Our Encounters
We are proud to offer a wide range of exciting opportunities, with our experienced team, to enjoy up close encounters with a variety of our species. These encounters are crafted to be enriching for both our animals and you.
Cheetah Encounter
From: $100.00 cost per personMeet our amazing cheetah brothers up close, so close you will hear them purring like a V-8 along with their other vocalisations. You will provide the boys with some of their favourite snacks and the keeper will share the training that we do with our boys to make health care easier.
Minimum 13 years of age
Dingo Encounter
From: $35.00 cost per personHelp our keeper make our dingo’s day! Our dingoes love meeting new people, receiving a scratch and a pat and they may even return the gesture with a sniff and a lick.
Minimum 6 years of age
Early Bird Tour
From: $480.00Early morning is a great time to have the zoo to yourself and see our wildlife when they are most active and always glad to greet their keepers. You can join in on this exclusive Early Bird Tour which includes zoo entry and a personal guided tour with an experienced keeper who will share their stories about our wildlife and their personalities and will have a bucket breakfast of treats to give a variety of animals. Our dingoes will howl their early greeting to you and you will have the opportunity to enter their enclosure and feed them their breakfast.
Minimum age : 6 years
Giraffe Encounter
From: $60.00 cost per personJoin our tower of giraffes and enjoy them gently taking feed from your hands as the keeper passes you some of their favourite treats such as carrots. You will be so close that you will feel their breath and see their amazing tongues built for retrieving food from tall trees.
Minimum 13 years of age
Lizard Encounter
From: $25.00 cost per personEnjoy an opportunity to get up close with one of the many Australian lizards in our collection. There are nearly 700 named species of lizard in Australia, learn all about their remarkable lives, where they live, what they eat and the amazing way they control body temperatures.
Minimum 4 years of age
Meerkat Encounter
From: $50.00 cost per personMeet our mischievous mob up close. Accompanied by an experienced keeper, you will be armed with their favourite treats. Relatively fearless, don’t be surprised if they climb onto your lap and the sentry on duty chooses your shoulder or even your head as the best lookout post.
Minimum 9 years of age
Otter Encounter
From: $100.00 cost per personWe are the only zoo in Australia offering the opportunity to provide a hands on, fishy lunch with our cheeky Asian small-clawed otters. You can even hold hands and feel the softness of an otter’s paw as the girls take some food from your hands.
Minimum 13 years of age
Red Panda Encounter
From: $100.00 cost per personAn unforgettable experience, during the encounter you will be seated in the enclosure, where the panda will often walk across your lap and very often brush your face with their tail as they move past. You will help feed our panda their favourite treat of fresh fruit for the day.
Minimum 9 years of age
White Rhino Encounter
From: $80.00 cost per personGive an endangered three-ton rhino a pat and make his day with a mix of attention and his favourite food. Accompanied by two of our keepers who will ensure your safety while you meet this gentle giant, feel his lips as he gently takes hay from your hand and his thick hide as he leans towards you.
Minimum 6 years of age
Quokka encounter
From: $50.00 cost per personCome meet our Quokka joey, and as you are chatting to her keepers about all things Quokka you can pat her and try to get the best selfie you can.
Age: 4 -7 years old must have a paying adult accompanying them
Serval Encounter
From: $90.00 cost per personJoin our young Serval in her enclosure for her afternoon play session. While you entertain our Serval with one of her favourite toys, her keeper will tell you all about her.
Minimum 9 years of age
Special Packages
Membership
Become a member of Halls Gap Zoo to come and go as you please with unlimited entry for 12 months! Your membership helps us to build a bigger and better zoo to help protect species for future generations.
Bring a friend along with you and they will enjoy a 10% discount on their general admission.
Group Bookings Adults
We provide a discount for groups of people.
- 1 to 9 Adults – $45.00 per person
- 10 to 20 Adults – $40.00 per person
- 21 or more Adults – $33.00 per person
Should you require an invoice, please email us at info@hallsgapzoo.com.au
Group Booking Children
We provide a discount for groups of children.
Children are aged from 3-17yrs (under 3yrs free).
