Australia has an beyond impressive wildlife. Being separated from all other landmasses Australia has an absolutely unique ecosystems, a weird overflow of animals with pouches and some insane combinations of animals like the platypus. Seeing some of the most iconic Australian animals in the wild is a must do for many tourists in Australia. I got really lucky on my trip, seeing kangaroos multiple times, watching koalas in eucalyptus trees and seeing a croc swimming in a river (which put me off going into any Australian body of water until I left). In general we got quite lucky with seeing kangaroos in campgrounds in Victoria, but not so much in Queensland. The best time to see pretty much all kinds of wildlife is at dusk or dawn. Look at the descriptions for the campgrounds on your camping apps and you may get some hints about the wildlife there. I have already mentioned, where we got to see koalas in the wild in my Great Ocean Road post, but here are some other great spots to see Australian wildlife:
Smoky Cape Campground
This little campground was our first overnight stop after Byron Bay precisely because it is famous for kangaroos. It was the first ever time we spotted them in the wild and they were so adorable! The campground in general is gorgeous and really quiet with direct beach access and in a lovely forest. There are so many kangaroos here and we even some little baby kangaroos with their mums. It is so fun to get up in the morning and see a pack of four little kangaroos while you have breakfast or seeing them jumping around in the evening.
Tin Can Bay Dolphins
After our tour to Fraser Island all we wanted to do was sleep, but we dragged our butts and our van from Rainbow Beach to Tin Can Bay - afterall it was only a thirty minute drive and we had something very special to look forward to in the morning: feeding wild dolphins. There is a pack of nine humpback dolphins in the river of Tin Can Bay and after one of them got hurt and was nursed back to health by the residents in the 1950s, he led his family back here to feed somewhat regularly. Until today the dolphins get fed every morning at 8 am. The crew here is lovely, being extremely careful and caring with the dolphins and making sure they don´t get too distressed, nobody touches them and also that everyone gets equal time with the dolphins. They are completely free and come here voluntarily, which is so lovely to see. I don´t know what it is about dolphins, but they are so magical to see and be around and just seeing them made me all giddy. Feeding the dolphins is only 10 Dollars and I would absolutely make sure to come here, despite the early wake up call.
Horizons Kangaroo Sanctuary and Camground
While we did not spot wild kangaroos in Queensland, we spotted some very happy ones and their babies, in the Horizons sanctuary, that doubles as a campground close to 1770. They offer feeding tours as well, but if you stay here overnight you get to pet the babies they take care of here anyways. They are obviously raised by humans and so they are so much more tame than wild kangaroos: you can cuddle them and they will also hop around at the campground. The owners were absolutely lovely and you get an amazing view on top of the kangaroos.
Croc tour
After being terrified of crocodiles and going into the sea - can I just once again say how fucked up salt water crocodiles are? - since seeing a 9 meter croc in a wildlife park in Sydney by the end of our trip we were kind of keen to see one. However I preferred seeing them in a somewhat controlled environment, which is why we decided to book a croc tour, while exploring north of Cairns. We went on the Crocodile Express Tour from Daintree. They leave from two different spots along the river and you can do both tours if you want to. The tour was 22,50 for students and one tour takes about an hour. Our guide was really nice and I feel like we learned quite a lot about crocodiles. One thing I thought was super interesting is that the alpha controls the population in his territory. He knows how many crocs the river can handle and will kill off any additional offspring. Which means hunting them is completely unnecessary and dangerous. We actually were lucky enough to spot a crocodile and it is so insane how big they are and we only got to see a female, which are so much smaller than the males.
Cuddling koalas
We saw koalas along the Great Ocean Road, in a sanctuary and to finish off our trip we reached peak level tourist and held a koala. We went to the lovely little village Kuranda just outside Cairns - more on that in another post - and headed to the Koala Gardens here. Holding the koala and taking a picture is an additional 40 Dollars to your entrance fee. The Koala Gardens are one of the only places you can actually hold a Koala and getting so close to these lovely little fellas was absolutely amazing. They are heavily endangered, especially due to forest fires and a wide outspread of chlamydia in the population, which is so devastating.
