The experience surpasses any large zoo we’ve been to in Australia. All the animals can be fed. It offers interactions like holding and cuddling wombats and dingoes.

We’ve been to many zoos, and this one has the most interactions. The ticket is only around $18. To add a note, this zoo is located in a somewhat remote area. It doesn’t compare to the facilities of larger zoos. We visited on the way to Canberra, and it’s worth stopping by if you’re passing through. Although not as big as Taronga Zoo, it has all the native Australian animals you’d expect.

Here we fulfilled our dream of cuddling an adorable chubby wombat and petting a dingo. It feels perfect for a weekend family activity. We stayed for about an hour, spending most of the time taking turns holding and taking pictures of the wombat. The rest of the time, it happily grazed on grass without a moment’s pause. It was hard to interrupt its focused eating to pick it up.

Ticket: $18 per person, $48 for 4 people (family rate)

The zoo is a hobby farm run by a couple. Apart from baby wombats, there are rabbits, Australian dingoes, camels, many parrots, eagles, and even the smiling quokka, which is unique to Western Australia! However, the quokkas, I heard, are a bit afraid of people and might run away, so you can’t take close-up photos with them.

Taralga Wild Park is located on a small farm park between Sydney and Canberra, a 2.5-hour drive from Sydney. The farm is quite remote, so make sure to check the opening hours and plan for some extra time to interact with various animals.