Five wildlife viewing spots to visit in Australia

Just a reminder though: most native animals are nocturnal, so be careful when driving at dusk and dawn when some a drawn to roadsides, even on major interstate highways.

This roughly 800km round trip is a must for wildlife lovers to tick off all the Aussie icons. Take as long as you have, but it can be done in two nights/three days. To see Eastern Grey Kangaroos, drive straight to the Anglesea Golf Club.

Keep going past Lorne and Apollo Bay to Kennett River for koalas: Kafe Koala and Kennett River Holiday Park are both fabulous koala sighting spots. Between the 12 Apostles and Warrnambool, the Great Ocean Road offers whale watching (in season), plus Tower Hill Reserve for koalas, emus, kangaroos, echidnas and possums.

Then it’s off to the Grampians, one of the best kangaroo viewing areas in Australia, with roos roaming freely throughout the National Park and in the town of Halls Gap.

Mission Beach is about a three hour drive from Townsville and a two hour drive from Cairns, with both routes passing through spectacular rainforest areas, sugar cane and banana plantations. It’s also one of the best places to see quirky cassowaries which are often seen walking through fields, across roads and even through resorts.

Those warning signs on the side of the road are there for a reason: you don’t want to crash into one of these huge flightless birds.

While its namesake can be seen throughout Kangaroo Valley, in fact, the cuter drawcards of the Valley are wombats. For an easy two hour drive from Sydney, take the Hume Freeway, but a more scenic introduction to the Valley is via the M1.

Then head to Bendeela Recreation Area, a free picnic and camping area on the banks of the Kangaroo River featuring great views and almost guaranteed sightings of the delightful Bare-nosed wombats, especially at dusk.

Wild bottlenose dolphins love Monkey Mia as much as we do, and the town is one of the few places in Australia where you can see these beautiful creatures daily. Most days there will be a pod of seven or eight coming in close to shore, so it’s the perfect excuse to make the 850km drive north from Perth.

Best of all, each morning you can help feed them – a magical experience in incredibly clear turquoise waters – but at any time of the day you should see some dolphins frolicking in the bay.

Tasmanian Devils are nocturnal creatures, so while it is not unheard of to see one while driving around Tassie’s roads, your best bet to see these carnivorous mammals is at a dedicated wildlife park. And one of the best is Devil’s@Cradle, which is near the entrance to the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park and a picturesque two-hour drive west of Launceston. Book in for a daytime keeper walking tour, an after dark feeding tour or a Dine with the Devil experience to get close – but for safety, not too close - to these fierce and fascinating creatures.

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