Maru Koala and Animal Park
Get in Touch with Wildlife
Animal Experiences
Animal Park
Pirate Pete’s Mini-Golf
Homestead Bistro
Welcome to Maru Koala and Animal Park
Maru is a family run attraction where you can see koalas, wombats, crocodiles, kangaroos, Australian birds, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, dingoes, emus and even more! This wonderful animal park is paired with the exciting Pirate Pete’s Mini-Golf where you escape into another world as you encounter life-size pirate figures including Captain Jack Sparrow! There are eighteen holes of fun that navigate you through different Australian landscapes from beach to bush to outback. After you’ve met the wildlife and putted your way to victory its time to eat some delicious breakfast or lunch at the Homestead Bistro.
Located on the Bass Highway in Grantville in South Victoria, only fifteen minutes from Phillip Island and the penguins. A perfect day trip from Melbourne or stop on your way to your Phillip Island adventure.
Maru Opening Hours
9:30am-5:30pm
Last Entry one hour before closing time.
Closed Christmas Day.
Online Booking for Entry is available here, and tickets for our Animal Experiences are available here.
Interactive Animal Experiences at Maru
At Maru we strive to uphold and provide the very best care for our animals but just as importantly to ensure that we are providing information that promotes wildlife conservation. We appreciate that many people want to experience that special interaction with animals but we wish to ensure we show respect and dignity to the animal whilst promoting conservation of that species in the wild. For this reason we have recently changed the type, method and number of interactive experiences we now offer.
We want your experience to be about enjoying time with the animal, learning about the species from the keepers and forming an appreciation for its conservation in the wild. So we will be reducing and phasing out short length encounters, where the focus may have previously been seen as just getting a photo. We will be moving more towards longer more immersive experiences where the animal has freedom to choose to be involved or to move away as it wants to. It is our opinion that a visitor does not necessarily have to hold an animal in their hands to have a great experience and can still form a connection by observing and being close to that animal and enjoy it being free to display its natural behaviours.
Visit here to see our available Animal Experiences.
To see our full Animal Welfare Statement, please visit here.
You can also help by sponsoring the planting of a tree in our new Eucalyptus plantation. When you donate $55 we will plant a new tree for you of one of the Eucalypt species that koalas like to eat. So not only will it provide ongoing food for the koalas in our care, but also financially support us at this challenging time to keep caring for all of the animals here at Maru. The plantation will also provide a natural haven for wildlife in our area. Visit our Sponsor a Koala Tree page for more information.
We thank-you for your continued support.
Santa Photo Bookings now available.
Come and meet our friendly Santa at Maru with various sessions available including wildlife sessions, bring-your-own-pet and sensitive Santa sessions with a range of photo package options. By getting your 2024 Santa photo at Maru your funds contribute to the cost of care for the wildlife at Maru and go towards the costs of running our Wildlife Shelter where we take in orphaned, injured and ill local wildlife and rehabilitate them in our quarantine area for release back into the wild.
- Tuesday 10th December: 3:00pm-6:00pm
- Friday 13th December: 3:00pm-6:00pm
- Saturday 14th December: 9:00am-12:00pm
Visit here for more details and to secure your booking for 2024!
The Animals of Maru Koala and Animal Park
At Maru you can hand feed many of the animals, pat them and take as many photos as your camera or phone can hold. We aim to give visitors the opportunity to really interact with most of the animals such as the koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, emus, parrots, wombats, crocodile and other Aussie animals.
Maru Koala and Animal Park’s Experiences
We also have regular talks and presentations including our feature Wildlife Presentation on weekends and holidays. We also offer Animal Interactions such as the opportunity to meet one of our friendly Koalas!
Animal Presentations at Maru
Pirate Pete's Mini-Golf
There's so much more to Maru than just animals. Set sail for 18 holes of adventure as your putt your way around the Pirate Pete's Adventure. Encounter life-size pirate figures, a great white shark and brave the gold-mine under the five meter thunderous waterfall.
This pirate wonderland is right next to the animal park and it provides for such a fun day out. For the family, the traveler, the Melbourne man or woman searching for a day trip or maybe what could be the coolest first date ever.
Animal Interactions and Experiences
Koala Feeding Experience
Join our keepers as they provide fresh gum leaves for the koalas and learn about the species, their threats, conservation status and how you can help.
Dingo Experience
If you want to see the Australian dingo at its best, and learn about this misunderstood species then this experience is for you!
Koala Experience
Experience our unique and iconic Australian koala at its best.
Glider Experience
Come and meet some of Maru's most secretive and nocturnal animals!
Cassowary Experience
Join the keeper in the daily training session of our Cassowary ‘Gloria’.
Meet a Koala
Looking for an oppurtinity to meet one of Australia's iconic species?
Meet a Snake
Make your visit to Maru memorable by coming face to face with a Python Snake.
Meet a Lizard
Make your visit to Maru especially memorable by meeting a Lizard.
Spend your Day at Maru
Come and enjoy both our Animal Park and Mini-Golf course when you purchase our 'Maru Entry Ticket'. Afterwards, you can enjoy a meal or snack in our Homestead Bistro that overlooks the animal park.
We are a winner of many local business awards including Bass Coast Business of the Year 2013 along with Hall of Fame Inductee for Bass Coast Business Awards Good Access is Good Business and Hall of Fame Inductee for Gippsland Business.
Meet a koala, hand feed an albino kangaroo, walk with the dingoes, talk to the parrots and get wrapped up in a python, it's all made possible at Maru where you can really 'get in touch with wildlife'.
Maru Koala & Animal Park Address
1650 Bass Hwy, Grantville VIC 3984
