symbio wildlife park

You would think that as travel writers who are spending 4 months in Australia, we wouldn't be continually surprised to find little gems like Symbio. So far we have visited four similar wildlife/sanctuary parks and they have all been good, but then there is Symbio! The word is derived from a symbiotic relationship between man and animals. You will have a hard time to try and find a better word to describe the feeling at Symbio. We were told by the owner John, that they do not build cages or even refer to them as habitats, they are homes developed specifically for each animal. He and his family purchased this zoo 15 years ago when it was in need of some TLC.This is probably one of the best kept zoos we have ever visited. It has to also be one of the best kept secrets just outside of Sydney. If we had a choice between the Wildlife Parks and Sanctuaries close to Sydney or Symbio, we would drive twice the distance and pay twice the amount to visit Symbio, it is so worth a visit. And to think, we almost drove past this little gem, but now we are going to return for a full day as we were only able to spend an hour this last time. We promise, you wont be disappointed!!! - Dale, Michelle & Marissa, Traveling U

Found this place by accident today, and it has been the highlight of our holiday thus far. We arrived only 90 minutes before closing, but the friendly staff went out of their way to ensure we received a completely enjoyable experience. The owners are a wonderfully friendly couple, and upon hearing we hadn't made it in time for the scheduled photo opportunities with the koalas, they went out of their way to give us a special opportunity to mingle with the koalas and take pictures. We had an outstanding time!

Certainly one of the best wild life parks I have ever visited. It is amazingly clean and calm. In a wonderful setting. Ideal for young children as they can get up close to the animals and play with the kangeroos. Will certainly revisit when I am in the area.

as you enter zoo times you select prior by there site good idea watch displays so informativeclean place family friendly never seem be overcrowded from my 4 visits tiger, koala, displays so wonderful watch worth a visit not drove past stop have a look

Symbio Wildlife Park also serves as a sanctuary for animals folks are no longer able to care for or that have been injured. We did not expect to be able to amble in the large (2+ acres) range to pet and feed kangaroos. Don't miss koala feeding time and discussion with the ranger who will hold a young koala you can pet. The new Reptile House is immaculate, airy, and spacious with critters you'd like to observe (but only though clean thick glass.) You'll find gorgeous Sumatran Tigers, birds of prey, Red Pandas, all in a healthy and commodious space. Prepare to spend a morning and then have lunch in the comfortable picnic area.

The rude & greedy fellow who runs Symbio insisted on charging 3 Chinese visitors $88.50 for a 15 minute visit 20 minutes before closing time even though we told him they only wanted to see the kangaroos and koalas. He said "We have a STRICT rule and don't discount the entry fee under ANY circumstances" in a rude and unnecessarily assertive way. Now I see Symbio entry fees discounted to $13/day on Scoopon. Maybe he should get a job stacking supermarket shelves & employ somebody with some PR skills to run Symbio.

We can't thank the owner enough. We arrived late in the day and had missed the Koala feeding. The owner said not to worry and he would se hwta he could do at the end of the day just before closing. We went back to meet him and were taken into the Koala enclosure, it was amazing! We were almost to nose to nose with them and got to stroke the back of their necks. We had a great time feeding the Kangaroos etc as well. Cannot thank you all enough especially as we had come all the way from Ireland. One of the high lights of our trip.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Matt, Michelle and the staff at Symbio Wildlife Park, we had the best time and our overseas relatives thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The new Reptile section is amazing, Looking forward for the Lions and Cheetahs in the near future. See you all very soon! more relatives due to arrive in May :)

What an enormously enjoyable day out! I took my girlfriend, (American) and my two nieces (3 and 1.5) and just seeing the look on their faces all afternoon was priceless.The visit was made even more special buy the friendly staff who were extremely interactive and hospitable. We were even lucky enough to get an individual close up with young James the Koala. This was my girlfriend's first visit to Australia, she was more interested in the wildlife than the beaches so Symbio was the best thing I could have done with her. With such a wide variety of Australian wildlife I saw her light up and was reminded just how special it is to interact with animals. This interaction also reinforces the point that we need to do more to protect those that are endangered in the wild; along with the environment in general. Symbio's owner, John, along with his wonderful family hosted one of the best days of my trip over the Christmas holidays. For that I would like to thank them and insist that if you are looking for a day to spend getting away from the everyday nonsense, venture out and say hello to the Symbio team and their wildlife. A must for all families.

Close to Sydney, without the crowds of larger zoos, but the entry fee was a little pricey considering its size. Good paths & viewing access with enough animal variety for younger children. The Keeper Talk was excellent, with plenty of time for audience to get up close & personal with the reptiles being shown the day we were there. Great information from enthusiastic Keepers too.Disappointed with limited toilet facilities & limited choice of food, especially if looking for healthier options & the wait time was longer than expected for 'fast food' selections, despite only a small group ordering. Signage to different areas could be better & posting feeding times on cages would helpful, rather than at entry. Several areas were closed off on our visit with no notice on our printed information sheet that they would be; didn't make the best use of time having to backtrack. Tiger enclosure is excellent, with great viewing all round & room for the animals to stretch their legs. Overall it's worth a visit. Tip: BYO snacks & drinks & plan to spend around 3 hours to get the most from your visit.

We had a wonderful day at Symbio. It is a great family run attraction with excellent staff and a good range of Aus and other animals.

My wife (an avid animal lover) and I had been wanting to visit Symbio Zoo for a while, and we had the opportunity when traveling to Wollongong recently. It is a smaller zoo, which together with the swimming pool makes for a great day out with the kids. One of the things that stood out to me is the friendliness of the staff and their passion for people and animals. We had the pleasure of meeting the zoo's manager, and it was clear that he had a deep care and passion for the animals.The animal encounters are fabulous - a special one-on-one time with the animals, friendly info from the keepers and as long as we wanted. Definitely worth visiting on the way through, or if you want to do an animal encounter.

I had a friend visit Australia recently. She was here on business. So the trip did not include any plans on seeing our native animals. She only had a few hours to spare, factor in the travelling/driving and the hours gets fewer. So out of time constraint, I took her to Symbio (south of Sydney). I paid the $29 (each) entry ticket + $5 for 3 handful of dried grass (for the Kangaroo feeding). Oh, you also need to pay $20 for photo opportunity with the Koala AND they hurry you too...I felt we were literally pushed out. $20 for 5 minutes!!! I wish I had that kind of pay rate...Next time I will take my visitors to Featherdale Wildlife Park, same entry price but FREE pictures with the Koala and they don't push you out of the way either or hurry you along. If there are a big line up for the Koala photos, they just bring in 2 more Koalas. Staff at Featherdale park are friendlier too.

This is my third trip here. Had a very pleasant time with friends. Fav. bit was the Tigers. We got a better view of these guys than we did at Dubbo zoo. We also just happened to walk by at the end of the day when they were putting tigers away for the night and the zoo keepers encouraged the big guy to give us a little personal impromptu show. He jumped up on the wire fence right near us - wow! The pool was a hit with our kids on a warm summers day. Easy walking around the park and we returned to different animals on a few occasions.

The park continues to grow slowly and I can see we'll be coming back here may times in the coming years with our young children.Feeding kangaroos is always a highlight, as is seeing the tigers, the children love saying hello to all the animals (except the snakes). The talks and demonstrations are good, but the kids don't quite have the attention span for them yet.Wandering the length of the park with two young children takes us about two hours, by which time the kids are ready to hop back in the car and head home, hopefully tired out from all the walking.