Get up close with the koalas and other native and farm animals Enjoy guided tours and talks about the animal enclosures Play unlimited rounds on the elaborate pirate-themed mini golf course

It’s like an Australian right of passage to get up close and personal with the wildlife. Luckily, since cuddling koalas and petting kangaroos in the actual wild doesn’t always go down the way you hope, Maru Koala Park can provide the goods.  Of course, Maru is renowned for the titular attraction - Koalas. But with an ‘All Day Pass’, you can see all the native and farm animals in the park, and take on the elaborate mini-golf course to make it an action-packed day out. You’ll be able to get up close with the koalas, hand-feed kangaroos, hang out with parrots and dingoes and even let a python wrap you up in its coil if you’re down for it. And if you’re keen to learn about the wildlife and the park, enjoy regular talks given by the animal keepers and hourly guided tours inside the koala enclosure with close encounters available to purchase for a little extra where you can pat and feed a koala and get a picture to take home. For anyone looking to defy nature to make some unlikely animal alliances, this is the place to do it.  Before, after, or in between wildlife bonding, you can get around unlimited play of Pirate Pete’s Mini-Golf. This course is on the wilder side of the golfing spectrum, decked out with life-size pirate figures, a five-metre great white shark figure that could be straight out of Jaws, and a hectic waterfall to navigate around. You have 18 holes to challenge you as the course transforms into different Aussie landscapes. Move through beach, bush, the iconic red soil of the outback and up the mountain for a view over the whole course and park. When you’re in need of a feed, buy some snacks or lunch at the Homestead Bistro looking over the animal park, while kids can entertain themselves in the Dinosaur Indoor Playroom. This is a hands-on way to spend the day and check some animal encounters off your bucket list.