Come face-to-face with koalas in their natural habitat along the treetop boardwalks through the Australian bushland at the Koala Conservation Reserve.
The two elevated boardwalks bring you closer to the koalas as they go about their daily business of sleeping, eating, and sleeping some more. Collect and plant a seed from their Native Seed Station to grow and create a thriving native habitat in your own backyard. Watch and listen for other native wildlife like wallabies, echidnas, and colourful native birds. For those curious about how koalas live, their visitor centre has interactive and informative displays, or find one of their rangers to ask a question.
Located just 90 minutes from Melbourne, the Koala Conservation Reserve offers fantastic koala viewing in their natural habitat.
Hours
Closed now
Daily: 10:00–17:30
Facilities and visitor features
25 features
Caters for people with sufficient mobility to climb a few steps but who would benefit from fixtures to aid balance. (This includes people using walking frames and mobility aids)
Caters for people who use a wheelchair.
An access and inclusion statement is available on the business website.
ATEC Korea Host
Carpark
Coach Parking
Enquiry Desk
Family Friendly
Food and Refreshments
Interactive Centre
Interpretive Centre
Lookouts
Non Smoking
Picnic Area
Public Toilet
Shop / Gift Shop
Family
Welcomes and assists people who have challenges with learning, communication, understanding and behaviour. (includes people with autism, intellectual disability, Down syndrome, acquired brain injury (ABI), dyslexia and dementia)
Caters for people who are blind or have vision loss.
Nature & Wildlife
ECO Certified (Advanced Ecotourism) by Ecotourism Australia
Quality Tourism Accreditation
Respecting Our Culture (ROC) Certified by Ecotourism Australia
Koala Conservation Reserve is an absolutely wonderful place and a true must-visit, especially for tourists. This is definitely one of the top five places you should go first to experience Phillip Island in particular.
Seeing koalas up close in their natural environment is a calm, beautiful, and unforgettable experience. The boardwalks are well designed, the surroundings are peaceful, and everything feels respectful to the animals and nature.
The staff are very polite, welcoming, and friendly, which makes the visit even more enjoyable.
A truly special place that leaves lasting memories. Highly recommended.
Christine L
Google review
Can walk the entire place in under 1.5 hour, though I'd recommend and extra 20-30 minutes for reading the displays in the visitor center. We did fine seeing a variety of animals hanging around in addition to the Koalas. Rangers place signs where bears were spotted in the morning outside the raised walks. The bears might move so don't forget to look behind you and up. The raised walks definitely get you close to the koalas, assuming the the dears cooperate. We had three that were sleeping in very close viewing spots, then several others that could certainly be seen, just further up and away. And a few more that were spotable. Various birds and a wallaby rounded out out animal spotting. The ladies at the entrance desk are Super Helpful. Don't be afraid to ask questions, they were were great at discussing the other parks, not just the Koala center. They also helped us get some same day tickets to the penguin parade (different viewing areas, but our party didnt mind splitting up for the activity.) That happy stance was luck of timing in checking the system for returned tickets rather than anything else, so very lucky indeed. But again, shows it was worth asking just in case. All in all, a very worth while good value stop if visiting Phillip Island. Plenty of free parking. Has a small snack cafe.
Just Hadas
Google review
During our stay in Australia, unfortunately we didn’t get to see koalas in the wild, so visiting the Koala Sanctuary was a great experience and our first chance to see them. The environment felt very close to their natural habitat. There were around 16 koalas, spread across several different areas. The staff mark the last known location of each koala with arrows, which makes it much easier for visitors to find them.
Syazwan Nasir
Google review
Nice experience at the Koala Conservation Reserve. When I visited, the koalas were a bit sleepy (as expected 😄), but it was still great to see them up close in a natural setting. If you’re planning to visit, I’d recommend checking the most active season or time for koalas to get the best experience. Overall, it’s a calm and enjoyable place, especially for nature and animal lovers 🐨🌿
Simon Neill
Google review
This is an absolutely fantastic koala sanctuary!
Located on Phillip Island, right next door to A maze N things theme park, the koala conservation reserve is Home to many different koalas and other native Australian animals.
Upon arriving, you enter the main building which has a Cafe, souvenir shop and information centre about koalas and Australian bushland.
After paying for a ticket to enter, you enter the bushland and then you're in koala heaven.
You'll see lot of koalas here, along with echidnas, several different native birds, and the occasional kangaroo or wallaby. (Oh, and watch out for the snakes, they live here too!)
When we came here, most of the koalas were sleeping, some of them did move occasionally, but then they just went back to sleep. one of the koalas was awake and it was eating some tasty eucalyptus leaves — koalas' favourite!
Great place to take pictures of koalas, as you can see in the pictures below, I quite close to the koalas (and that's because of the zoom feature on the camera.) and got some great shots of them.
There are also birds here, too! Wait, already mentioned that. But there are galahs and a cockatoo, too! And many more!
So overall, the koala conservation reserve is a wonderful reserve and habitat for koalas. A great place that's doing wonderful things for koalas and ensuring that future of the koalas is bright and beautiful. A must visit for all koala fans! I'm happy, the koalas are happy, everyone is happy!
We will definitely be visiting again in the future.