- 1 to 14 Children – $22.00 per child
- 15 or more Children – $20.00 per child
- School booking – Click here
Should you require an invoice, please email us at info@hallsgapzoo.com.au
School Bookings
OPTION 1: Keeper Guided Tour
@ 11am OR 2pm
$18.00 per child Year 12 and under
(min $250)
OPTION 2: Keeper Talk & Self-guided Tour
@10.15am OR 11.15am OR 2pm
$16.00 per child Year 12 and under
(min $200)
Ratios of 1:5 for Kinder – Yr2, 1:10 for Yr3 – Yr6 and 1:15 for Yr7 above (always 2 staff required)
Adults above the ratio will be $25 each.
Gift Voucher
Our printable Gift Vouchers are a wonderful gift for someone special.
Vouchers can be redeemed on our website.
Zoo Keeper for a Day Or Morning
Zoo Keeper for a Day
Spend the whole day discovering what a Zoo keeper does. Assist in daily exhibit maintenance, preparing animal diets or enrichments and feeding the animals.
Zoo Keeper for a Morning
In this experience you have the opportunity to assist a keeper for a morning. Tasks include helping with daily exhibit maintenance, preparing animal diets or enrichments.
Animal Adoption
Here’s the perfect gift for the animal lover in your family (even if that person is you!).
The animals involved in our encounters are conditioned to be accustomed to the interactions with visitors and participation in the encounters is voluntary for the animals. The encounters are delivered in a way to be enriching to both the animals and visitors.
what our visitors say
best spot for family outings and all the animals were so cute and interactive, ( they have quokkas!!! )
they also have animal interactions that you have to book in advance, so i recommend looking into that before you come here
Follow us @hallsgapzoo
A reminder that we are OPEN 10am-5pm everyday except Christmas Day.
If you are looking for a fun day out, we have animal encounters, keeper talks and our food van is open today.
See you all soon
#hallsgapzoo #zoo #grampians #publicholiday
👻🎃 Don’t let those sweet faces fool you… Our Otters have a spooky side! 😱🦦
When the lights go down, they turn into tiny water goblins sneaking, splashing and plotting their next fright for keepers!
Are they cute? Always.
Are they spooky? For keepers walking into work…everyday but for guests just enough for Halloween. 🎃
Happy Halloween from our hauntingly adorable otters!
#hallsgapzoo #halloween #booatthezoo
🌧️ Rainy Days at the Zoo 🌧️
While the rain might send most people indoors life at the zoo carries on but we are just a little soggier! ☔
Some of our animals actually enjoy a good drizzle eg. The Water Buffalo make sure the job gets done properly while others enjoy it from the comfort of their shelter.
For the zookeepers, rainy days mean a bit more mud on the boots and suddenly everyone needs to read SOP’s 🤪
They make sure everyone stays cozy and well fed and that all the shelters are snug and dry.
So even when the rain pours, there’s always plenty of life and laughter behind the scenes at the zoo!
Spring is well under way here at the Zoo with so many new cute little faces!
Pack yourself a lunch and come and enjoy the weather. See how many babies you can spot. How cute are these baby Chinese Geese Goslings and Jungle Fowl Chicks!
#hallsgapzoo #chinesegeese #junglefowl #visitgrampians #visitmelbourne #babyanimals
It’s official, the votes are in!
After much deliberation, we have agreed on the names for our new baby Indian Star Tortoises and Himalayan Tahr…
We’d like to thank everyone who commented on our recent facebook posts and joined in during the baby shower, we have loved all the suggestions.
We are delighted to introduce you to Terrance, Jharal and Marcous our Himalayan Tahr and Tortellini, Voldertort and Speedy our Indian Star Tortoises
#hallsgapzoo #startortoise #tahr #grampians
Thankyou everyone who put in suggestions to name our 3 new Star Tortoises 🌟
All our keepers are now voting and we will let you know the results soon.
#hallsgapzoo #startortoise #schoolholidayfun
🪶 Ok… who blinked and let these guys grow up so quick?! 👀
Our baby emus aren’t so little anymore and we can’t believe how fast they’ve grown, come and see them these school holidays before they loose their adorable stripes and if your lucky enough they may even come over for some food (food available at the front desk).
📸 Keeper Caroline
#hallsgapzoo #babyemus #schoolholidays #Grampians
🐾🎉 It’s International Red Panda Day and what better way to celebrate than by booking an encounter to meet one our very own dynamic duo!
With fluffy tails, little paws, and endless charm, our Red Pandas are ready to steal your heart (and maybe a snack or two). 🌟💕
Trust us when we say this is one encounter you will not forget.
#hallsgapzoo #encounter #redpanda #schoolholidays #experiences
Beautiful spring day the animals are loving the morning sun.
