Billabong Sanctuary in Townsville

Unreal experience feeding the wallabies and taking photos with tinkerbell the koala. A great place to visit

Called here late in the afternoon, would definitely recommend getting there much earlier, but managed to see the koala feeding and a chance to meet the black headed python and Rex the crocodile with Ashleigh, even got a chance to hold them.Also took the opportunity to cuddle a koala, something I have wanted to do for ages and was brilliant.Although we were short on time managed to see the wombats, tree kangaroo, Rickie the Macaw, cassowarys, emus fed the kangaroos, wallabies and all the ducks who followed us around. Watched Junior the crocodile being fed and at the same time given interesting info on all of the animals by the staff on the day. Its a pity I couldnt remember everyones name to give thanks.

Absolutely loved this place, its been greater then 20 years since being there.Loved every part of it and the safe where fantastic and my kids loved the visit.Will definitely be back! Its so much better then Australia Zoo, love how its not commercially driven!Dont drive by stop and have a look!!!

Good range of animals with interactive areas for the kids to get up close to feed and pet. Ranger displays are also very impressive and informative.Large shaded area to BYO Lunch (also has kitchen to buy food onsiteand spend the entire day there, they also have a pool to take a quick dip (Croc free).

We love coming here to see all the animals. Its a great family day out.

Worth a visit. Family friendly enterprise but not as slick as more commercially orientated ventures.Large car park (free). Level walk most areas so suitable for pram/buggy usersStaff friendly and knowledgeable.Coffee shop/cafe serves snacks and drinks..a picnic area in the open or under shade with plenty of tables and seating.Plenty of animals and birds to see.Gift shop selling usual range of items, pens, fridge magnets, tee shirts etc.Interactive feeding of kangaroos and turtles. Crocodile feeding is at set time for people to watch.Various meet and greet sessions during day for dingoes, wombats, koalas, various reptiles and birds. Check signage for times.See the Cassowary bird....an endangered species....resembles something out of Jurassic World. 🙂

Lots of birds, can see them at the park. Cool for crocs and native Australian animals but not worth the price really.

Kids had a ball! Had fun feeling the animals. Good thing to do while visiting Townsville :D

Best experience ever!! Staff absolutely sweethearts and they do a hard job to please all of us!! Loved every moment!! Definitely recommend this sanctuary!! Best in the country!! Thank you Billabong for the fantastic day!!

Mel’s Customer service was terrible. We bought an experience pass for three things to do in Townsville including the billabong sanctuary. She could very clearly see our tickets but was more focused on the price we paid and denied our entry to the sanctuary.

Great place, lots of animals to see and get up close to!

This is a wonderful place with very knowledgeable staff and very friendly counter staff.Fantastic place to bring kids to see real wildlife animals in a very safe environment

Had the most wonderful day here with my partner learning about the animals and interacting with many of them too!! The animals are all really well looked after and all look to be really happy and healthy. It’s a great sanctuary where keepers really understand the animals and know how to look after them whilst allowing visitors with special experiences.I’d suggest getting there at 9am as the timetable for experiences with animals begins then !:)Food is fairly priced and there’s lots of seating outside for you to eat hot food , picnics etc.There’s even a pool for the children to use which is a great idea as it was really hot when I visited!!Will 100% recommend - especially for couples or families.

Very interactive and the animals are well cared for . Its got a good range of animals you can even hand feed some but not the crocodiles lol . You wont regret it .

Really great place to visit, especially if you have relatives from interstate. Easy to spend a few hours wandering around and viewing the different animals and wildlife.

Fantastic experience with the animals and park rangers / staff. Easy to cover the whole place in 1/2 a day. The Kangaroos are so friendly and happy to eat from hands. Cafe is small but has just enough food and drink options.

Had a great day taking our little toddler here.He loved hand feeding the kangaroos and the snake displays.I loved seeing the big croc basking in the sun literally against the fence between us.

