7 Extraordinary Australian Animal Encounters (That Don’t Involve a Koala)

Decades of marketing mean that most visitors to Australia just want to hug a koala.

(Actually, what visitors secretly want is to hug a koala whilst avoiding being bitten by a spider or brown snake)

But Australia is full of extraordinary animal encounters that go well beyond our furry grey national icon.

After 18 months scouring the continent (no, we’re not an island) here are 7 of the most unique experiences you can have getting up close to our wildlife.

7. The Maleny Botanic Gardens and Bird World in Queensland

Australia has a couple of exceptional bird sanctuaries (including at Kuranda outside Cairns), but our favourite is at the Maleny Botanic Gardens on the Sunshine Coast.

Overlooking spectacular ancient volcanic plugs, the Gardens are home to a truly dazzling array of birds in pleasingly oversized aviaries.

From giant parrots to friendly cockatoos, this is a friendly stress-free place to really interact with some of our most colourful aerial ornithopods.

Just be careful if you’re wearing a hat… these are highly prized by the residents of the aviary and there’s no guarantee you’ll get it back if they decide they want a souvenir!

6. Caressing Stingrays at Hamelin Bay in Western Australian

The white sand beach leads down to perfect, crystal blue waters. As you stand with your feet dipped in the warm water, looking out across the bay and feeling peaceful.

But suddenly a shadowed shape glides across the bottom towards you.

It’s a giant stingray and woah! It’s almost right on top of your feet!!

People have always been wary of stingrays. But these creatures are like the puppy dogs of the sea – curious and friendly.

At Hamelin Bay, standing in the shallows, you’ll finally feel comfortable about these beautiful animals – there’s no finer setting in Australia to caress one as it glides silently by!

5. Feeding Sugar Gliders at the Territory Wildlife Park outside Darwin in the Northern Territory

The Territory Wildlife Park is, in its own right, one of the best places in Australia to get up close to a whole range of Australian wildlife – from hand-feeding giant freshwater whip rays to having an owl perch on your hand. It’s kinda nuts.

But amongst all the types of close encounters you can have, the most extraordinary is feeding the sugar gliders.

These tiny critters are like flying squirrels.

(I know I know, Americans are going to say “yuck vermin!”. But we Australians know that they’re as cute as hell).

They are totally adorable, climbing all over you from top to bottom in search of the tiny syringes of sweet formula that you sparingly distribute amongst the mob.

We could have spent hours doing this… definitely the highest “cute” factor in all of Australia.

Diving with Whale Sharks at Coral Bay in WA

From cute to downright jaw dropping.

You’re sitting on a boat over deep blue waters. The crew calls out and, without hesitating, you pull on your snorkel and mask and slide into the water.

You peer all around you in the water. It’s dark and deep, but for a moment there’s nothing.

Then from out of the blue a GIGANTIC shape emerges… its wide mouth is ajar and pilot fish cling to its belly.

It’s 4m? 5m? 6 metres long?

And… oops! It’s eyesight is terribly bad… so now might be a good moment to get out of the way!

Swimming with the whale sharks off the pristine Ningaloo Reef in the North West of Australia is a bucket list item.

And by that I mean, even if you hate the water and even if you dislike animals… this belongs on your bucket list!

They’re huge. They’re peaceful. And scientists still know very little about them.

If you really want to experience one of the mysteries of the planet right up close, and to feel the power and beauty of nature in safety, this is the way to do it!

Swimming with Sealions in Baird Bay, South Australia

As long as freezing cold water and the imminent risk of large sharks isn’t enough to put you off, an hour swimming with sea lions in Baird Bay is arguably one the best animal encounters in Australia.

Whereas on land these 250kg critters might try to bite your hand off, once they’re in their comfort zone in the water, they are extraordinarily curious.

Expect them to come up and kiss your goggles, and to dance in impossible loops all around, and even to play with and tease you.

The spectacle is so entrancing that it’s enough to make you forget how cold the water is… and even to forget about the sharks!

Tempting Giant Crocs Out of the Water in Kakadu

You can get up close to one of Australia’s resident dinosaurs in lots of places. That includes swimming with them at Crocodylus Cove in Darwin or watching them chomp barramundi coming over the causeway at Cahill’s Crossing in Kakadu.

But nothing quite compares to a Jumping Croc cruise on the Adelaide River.

Jump on board… but don’t stand too close to the railing!... as the tour guides gently tempt ancient monsters out of the water with hunks of meat suspended on a rod.

A crocodile’s tail is strong enough to propel it almost half its body length out of the water. That’s enough to reach up into low branches of trees overhanging a river. Who would have guessed?

Certainly not any birds that were sitting in said branches when the croc showed up!

Feeding kangaroos on the beach at sunrise at Cape Hillsborough

Long ago, the kangaroos at Cape Hillsborough discovered that they had a problem.

The grasses in the area were particularly nutrient poor and their health wasn’t great.

Then one morning, at sunrise, an intrepid young kangaroo found a strange object on the beach.

It was a seed pod from the mangrove trees in the nearby bay and had washed up and been left on the beach by the tide.

Nibble… nibble…

“Hmmm. Not bad.”

But the discovery of this new food source had a two-fold impact.

The first was an important new food source for the local kangaroo population that improved their health.?

The second was the creation of what is, by far, Australia’s best opportunity to photograph kangaroos “in the wild”.

These days, the whole experience is managed by National Parks and Wildlife to protect the roos’ food source.

And maybe to protect tourists’ chance to get a selfie with a roo at sunrise by ensuring that the locals show up on cue!

Honourable Mention: Riding Camels at Uluru at Sunset

Uluru is one of the most special places in Australia where you can feel the presence of the spirits all around.

But the best way to experience sunset at Uluru is with a camel ride.

From the Yulara township, a gentle bobbing 40-minute ride takes you to sundowner cocktails with a view to the distant Uluru. And after the sunsets, you watch the gentle colours of the “must-see-it-to-believe-it” Field of Light installation come to life under a tapestry of the dark, star-filled night sky.

It’s an experience that does justice to the importance of this place.

However, camels are an introduced species to Australia.

It turns out they liked the environment here so much that the population exploded, becoming the largest camel population on Earth.

These days some 1.5 million of the buggers run wild across the continent, wreaking havoc on the native landscape.

So whilst it is one of the most moving “animal” experiences that we had anywhere in Australia, decorum suggests that this is not an “Australian” animal and hence can only rate an honourable mention.

Then again, Uluru is a place that stands as testament to the 60,000+ years of continuous indigenous history on this continent.

And with that in mind, maybe riding a camel at Uluru is the important reminder we need of who the “real” Australians are.

Rob Malicki is currently spending two years travelling the world and focusing on family and kids... because life is too short to miss the best bits.