If your friend chews this loud, it’s annoying… but when a lemur does it, it’s the cutest thing ever. 💕🙊 #hallsgapzoo #lemur
Say hello to our newest additions.
We recently welcomed 3 new young Tahr who have settled in well with our 2 older boys. Aren’t they just adorable? 🥰
They are still yet to be named so if you have a suggestion leave a comment below 👇
#hallsgapzoo #tahr #newanimals
🌧️ Father’s Day is almost here! While the forecast is looking a little gloomy for Sunday, why not make the most of the sunshine beforehand and plan your visit for Saturday? ☀️🐾
Bring Dad along for an adventure at the zoo this weekend it’s the perfect way to spend quality time together before the weather turns.
And if you’re still looking for the ultimate gift, our animal encounters make an unforgettable present that Dad will never forget. 🦏🦒🐆🐍
🎟️ Book your encounters now and give Dad a wild experience this Father’s Day!
#hallsgapzoo #fathersday #familyday #encounter #presentfordad
How amazing is it that we get to inspire the next generation of zookeepers, it is a good reminder that the love for animals and conservation starts early.
Don’t they look the part all dressed up for book week at school 🥰
Check out our Zoo Keeper for a day program to see what a day looks like for our Zookeepers and get up close to a range of different species.
#minikeepers #hallsgapzoo
🐾 Ever wondered what it’s really like to be a zookeeper? 🦓🦒🐒
Now’s your chance!
Drop your questions for our amazing zookeepers in the comments below ⬇️
They’ll be answering everything from fun animal facts to what a day in the life of a keeper looks like.
What have you always wanted to know?
We will video our keepers answering your questions and post it in the coming weeks.
Nothing but sunshine all weekend long ☀️
Now is the time to get to the zoo and see the adorable Emu chicks before they grow any bigger (it happens way too fast).
#hallsgapzoo #emubabies #grampians
Polo puts the cheeky into cheeky monkey 🙈 #hallsgapzoo #capuchin
It’s International Golden Lion Tamarin day 🎉
Today we celebrate such amazing creatures that we are so lucky to be able to work with.
#hallsgapzoo #goldenliontamarin #internationalgoldenliontamarinday
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🐊Saltwater crocodiles can grow up to 7m in length and weigh over 1,000kg 😱
🐊These guys are ambush predators and will patiently wait for the right time to strike they can hold their breath for hours underwater.
🐊Only 1% of hatchlings will make it to adulthood
Remember to be crocwise when in croc country
#hallsgapzoo #saltwatercrocs #becrocwise
How good was that rain?? Our dams are actual dams and no longer holes in the ground BUT this weekend is looking to be nothing but gorgeous winter sunshine 🌞 the animals are sure to be out and about sunning themselves so pop in and say hello maybe even book that encounter you’ve been wanting to do and enjoy spending the day out of the house as we all know that sunshine + animals= The perfect day
Book now via our website (link in our bio)
#hallsgapzoo #encounters #grampians
Everything’s better when we’re together 💜
#hallsgap #hallsgapzoo #visitvic
Kingston clearly isn’t paying the hay bills 🤑🤑
He sure does love a good hay hat and I have to say we think he looks quite handsome.
#hay #rhino #visitmelbourne #encounter
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Brush Tailed Rock Wallaby:
🦘 As the name would suggest, these wallabies live in shrubbed areas close to rocks and cliffs, which they will escape to when hiding from predators.
🦘The southern brush-tailed rock wallaby is critically endangered. Victoria has roughly 50 individuals left in the wild. In 2008 a few individuals were reintroduced back into the wild in the Grampians National Park and are closely monitored.
🦘Brush-tailed rock wallabies live in groups with one male and many females. When a male joey is born, it will live with the group until maturity and then disperse to find a new group.
We have 10 Brush Tailed Rock Wallabies here at Halls Gap Zoo and they are amazing at hiding in their rocky habitat try to spot them all next time you are visiting.
Just a reminder that our food van is open everyday of the school holidays from 10am-2pm, grab your coffee or hot chocolate to sip on and keep you warm on these winter days as you walk around the zoo.
#coffee #schoolholidays #zoo #animals #encounters #grampians #glowfestival
🌍World Meerkat Day🌍
Yesterday we celebrated World Meerkat day, these hilarious animals are native to Africa and live in groups called mobs. They all help out in protecting the family they take turns in what is called sentry duty where 1 or 2 meerkats will keep watch out for any predators while the rest of the mob is out and about and will alert them to the presence of any predators.