Billabong Sanctuary has to be one of the highlights of our Australian East Coast adventure and is a must for anyone passing through this way.I have been to quite a few zoos and safari parks across the world but Billabong is the most interactive I have visited. It is a small park showcasing Australian animals but it is well organised and was a great treat for the family. It feels like a local family zoo, set in a forest, and most of the animals have been rescued from somewhere. I only saw 4 rangers but they each gave very informative talks about their animals and their enthusiasm was contagious. We learnt about koalas, cassoway birds, reptiles, wombats, birds of prey, and crocodiles from the rangers but it was interacting with the animals that was my highlight. We purchased some food which allowed us to feed the birds and the kangaroos in their walk-in enclosure with the animals literally eating out of our hands. I also held a baby crocodile, a snake, a bird of prey, patted a dingo, fed the turtles and got my picture taken while cuddling a koala. I had to pay for the koala one but the quality A4 photograph didn’t seem too expensive when I saw it.We visited the park on a quiet Friday morning in July but there was certainly enough to keep our teenagers busy for a few hours. There were suitable lunch options and even a small pool to keep younger ones amused.Engaging and educational; this is what all zoos should be like.

Better than I thought it would be. They have good, informative shows on the various animals and some of the biggest estuarine crocs Ive seen.They could possibly look at the organisation of selling food/admission, its a bit clunky, not very efficient, by the time I got off the food race, my chips were cold. Especially when those wanting to pay for food had to wait while the girl had to go sell ticketing to a group seeking admission.

Had an awesome day at Billabong. Lacey and Alex did such informative presentations of the animals and their enthusiasm shone through. Meeting a Koala, a python & a Crock was pretty cool, but for me feeding the kangaroos was the highlight. Could not fault our day there. Highly recommended.

Thank you so much 💗🥰🥰 I really enjoyed myself with my cousin.

We had a wonderful time at Billabong Sanctuary and would recommend it for a great day out! There is a diverse range of Australian animals which you could get really close to. A much more personable experience than Australia Zoo at half the cost and just 20 Mins outside Townsville! Loved all the rangers, especially Ray who you could tell had a real passion for his job and is a great character. Cost of tickets was about right given they receive no government funding. Their free local entry when you bring in 2 non locals was also very considerate. Season pass works well if you have kids at the cost of 2 entries. My only feedback for improvement would be to spruce up the public seating areas a little bit (to the same standard as the ones in front of the Cafe). But overall a great place to spend the day!

Had a great time. Loved all the animals especially the croc feeding and patting the gorgeous dingo.All the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Amenities clean. Scones delicious.They have fantastic picnic areas including BBQ and a pool.Would highly recommend.

It was a great experience as I had never seen a crocodile in person or up close and all the staff are lovely, friendly, straight forward with their information which to me is great.

Great experience seeing the large crocidles. Good shows and clean amenities.

Very enjoyable time here, great facilities and well cared for animals.

Good experience, the guy doing the croc feed was a good showman.Variety of animals and experiences to see.

its was a lovely experience to see all the animals, birds and the reptiles in a such good care and the passion all the staff talking about each ones.

Awesome place to view Wildlife. Friendly staff that were helpful with navigation. Alot of turtles that follow you around and will eat out of your hand.

+ close to city. Just 20 minute driving from city+ parking under tree- overpriced. $43 from adult. Kids under 4 for free- only sanctuary around Townsville. So, monopoly and as result no competition for clients- waiting time in queue about 30 min on weekends. Only one cashier- facility is old- low density of animals compare with other 4 sanctuaries I have been around Australia.- no unique animals- food choice is poor

This is a great place for a family. Has a pool nice food and lots of animals to see. You can hold a koala ,snake and a wombat and some others too. Great experience

We enjoyed a lovely day at Billabong Sanctuary today. The park was very well presented with lots of native animals to experience in different environments. The ranger presentations by Ray were well delivered and interesting.All in all recommended as a great place to explore while in Townsville.

Amazing experiences with all their wonderful animals! The place is beautifully looked after and Staff are super friendly!!

Our visit yesterday was terrific. All the rangers were very friendly and extremely informative. I learnt amazing new facts about the animals on display. The rangers helping me cuddle the wombat were kind and patient. Well worth the visit,

Had a great time with my Teen. Croc show was awesome and informative. Rangers walking around with animals were approachable and willing to talk.

