Show Times
INTERPRETIVE SHOWS, FEEDING AND HANDLING
At Billabong Sanctuary, our Rangers are passionate about our amazing native wildlife, and they want to share that passion with you.
We have adapted our schedule of shows and interactions to conform to social distancing requirements.
We continue to offer Australia’s best interactive wildlife experience. Interpretive shows throughout the day showcase Australia’s unique animals:
- Cassowaries
- Koalas
- Wombats
- Crocodiles
- Lizards
- Snakes
- Parrots
- Birds of Prey
- Dingoes
- Turtles
WILDLIFE TALKS AND SHOWS
We want you to get up close to these awesome creatures, and to appreciate their special place in nature, but we also want you to have fun! Feed the free-ranging kangaroos and ducks, cuddle a koala, tickle a wombat, smile at a crocodile. It’s all about putting YOU in the picture. Get as close as you want, or just sit back and enjoy the show!
9:15 AM - KOALA FEEDING
This is the time of day when our koalas are most active, as Rangers feed them fresh gum leaves from our own eucalyptus plantation. Great photo opportunities as they clamber around their perches selecting their favourite tender green tips.
Watch for our two adorable joeys!
9:30 AM - TURTLE FEEDING
Have some fun at the edge of the billabong feeding mackerel skins to the Krefft’s turtles. Watch for the long-finned eels that churn up the water as they try to grab their share!
9:45 AM - CASSOWARY FEEDING
The magnificent cassowary is the 3rd largest bird in the world, and is a keystone species in maintaining the health of tropical rainforests. There may be fewer than 4000 left in the wild. Learn what we can do to help them, and hand feed some grapes to Yarrabah and Hope.
10:00 AM - WOMBAT EXPERIENCE
The wombat is the largest burrowing mammal in the world! Join us at Yala’s enclosure to learn more about these awesome little diggers while he has a bit of fun with his toys. Yala is a southern hairy-nosed wombat. Notice his soft fur– so different from that of Reuben, our bare-nosed wombat.
10:15 AM - ROVING RANGER: Feathered Friends
Watch for our Roving Rangers as they circulate near the show areas, stopping at family groups to answer questions and pose for photos. You could meet Skwimm the tawny frogmouth, Scarlett the eclectus parrot or even our new scaly-breasted lorikeets.
10:30 AM - KOALA EXPERIENCE
Meanwhile, Koala Crescent will be open. Come on in and learn more about these adorable marsupials. Get up close for a selfie with Mallee or Tinkerbelle.
10:50 AM - SOUVENIR PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES
Join us at the Main Show Area for your souvenir photo with a koala, a wombat or a reptile (lizard or juvenile crocodile). Yes, you can hold a koala, or stand beside it and give it a pat for a pole photo.
(Extra charge applies.)
11:30 AM - DINGO WALKABOUT
Rangers will do a lap of the billabong with our three friendly dingoes, stopping for chats and photos. Meet King, Allira and Kalari. Give them a pat, and learn more about this misunderstood native animal.
12 Noon - ROVING RANGER: Reptiles
Rangers will stroll around the show areas with a snake or a lizard, stopping to greet family groups. Meet one of our friendly native pythons, or perhaps feel the knobbly scales on Spike the shingleback lizard.
12:30 PM - CROCODILE FEEDING and CROC HANDLING
The most exciting show of the day—a powerful saltwater croc explodes out of the water to snatch food from our Rangers! North Queensland is crocodile country. Learn how to stay safe while you enjoy our magnificent waterways.
At the same time, you’ll have the opportunity to hold one of our juvenile crocodiles for a special photo opportunity– Rangers will bring it around to the outside of the enclosure during the feeding show.
1:15 - FREE FLIGHT BIRD SHOW
Roxy the barking owl swoops over your head. Listen for her distinctive woop-woop call! Yasi the black kite puts on an amazing display of aerial acrobatics. Freeze the bush stone-curlew trots around the show area, snatching up bits of food. Have you heard the curlew’s eerie night-time cry? Rangers might get Freeze to demonstrate!
1:30 PM - TURTLE FEEDING
Have some more fun feeding those voracious Krefft’s turtles, at the edge of the billabong in front of the Shop.
2:00 PM - Park Closes
Thanks for coming. Hope you had an awesome day!
** Optional Souvenir Photo for a small extra charge.
ATTENTION PARENTS:
For the koalas’ safety, as well as that of our visitors, we are required to restrict koala handling to children over 1.4 metres in height (4 1/2 feet). A board is posted by the photo area for reference.
Children who do not meet this requirement are still welcome to join Mum and Dad or big brother and sister for a family photo.
And over in Koala Crescent, another of our friendly koalas sitting on a branch will happily pose while you take a selfie or while your friends or family take your photo.