You are able to come and meet our wild and wonderful meerkats during an encounter you will feed them have them on you lap and if you are lucky enough one may even jump on your head it is an experience you definitely won’t forget.
Enjoy watching them with their ball pit but make sure you have your sound on.
📸 keeper Darci
#schoolholidays #hallsgapzoo #activities #visitmelbourne #whattodo # familyfun #meerkats
Halls Gap will be GLOWING!! 🌟🌟🌟
From this weekend for July and August we will be taking part in the Halls Gap Glow Winter Festival.
An 8 week festival featuring art, wellbeing and adventures there are lots of activities planned so if you’ve been thinking about a visit now is the time.
For our part in the 💫GLOW festival 💫we will have a scavenger hunt where you will learn about animals that..you guessed it ‘GLOW’ an interactive hunt that will be sure to keep the kids engaged.
Visit https://www.glowhallsgap.com.au for more information on all the activities planned.
#hallsgapzoo #glowfestival #grampians #grampiansnationalpark
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An absolute Aussie Icon, the Tasmanian Devil for this week’s facts.
-Tasmanian devils have the strongest bite force relative to their size of any mammal in the world. It is even strong enough to bite through metal (think of that next time you struggle to eat a toblerone)
-They give birth to up to 40 babies at once…but they only have 4 teats so it is a race for survival and the first 4 to make it will then spend the next 3 months in mums pouch before starting to venture out.
-They are the largest carnivorous marsupial and they eat every part of their prey.
Be sure to stop by the devil enclosure next time you are here and listen for their unique sounds.
#tassiedevil #aussieanimals #hallsgapzoo #grampians #schoolholidays #activity #visitmelbourne #weekendsway
So good to have rain again. Hopefully means we might have grass growing soon 🤞
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This is Miss piggy our Pig Nosed Turtle
Did you know
🐽 Pig nosed turtles use their snout as a sensory organ to detect food in murky waters
🐽They can weigh up to 30kgs and get to 70cms long 😱
🐽They have papillae on their throats which helps them absorb oxygen from the water
#hallsgapzoo #grampians #pignoseturtle
Step aside amateurs this empress shoots in RAW 👑
Caught Yesinia our Emperor Tamarin behind the lens today, taking photos like she works for National Geographic, she demanded a banana break and a final say on edits and while the lighting was perfect I did see a roll of the eyes when Presto our other emperor got distracted and ruined the shot.
Can’t say for sure who hired her but the shots are stunning and that’s all that matters.
#cameraqueen #behindthescenes #emperortamarin #hallsgapzoo #cutephotographer
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EMUS-
🪶After the female lays her eggs the male will then lay on the eggs for the next 8 weeks and will raise the babies without the female.
🪶Emus cannot fly
🪶They are one of the largest birds standing at up to 2m tall
🪶Eggs are a stunning dark green colour.
You can see our male here laying on his eggs, he will barely eat or drink while he incubates his babies.
🐾 We are open everyday this long weekend 🐾
Bring the whole family we are open from 10am-5pm everyday. Enjoy some keeper talks or book in for an up close encounter where you can pat a Rhino, feed a cheetah, have a red panda walk across your lap 🫢 Check out our website for a full list of encounters we offer.
#longweekend #hallsgap #grampians #encounters #animalencounter
Happy 2nd birthday to Messi and Knuckles our 2 gorgeous Tasmanian devils 🎉🎉
Keepers had a bit of fun making some birthday enrichment with some yummy smells for them to enjoy their day with.
Come down and see our 2 newest devils, they have settled in quite well and have made themselves at home.
📸 keeper Darci
#hallsgapzoo #encounters #visitmelbourne #grampians
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It is Bearded Dragon week!
🪵 The females will lay about 11-30 eggs per clutch and take up to 80 days to hatch.
🪵 They are omnivores feeding on plants, flowers, invertebrates and small lizards.
🪵 Like most reptiles they rely on the sun to regulate their body temperature and when the winter comes around they go into ‘brumation’ which is similar to hibernation in mammals.
Today is World Otter Day! There are 13 species of otters in the world and here at Halls Gap Zoo we have the Asian small clawed otters and even though they are the smallest species of otter they have the biggest personalities. You will see our girls playing in their pool, eating at their waterfall or mum paddy playing with her favourite rock.
