Here in Melbourne we have some amazing Zoo's this weekend we took the kids to The Werribee Park Open Range Zoo. It was fabulous!
The Zoo is about 30 minutes away from the CBD and lucky for me about 20 minutes from home, straight just off the Princes Freeway.
I was a little concerned as to what the older kids would think of it but rest assured there is plenty for every one. I loved that the enclosures were made in a way that even the little ones could get a close look. Madeleine was so enthralled by the tortoises.
Werribee Open Range Zoo is not like any other Zoo I've been to before, while it has the Australian Tour for local wildlife, it's mainly dedicates to African Animals and as the name suggests it open range. The animals have plenty of space to walk about.
The kids loved that the big enclosures had little things for them to play with, at the lions there was this ute where they could pretend to drive through. Here's Madeleine "driving" and pointing out the lions.
Then at the Hippo enclosure, Max enjoyed steering the boat.
After that on this beautiful sunny day the kids played in the water park. Let me tell you trying to drag all 5 away from there was no easy feat. Max was a little shocked when the water came one, so funny but then he thought it was the best thing ever!
Even the older kids got in on the water action!
One of the really awesome things about The Open range Zoo is the Safari ride, general admission includes travel on a bus that takes you into the enclosures where, from the safety of the bus you get to see the animals right in their habitat, which has been designed to replicate, almost exactly, what they have in nature. The buses leave every 20 minutes and the hostess was full of amazing information regarding the animals. The Giraffes were only a couple of meters away.
Max was just mesmerised by what he was seeing. The older kids were a few seats away. Jack who wants to go into zoology found the information on the breeding programs amazing and there was a recorded commentary from people in Africa discussing how the Zoo's efforts are helping fight extinction.
Other attractions included in the general admission include meeting the keepers, unfortunately for us we missed the first two then Max got tired and began crying at the top of his lungs and we didn't want to ruin the experience for the other visitors, however we plan to return soon and make sure we get in early.
The grounds are just beautiful with plenty of beautiful places to picnic, or you can purchase lunch onsite. The kids were enjoying a bit of play on the grassy picnic spot.
Werribee Open Range Zoo is a fabulous place to visit if you're in Melbourne, beautiful grounds, friendly staff and very interactive. They continually have all sorts of extras on offer including overnight stays, I would highly recommend it for all age groups, I know we will be back soon.
For more information on pricing and planning your trip visit the Werribee Open range Zoo site here.
Thanks for Reading,
Mel xo
Disclosure: I did not receive payment for this endorsement, I did however receive tickets for general admission all opinions are true and my own.
