Featherdale Wildlife Park is located deep within Sydney’s sprawling west, where once it was possible to see native beasties running in the wild. Modern expansion over farmland and bush means catching a glimpse of local fauna obviously isn't as easy as it used to be. Happily, Featherdale now has one of Australia's largest private collections of native animals and birds.
The park is geared for a convenient family-themed romp around local wildlife: an easy walk around a host of raucous bird enclosures, dimly lit huts (preserving the night time world of the bilby and ghost bat) and open-themed areas where you will see the likes of scurrying Tasmanian devils, reclining swamp wallabies and slumbering koalas.
The emphasis here is on the tactile experience – close up encounters with (generally) cute mammals. Buy an ice-cream cone packed with pellets and seeds so that your children can gingerly feed the animals (and hopefully shriek with laughter when the cone is inevitably snatched away by a greedy marsupial). One word of caution: the goats in the farm-themed area take proactive food-begging to a whole new level. Only bigger kids and adults should be openly packing food here. You have been warned!
The large overflow carpark across the road all but guarantees a very short walk to the entrance and the café-cum-kiosk serves the usual menu of chips, hot dogs and fruit juices – supercharge your kids for the day or bring your own sugar-free snacks. A series of stamps located around the park allow kids to mark their own ‘passport’ as they complete their Featherdale journey. You might also check the boards for daily feeding schedules.
Children aged three years and above must pay for entry. A family with up to four kids should expect to pay around $99 for entry (before visiting the gift shop stocked with pens, pads, hats, stuffed toys and more).