The best Australian animal encounters in Queensland
List
By Danielle Reckless
Ask most first-time visitors to Australia what they come away with from a holiday Down Under, and chances are it’s not a camera roll full of Vegemite toast. It’s likely to be hundreds of animal photos – and the unforgettable memories of these Australian animal encounters – given just how famous and unique our creatures are.
It’s not just us who think our animals are special. The scientists are on our side – so much of our wildlife is endemic to Australia thanks to our island isolation. As in, the only place in the world you’ll find these creatures is right here. We’re talking monotremes (mammals who can lay eggs), animals with pouches, and reptiles who survived from the prehistoric era when dinosaurs didn’t.
If you visit us in Queensland, leave time for plenty of incredible wildlife experiences: use this guide for the best Australian animal encounters.
Where to spot humpback whales
When you’ve got over 6,000km of mainland coastline across Queensland, it makes sense that so many animal encounters occur offshore.
Queensland’s largest member of the Great Eight, the humpback whale really makes a splash when it migrates along our coast between July and November.
Sure, you can catch them from the shoreline (if you’re staying anywhere from the Gold Coast to Cairns), but nothing beats seeing the impressive breaches and tail-slapping up close in the home of humpback whales, Hervey Bay. The first designated World Heritage Whale Site, this is the place to go whale watching.
Want to swim with the whales? Australia is one of only a handful of countries that let you go swimming with the marine giants, with experiences in Hervey Bay and Sunshine Coast.
How to have some turtle time
From our biggest marine creatures to some of the smallest, nothing quite feels as magical as watching baby turtles hatch on sand then scurry their way to the water for their first swim.
When it comes to motivational success stories, nothing is better than the one told at Mon Repos Turtle Centre in Bundaberg. It's home to the largest population of nesting marine loggerhead turtles in the South Pacific.
Did you know turtles venture countless kilometres through open ocean only to lay their eggs on the same beach they hatched on decades earlier? For thousands of turtles, this remarkable journey starts on the beaches of the Southern Great Barrier Reef, where female turtles drag themselves up the sand to lay around 150 eggs before returning to the ocean.
Six weeks later when the sand temperature is just right, a new journey starts for masses of tiny turtles, who emerge from their shells and scurry down the beach to water.
Here’s other incredible places to see turtles in Queensland.
Where to see koalas
Did you even come to Queensland if you didn’t see a koala? One of our most iconic Aussie animals – these notoriously sleepy marsupials are an endangered species due to habitat loss, bushfires, droughts and floods. Which makes the chance to spot them even more special.
From parklands in Brisbane to Noosa National Park or Magnetic Island in Townsville, if you look up – and get lucky – you just might spot a koala napping or feeding among the gumtrees.
For a guaranteed koala encounter, head to one of the many places around Queensland where you can watch from afar or meet them up close. One of the best is Brisbane’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary – the biggest koala sanctuary in the world. To help fund their research, you’ll find a good portion of your entry ticket and proceeds from the koala experience are donated to native animal welfare and research.
Spot a kangaroo or two
Spend any time in Australia and you’re likely to see kangaroos – from the bushland to the beaches. Here, we even have a species of kangaroos that live in trees.
No matter where you travel in Queensland, you can find a wildlife park or zoo that allows you to meet the resident kangaroos. Perhaps even try your hand at feeding them. Lone Pine Sanctuary in Brisbane, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast, and Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast are some of the best.
Want to witness the magic of an in-the-wild encounter? You can’t beat sharing the beach with the wallabies at Cape Hillsborough in Mackay.
Remember: be kind and give wildlife some space – photos are best taken from a distance.
Where to interact with wild dolphins
Reported to be among the smartest animals on the planet, an encounter with a dolphin is more like a friendly and intelligent chat.
For an almost guaranteed experience, try hand-feeding wild bottlenose dolphins on Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), a quick and easy ferry ride from Brisbane City.
Each evening, the shallow waters around Tangalooma Island Resort draw a dolphin crowd for dinner, and Tangalooma guests have the opportunity to serve herring to one of the cutest mammals of the marine world.
Don’t worry, this is an eco-friendly encounter. The Tangalooma staff limit the herring consumption to less than 10% of a dolphin’s daily diet to ensure they remain hunters when they aren’t at this fish-buffet. Plus, their meal is in return for participation in the island’s research centre, with staff researching the dolphins, charting their movements and checking for injuries and impediments (like tangled fishing line) to their swimming.
Looking for a dolphin experience on the mainland? Make tracks to Tin Can Bay near Gympie to meet the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins who pop into Barnacles Dolphin Centre for a feed.
Where to go croc-spotting
The closest creature on earth to a living dinosaur, Australia’s saltwater crocodiles have a mighty reputation. And ever since Mick Dundee took to the screens in Crocodile Dundee, visitors have had good reason to want to spot a croc in Queensland.
For guaranteed croc-sightings, head to Australia Zoo’s Crocoseum on the Sunshine Coast. Home of the late Crocodile Hunter himself, Steve Irwin, the crew here runs a croc show daily that has crocodiles leaping from the water for their food. While the crocs are chewing, you’ll be entertained with fascinating croc-facts, all tied together with a strong conservation message.
Wander 2,500 metres of boardwalks at Hartley's Crocodile Adventures near Cairns and you'll spot crocs among the wide range of Aussie wildlife, then take a a 25-minute cruise on Hartley’s Lagoon in specially designed boats to observe crocodiles in a coastal melaleuca wetland.
For an even closer look, dive in for the new Swim with Salties experience at Wildlife Habitat, Port Douglas. The safe experience puts a glass wall between you and these prehistoric predators: and that’s as close as you’ll ever want to go.
Looking to croc-spot in the wild? Head north to spot some crocs in the Daintree River with tour guides like Crocodile Express, Daintree Boatman, Bruce Belcher’s or Solar Whisper.
Where to lay eyes on a wombat
Elusive in nature, spotting a wombat in the wild is near impossible, let alone getting close enough for a photo: this Australian mammal spends more time underground than above it and happens to be nocturnal.
Skew your odds with a visit to Billabong Sanctuary in Townsville, where the wildlife rangers run a daily wombat experience for visitors. Join them at Yala’s enclosure to discover why wombats live underground, and learn about the three different types of wombats found in Australia. If you’re lucky, ranger may even bring Yala out to meet some guests for a pat.
Over at Australia Zoo, you can spot both common wombats and southern hairy-nosed wombats digging, grazing and snoozing throughout the day – or sign up for a unique animal encounter and meet a wombat up close (must be six years and over).
Holidaying in Cairns? You can even meet a wombat at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, which despite its name, is also home to wallabies, reptiles and an array of tropical birds.