Billabong is great but I would say slightly over priced.The croc feeding was excellent - time of the year would dictate how aggressive the crocs are being winter they were a little more docile but still spectacular to see so close.The park is well laid out and kid safe.Thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Amazing place to see and even feed the animals! Great place for the family or even couples and singles. I watched a few shows and even watched them feed the animals and I fed some with my partner. You can feed most of the animals and you can even hold most of them. Staff are very knowlegable and friendly. They do take card and have covid rules in place with sanitisers and even a wash sink. 10/10 great experience and I would love to refer my friends to experience this awesome sanctuary.

Nice and quiet, the place is tidy and well cared for. The animals all look in great condition. Really enjoyed the day

We arrived upon opening at 9am today and were greeted by a lovely lady at admission... bought some animal food and off we went. The sanctuary itself is great - bigger than it looks from the entrance. The animals seem happy too, which is always nice to see. We saw the koala feeding, got to pat a wombat and even fed the cassowaries grapes with sanctuary owner Bob. Like many places, the drop in international tourism due to Covid has hit this place pretty heavily in recent times, so please do support them. Its not far from Townsville so well worth a visit. We stayed for around 2.5 hours. Remember, your entrance fee is also paying for animal food and staff wages - something that doesnt stop even if tourism dies down! Definitely recommended.

Not the cheapest outing ($107 for 2 adults and 1 child & bag of kangaroo food however something special to take the family too. Make sure you check out before hand when the animals shows are on so you dont miss most of them when you get there.

Excellent opportunity to get up close with a wide range of local fauna.You can see the koalas feeding early in the morning, walk into two corrals with kangaroos and other species of macropods. There are several estuarine crocodiles (you can hold a young one for a souvenir photo), freshwater crocodiles and american alligators.Other species include billbies, wombats, dingos, emus, cassowaries, geckos, lizards and snakes.

Our son loved it and really enjoyed getting up close with the animals. He especially liked seeing the crocodiles. Unfortunately it has a slightly run down feel, which I believe is due to issues since the COVID crisis. The volunteers are wonderful and go out of their way to be friendly.

We loved this australian zoo over all the other ones weve been to. Amazing informative shows an more animal interactions then you will get at other zoos without the added costs. They allow you to take your own photos holding the animals and you can feed a fresh water crocodile for only $10 on top of your entry fee.

Just such a wonderful day out!The sanctuary is easily navigable, and the kiosk close enough for ready energy restoration on a hot day!So nice to get up close and personal with our unique wildlife: friends and foe! A totally interactive. How many places can you go where you can pat a dingo, feed a croc and hold a stunning eclectus parrot.Special mention to Pio. What a great resource this man is. Knowledgeable, but totally personable along with it.Thanks for a stunning day!

This is a great little zoo where you can get really close to the wildlife. The Rangers are passionate and dedicated, clearly loving their jobs. A great day for the family. The cafeteria would be so much better with a proper coffee machine.

Amazing place. We spent the whole day going to every show and fed all the animals with the rangers. Which is all part of the entry fee. The animals are well cared for and there alot of free to roam ducks turtles and magpie geese. We loved seeing the dingoes, cassowary, and crocodiles. Theres also a place to get your lunch from where they do gluten free burgers for about 10$. Also 4$ coffee and hot choc machine.

Great fun, definitely worth the admission fee (37 AUD per adult). It is an "open air zoo" with almost all the animals you would expect in Australia and the staff give competent explanations. (Plan at least 3 h if you want to walk around the main billabong and see some of the many shows).

One of the best animal sanctuaries Ive visited. We visited beginning of July and the number of people was just right. The animal experiences are timed so well you can head straight from one to the other and see and hear so much in one day. Plenty of photo opportunities and learning for kids and adults alike.

Great place, its a lovely place to just walk around looking at everything they have, but if you want to know a bit more they have some great shows that both explain a lot about the animal in question, and often give you a chance to either pet or feed them.If you are in the area for a while make sure to take advantage of being able to come back the next day for free!

This place is beautiful and the sanctuary workers are incredibly friendly and helpful. The shows are interesting and educational, you also get lots of chances to get really up close with many different animals. Highly recommended for all ages. The crocodile feeding is amazing and was probably the highlight of the day for me, followed by feeding a cassowary and the swarm of turtles!