Have you ever wanted to hold an otters hand? We are the only place in Victoria where you can do that during an encounter with our beautiful and cheeky girls.
As Asian small clawed otters are classed as vulnerable in the wild we need to make sure we protect their habitats and keep our waterways clean so they can thrive in the wild and we are able to enjoy these incredible animals for generations to come. Visit our website to book book an encounter #hallsgapzoo #worldotterday #protectwildlife #encounter
It was national volunteer week this week and we would like to acknowledge the hard work all our lovely volunteers put into the zoo, they get dirty, they get sweaty, walking all day long but their dedication has a big impact for our animals and the keepers alike, hopefully being rewarded with animal cuddles, knowing they are making a difference and learning as they go makes it all worthwhile.
So thankyou to each and everyone one of you.
In the lead up to winter our maintenance team have been busy creating new shelters for our wallabies and new hot boxes for our small primates to keep them nice and cosy during those cold nights, as you can see I think the animals approve.
We are constantly looking for ways to update enclosures that improves the welfare of our animals and we have so much planned but we couldn’t do it without the support of you, when you visit, spend money in the gift shop or have an encounter with an animal that money goes back into the zoo so we are able to make these improvements so Thankyou for your support.
These animals deserve the best and that is what our keepers strive to achieve day in and day out.
📸 keeper Maddison and Sherrin
Keeper Larissa has some exciting news for everyone.
These fascinating animals are now on display and ready to meet you.
With its gorgeous grey feathers they often blend in and just look like part of the tree so you will have to concentrate to find them.
They are sure to capture your heart just like they already have our keepers.
Our animal care team have been working hard to ensure a smooth and comfortable transition into their new home and they have settled in perfectly.
Come visit and be among the first to see our newest residents.
📸keeper Rhys
#Hallsgapzoo #grampians #visitmelbourne #tawnyfrogmouths
Happy Mother’s Day from the Zoo!
They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and in Asha’s case, it’s more like mini me’s running around the exhibit!
Motherhood is all about love, protection, and a whole lot of lookalikes.
Here’s to all the wild, wonderful mums out there we hope you have a great day and get to relax.
When you’re visiting see if you can spot the difference between Asha and her daughters or even spot one of our newer mums, hint: you might see a little face poking out of a pouch.
#mothersday #grampians #present #hallsgapzoo #visitmelbourne
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Today is about our beautiful native Dingoes
🐾 The widest part of their body is their skull which they use to test if they can fit through holes without getting stuck.
🐾 They are not a dog they are genetically and behaviourally different to domestic dogs.
🐾 They can jump up to 2m high from a standing position.
Come and meet one of our 3 beautiful boys Daku, Bobby and Maliki during an encounter
#hallsgapzoo #encounter #dingo
💕Looking for the perfect Mother’s Day present?
How about the gift of an animal experience for the special woman in your life.
Spend some quality time together, cementing your position as the favourite child while having an unforgettable time feeding a giraffe, patting a 2000kg rhino or having a red panda walk across your lap. 🤭
Check out our website for our full range of encounters. #mothersday #mothersdaygifts #encounters
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Today we are looking at Elk
🦌They are one of the largest species of Deer.
🦌Babies are born with spots but loose them by the end of summer (as you can see in the photo) they are also born without a scent to help protect them from predators.
🦌Males grow impressive antlers each year and shed them in the winter
#elk #hallsgapzoo #nationalpark
#visitmelbourne #visitmelbourneaustralia
Thankyou so much to a Family from Horsham who so generously donated 5 family yearly memberships to some deserving local families saying that “The Halls Gap Zoo has brought so much joy to our lives over the years and after everything they and the local community have been through, especially with the challenges of the fires, we wanted to give something back to the zoo and hopefully bring some joy to local families through a zoo membership.”
So wonderful to have such kindhearted people in our community so Thankyou again.
#kindness #hallsgapzoo #familymembership
Happy World Vet Day!!
Today we celebrate the dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to protect the health and welfare of animals everywhere.
We would like to thank our vets from Stawell veterinary clinic who help us when our animals need them and after the recent fires were amazingly kind enough and wiped our bill which was such a big help to us.
We would also like to thank the vets from Werribee Zoo who take on our animals when they need specialist veterinary care especially when they make the trek out to see our animals on site.
We appreciate each and everyone of you for your commitment to the animals you work so hard to care for.
