Yarra Valley Wildlife and Wine Tour: Koalas, Kangaroos, and Tastings

Experience the best of the Yarra Valley on this full-day tour from Melbourne. Visit Healesville Sanctuary to see native wildlife, enjoy a delicious lunch and wine tasting at Yering Station Vineyard, and end the day with cheese and wine at De Bortoli Winery.

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Healesville Sanctuary - Home to more than 200 species of Australian native animals and set amidst natural bushland, the Healesville Sanctuary is the ideal place to observe our iconic wildlife up close. An enhancement to the visit is a Kangaroo Encounter where you have the opportunity with a keeper to feed and pat these adorable animals (if the animal allows). A Koala Encounter is also available but there’s no touching or feeding involved, just an opportunity to get some amazing up close pictures. An additional fee applies for these encounters . Please advise if you wish to book this.
  • Yering Station - You’ll enjoy a tasting of estate and reserve wines in the historic cellar door before adjourning to the modern light filled restaurant for an a la carte, main course meal, glass of wine and coffee.
  • De Bortoli Winery - Set on more than 450 acres of vineyard clad hills, the visit to the De Bortoli Vineyard is a terrific end to the day. The wine tasting includes their estate and premium wines together with their iconic dessert wine, Noble One. The tasting is enhanced with a pairing of selected cheeses.
What's Included
  • Admission to Healesville Sanctuary
  • Complimentary bottled water
  • Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Expert driver/guide assistance
  • Enjoyable lunch with a glass of wine
  • Comfortable in-vehicle air conditioning
  • Engaging live commentary during the tour
What's Not Included
  • Purchases of a personal nature.
  • Koala Encounter (currently AUD$30 per person per animal)
Additional Information

Embark on an intimate group tour, blending Victoria’s globally recognized Yarra Valley wine tasting experience with the observation of local wildlife. Depart from Melbourne on a journey to the Healesville Sanctuary, a refuge created for the preservation of threatened animal species. Spend your morning witnessing the habits of quintessential Australian animals like kangaroos, koalas, emus, and other native species.

Come early afternoon, head over to the Yering Station Vineyard for a delightful main course lunch complemented by wine tasting. The day comes to a close with a cheese and wine session at the De Bortoli Winery.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Does not include meals for infants
  • Must be 18 years old or older to drink
  • Please advise of any specific dietary requirements when booking
  • Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels are welcome providing there is someone with the passenger who can help them board and disembark
  • Operates rain or shine; please dress appropriately
  • Encounters with a kangaroo, koala, wombat or dingo are available at extra cost. Please enquire if interested although places are limited
Location
3000
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(267 Ratings)
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Eva_o
Sep 30, 2024
Grate - Kangeroos and wine tasting. Our guid was super, pleasant and knowledgable. Restaurant we had lunch was clean and food was delitious.
Review provided by Viator
Sarah
Sep 29, 2024
A memorable tour - Garth was wonderfully entertaining and knowledgeable. He went out of his way to create a great tour. From arranging personal guides at the Healesville Sanctuary, to personalized wine tasting tours at the best wineries in the Yarra Valley, arranging a sumptuous lunch, to a fun running commentary on the history of the area and tidbits on the wildlife unique to Australian. Don’t miss out
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennifer_w
Sep 21, 2024
Great Experience - This was a fantastic tour. Cam was very professional and friendly. Myself and the whole tour group had a good time. I took the Koala experience and it was a really great one with wonderful photos and videos! The scenic views of Yarra Valley were beautiful and a great way to get to see more than just the city. The lunch, wine and cheese pairing were phenomenal as well. I highly recommend this tour if you want beautiful scenery, animal encounters, great wine, tasty food and a friendly atmosphere.
Review provided by Viator
Johndb1747ev
Sep 20, 2024
Don’t miss this fab wine tasting and lunch trip - What a fantastic day with Paul. Picked up at our hotel in a comfy Mercedes sprinter with water on hand. First stop was Healesville sanctuary where we saw Koalas, kangaroos and so much more. A really nice place. Paul provided a tour guide to take us round the Sanctuary which was really helpful. After 2 hours we were picked up by Paul who took us to lunch at Yering Station. I had Kangaroo which was some of the finest cooked meat I have tasted - highly recommended. My wife had pork which was also excellent. All washed down by a lovely glass of wine. After lunch we visited the winery for some tastings. The staff there were very good. My final taste was an equivalent of a port - can call it port as not made in Portugal. That cliched it and two bottles bought. Our last visit to another winery was also very good with wine and cheese to accompany each wine. Very good. We then headed home to our hotel. Thanks Paul. A great day out and worth every penny 👍
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stevej-sandiego
Sep 11, 2024
Wonderful day - We had a really enjoyable day during this trip. What made it was our host Rob who went out of his way all day long to make this a wonderful experience. The wildlife sanctuary was a great way to see the local animals and the lunch was delicious. Wine tasting was also a great experience with really friendly hosts at both wineries. I would highly recommend this trip. We all had a blast.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rosemine_p
Aug 30, 2024
Best day on our trip! - We had a great time on the tour. We were picked up by our tour guide Rob who was the nicest person. Though we were the only ones on the tour that day, they didn’t cancel it and we got to enjoy a full day of private tour! We drove through the suburbs to the sanctuary and were guided through it by staff. We saw all the animals we wanted to see and had a chance to get the backstory on each of them by sanctuary staff who were vey knowledgeable. After the visit with the animals, we headed to lunch at a vineyard. The place was fantastic and incorporated the old and the new infrastructure. The food was amazing and the wine tasting was great too. Just when you think you’ve had a lot already, we made our way to another vineyard for more wine tasting with cheese this time. Everything was delicious and the people were very hospitable and nice. After this last tasting, we headed back to the city to be dropped off. In the way we were surprised with sightings of kangaroo in the wild as well as a wombat! That made our day! Communication with Paul was very smooth. We got a lot more on this tour than we expected and were very happy with our day. We highly recommend this tour, you won’t regret it.
Review provided by Viator
Glenda_n
Aug 25, 2024
Great day - Fabulous tour driver/guide - Fabulous day for our guests from the USA. The Koala experience was a highlight as well as the beautiful lunch. Could you please send me a detailed receipt of payment including gst as we are a. non for profit and I need to have more details for my finance department.
Review provided by Viator
Madelien_w
Aug 21, 2024
Highly recommended - Amazing experience. The animals at Healesville are a must see- Australian animals are truly unique. The lunch was delicious and wine tasting really enjoyable. The guide was knowledgeable on the area and wines which really enhanced the experience.
Review provided by Viator
Raphael_o
Aug 12, 2024
27 years old solo traveller - This was an incredible experience. I got the whole Australian experience in one day, from views of the incredible landscape scenery, to the wine tasting and vineyard, interactions with incredible koalas and kangaroos and other animals, got to taste Kangaroos steak in a high class restaurant, and had incredible interactions with people from around the world. Highly recommend
Review provided by Viator
Rich_k
Aug 9, 2024
Excellent tour - Our guide, Cam, was excellent. In addition to his wealth of knowledge about wine, he gave us some info about Sydney on our car ride from the hotel. Being a tourist from the US, the animal sanctuary was awesome. Seeing kangaroos, koalas, and other Ausi animals was the highlight of our day. The lunch and wine were a nice bonus. Many thanks for a great day.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 11 guests
1 Adult
October 2024
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