Meet a Platypus at Healesville Sanctuary

Visit: Healesville Sanctuary, Badger Creek Road Healsville, Healesville, Victoria 3777 Australia

Make your own way to Healesville Sanctuary, located about one hour’s drive east of Melbourne. Upon arrival, check in for your platypus experience and prepare to become entranced by these charming little mammals.

Meet the keepers and listen to the platypus visitor presentation with a VIP seat at ‘Tales from Platypus Creek'. The duration of your presentation is approximately 25-minutes. Next, head into the platypus sanctuary for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of where the keepers work with the animals. Receive a briefing on how to interact with a platypus and step into the provided waders, which you wear over your own clothing, before entering the shallow waters of the platypus pool for approximately 20-minutes.

Following the keeper's lead, you can touch, feed and play with a platypus inside the pool. Find out what the keepers do when they care for the furry mammals and enjoy a hands-on experience with the platypus yourself. Hear informative commentary about the habitat, behaviors and populations of platypus in Australia.

Before and after your platypus experience, check out the rest of Healesville Sanctuary. The natural bushland setting provides an environment that mirrors the native Australian animals’ native habitats. Stroll along shaded paths that take you past dingo packs, kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats and echidnas along with some of Australia’s most dangerous reptiles. Admire a variety of colorful birds including emus, parrots, cassowaries, owls and eagles.

At the sanctuary you can also visit the Australian Wildlife Health Centre, an animal hospital where vets and nurses treat sick or injured wildlife. Cafes, picnic areas and a gift shop are also available.

Zoos Victoria is a world-leading zoo-based conservation organisation fighting wildlife extinction through:
- Innovative, scientifically sound breeding and recovery programs to support critically endangered Victorian, terrestrial, vertebrate species;
- Partnering with the Victorian community to create the world’s most wildlife friendly society;
- Providing profound zoo-based animal encounters to connect people with wildlife; and
- Strong commercial approaches to secure financial sustainability. Check out https://www.zoo.org.au/about-us/ for more information.