If your tribe loves animals, and getting up close then you must make a trip to Oakvale Wildlife Park at Ash Vale.
Where is Oakvale Wildlife Park?
Located in the heart of Port Stephens on the NSW North Coast, Oakvale Wildlife Park is the perfect day out when you’re holidaying in Nelson Bay or Newcastle. If you are visiting the Hunter Valley region, Oakvale Wildlife Park is only one hour by car, and the perfect day out for the tribe.
What’s it like?
If you take the kids to visit Oakvale, pack swimmers and towels. There is a fantastic water play area, surrounded by undercover seating and bathrooms to change the kids nearby.
There are lots of native animals to see including emus, wallabies, kangaroos, dingos, cassowaries, and quokkas to name a few. Of course we can’t forget to mention the koalas, housed in a large walk-around habitat, with room for an educational koala talk in the middle.
There are multiple wildlife encounters available, including reptile talks, koala talks, reptile, alligator, bird and meerkat encounters just to name a few.
What are the highlights?
Some of the favourite experiences on our visit included going on a tractor ride right around the farm. You can get a good look at all of the animals and get an idea of which area you want to head to on foot. We also purchased bags of animal feed at the entrance and had a fantastic time offering food to some very friendly animals including kangaroos and wallabies, horses and camels and a donkey who came running to greet us.
In the barn there were baby piglets, goats and other young farm animals and the highlight of the day was being offered baby bottles of milk to feed the animals. Be sure to check the times for animal experiences and talks so you can be in the right place at the right time!
