native animals. They also have a reptile house where you can meet the world's most venomous snake.
5. Deepen Your Knowledge of Reptiles in The Australian Reptile Park, Sydney
For people who don't get the heebie-jeebies when they see anything that has more than two eyes, forked tongues and scales the Australian Reptile Park is a must. You will be able to spend hours upon hours there learning about animals and reptiles. They also have a variety of Australia's native animals such as Tasmanian devil and wombats.
Their main attraction is Elvis the crocodile being fed as well as visit their famous venom collection program. Among all the things to do in Sydney you will be able to get your dosage of creepy crawlies you can visit an amazing spider world exhibit.
6. Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney
If you are looking for a place where you will be able to physically interact with animals there is no better place to be than Featherdale Wildlife Park. There you will be able not only cuddle koalas but you will also be able to feed the cute kangaroos and wallabies. You will get the opportunity to be in a place where over 1,700 live.
7. Christmas Island
Christmas Island is an external Australian territory in the Indian Ocean 1550 kilometers off the North West Australian coast with a tropical monsoonal climate. It’s 135 square kilometers is covered by dense tropical jungle and boasts one of the largest animal migrations on the planet. Every year untold millions of Red Crabs make their way from the island's interior to the coast to breed.
8. The Koala Park Sanctuary, Sydney
Most people that come to Australia want to meet some cute koalas. In this koala sanctuary, you will be able to see many different koalas shows. Even though koalas are the stars of this sanctuary you will also be able to meet some native birds like emus and echidnas as well as kangaroos. But what seals the deals are cute little lambs that you can cuddle with.
9. Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow bay in the north of Australia, near the island of New Guinea. The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow, warm tropical sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura sea. Its home to an abundance of wildlife including many species of fish, turtles, Sea Eagles, Saltwater Crocodiles and sharks and is often impacted by cyclones.
Anyway, a few more juicy tidbits of interesting info about the Gulf of Carpentaria. Firstly, it wasn’t always part of the sea. During the last Ice Age, in the Pleistocene epoch, global temperatures were much lower, so a lot of the Earth’s water was “locked up” in vast glaciers. As a result, there wasn’t as much water available in the oceans, and sea levels were dramatically lowered.
The whole continental shelf was exposed, merging Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania into a supercontinent called Sahul, also known as Meganesia or Australinea. The deepest part of the Gulf became a landlocked freshwater lake, called Lake Carpentaria. And the low-lying plains surrounding Lake Carpentaria would have been cloaked in warm savannahs, where exotic, now-extinct animals roamed. Speaking of which, the southern fringes of the modern gulf, combined with some of its islands, form the world’s largest continuous savannah woodlands.
These woodlands even have their own endemic species of mammal, found nowhere else. The Carpentarian rock rat is critically endangered, with less than 2,000 individuals alive in the wild - introduced foxes and cats, as well as the increasing risk of devastating wildfires, are only likely to further impact the species’ population.
One of the main reasons these rats are so vulnerable to extinction is that they have highly specialized lifestyle, inhabiting only shaded sandstone gorges. What makes them quite interesting is that they have very thick tails, which they use to store fat and survive the long dry season.
For rather mysterious reasons, the Gulf is the only place on Earth where so-called Morning Glory clouds regularly and consistently form. These bizarre and beautiful cloud formations consists of low-hanging, perfectly cylindrical clouds, up to 1,000 km in length! The local aboriginals call the phenomenon kangógli.
The exact mechanisms involved in the formation of Morning Glory Clouds, and the reasons why they’re largely isolated to the Gulf, are unknown. During the night, something called an inversion layer forms in the atmosphere - air is hotter above this layer, and cooler below.
Winds blowing over Carpentaria from the York Peninsula dip under this inversion, causing rotating cylinders of air to form. During the early morning (hence the name), these cylinders become saturated with moisture and form the clouds.
10. Catmosphere, Sydney
In the end, if you are not comfortable with meeting new animals but you are still an animal lover and you want to spend some time with them, visit a space-themed cat cafe. There you will be able to enjoy the company of cats as well as enjoy pristine coffee and cat-shaped treats. But what makes this cafe special is the yoga classes in which you cool down by cuddling cats. There are so many fun, interesting and romantic things to do in Sydney while visiting Australia.
If you are a true animal lover there is no better place for you than Sydney. It has so many different places you can explore and so many different animals and replies you can meet. There are so many sanctuaries and zoos that aren't cruel and actually are there to help animals. But, the most important thing is to give yourself enough time to explore every location.
After your visit, you will gain so much knowledge about animals and love them even more.