Caversham Wildlife Park: koalas, kangaroos and an Australian wildlife day

Caversham Wildlife Park is a good choice if meeting Australian animals is high on your Perth wish list. Its main appeal is the mix: kangaroos in a walk-through habitat, koalas you can photograph at scheduled sessions, keeper introductions to native species and a farm show that gives children something quite different to watch.

The park sits inside Whiteman Park, near the Swan Valley. It is a separately ticketed attraction, so free entry to Whiteman Park does not include admission to Caversham. Give it a proper half-day rather than treating it as a quick stop between wineries. The park recommends at least three hours, and four to five hours is our suggested allowance if you want several scheduled experiences and lunch.

A current change to know: kangaroo feeding is temporarily suspended as a bird-flu precaution. Visitors can still enter the kangaroo and wallaby habitat. The park's specific experience notice takes precedence over older descriptions that promise hand-feeding.

Opening hours and admission

Admission prices in Australian dollars were rechecked on 16 October 2026: adult $39, child aged 3 to 14 $18, and eligible WA student, pension or senior concession $30. The official admission page lists the required current WA cards. Concession tickets are sold at the entrance.

What is included, and what costs extra?

General admission covers the main exhibits, Farm Show, Meet a Koala photo sessions, Meet the Wombat & Friends and the penguin feed and keeper talk. These give you plenty to do without buying an encounter.

Two optional activities need a separate ticket. Koala holding currently costs $35 per person. Wombat Photos costs $10 per person aged three and over. The included wombat presentation and the paid seated photo experience are different things. Food, drinks and souvenirs are also extra.

The experiences worth planning around

Kangaroo and wallaby walk-through

The central enclosure lets you walk among kangaroos and wallabies rather than viewing them only across a barrier. Move slowly, give resting animals space and let them decide whether to approach. The park permits a gentle stroke along a kangaroo's back when the animal is comfortable, but its retreat areas are for animals only.

Do not bring food to replace the suspended feeding activity. The pause is intended to discourage wild birds from gathering, and the park publishes updates on its avian-influenza precautions page.

Meet a Koala

The included Meet a Koala sessions provide a close photo opportunity beside a koala positioned in a tree or with a keeper. Use your own camera or phone. You can also visit the koala area outside the sessions.

Holding is a separate activity, with limited tickets sold from 9am at the souvenir shop, not in advance. Participants must be at least 150 centimetres tall, stand without assistance, have full use of their arms and support at least five kilograms unaided. Keepers make the final decision, and heat can alter or cancel the session. Read the conditions before purchasing; a photograph beside a koala is the more inclusive option for many visitors.

Meet the Wombat & Friends

This keeper-led session introduces a changing selection of native mammals, birds and reptiles. The park lists animals such as possums, echidnas, bettongs, lizards and pythons among the possible participants. It is an opportunity to ask questions about species that might otherwise receive only a glance on a walk around the enclosures.

The included presentation does not require the paid wombat photo ticket. If you choose Wombat Photos, buy the ticket at the souvenir shop and take it to the Dome Arena. Staff take photographs using your device. Prams and strollers remain in the designated area outside.

Farm Show and Molly's Farm

The Farm Show adds a rural Australian strand to the visit. The programme can include sheep shearing, working sheepdogs, cow milking, stock-whip demonstrations and bottle-feeding a lamb. Volunteers may be invited to join in, but participation is not guaranteed for every visitor.

Molly's Farm is a separate farmyard area, with a nursery and hatchery as well as animals to see. It is useful between presentations, especially when children would rather explore at their own pace. Its published hours are 9.30am to 3.30pm, so leave time before the final part of the afternoon.

Penguins, reptiles and the regional collections

At the penguin feed, watch the little penguins eat while a keeper explains their care. Australian pelicans are fed afterwards. Arrive a few minutes early, as the penguins can finish quickly.

The Reptile House is open from 9.30am to 3.30pm. Pythons, monitors, lizards, turtles and frogs give it a different pace from the larger outdoor habitats. Larger reptiles also have outdoor exhibits.

Between sessions, follow the park map through its Australian regions. North East represents the tropics; South West introduces wildlife and plants closer to Perth; North focuses on arid country; and South East includes the koala section. That layout makes a useful comparison of Australia's different habitats. The current animal directory includes dingoes, quokkas, emus, freshwater crocodiles and perenties, as well as many less familiar birds and marsupials.

A morning-to-afternoon visit plan

The following schedule is our suggested way to use the published programme, checked on 27 September 2026. Confirm it at the entrance because animal welfare, weather and operational needs can change sessions.

There are later Farm Shows at 1pm and 3pm. To see both the koala and wombat sessions, choose the 11.30am koalas and 2pm wombats, or the 11am wombats and 3.30pm koalas. The second option makes this a longer day, so leave room for a proper break. The paid koala-holding session is normally at noon, so it clashes with penguin feeding; choose which matters more to your group. Allow extra time for queues and photographs rather than booking another activity immediately after your intended departure.

Getting there, including the last part from the station

For drivers, set the destination to Caversham Wildlife Park, inside Whiteman Park, rather than simply the park gates. Use car park 8. The same advice matters for a taxi or rideshare drop-off: the wildlife park is some distance inside the grounds.

From Perth, take an Ellenbrook Line train to Whiteman Park Station. Caversham's arrival guide estimates about half an hour for the train journey. The station is approximately 300 metres from the eastern park entrance, followed by a signposted two-kilometre walking/cycling path towards Caversham. Allow roughly 30 to 40 minutes for that final walk, depending on pace, and carry water on warm days.

On Saturdays and Sundays, the BPSWA shuttle bus connects the station pickup zone with the Village visitor centre between 9.20am and 4.10pm, meeting most trains during those hours. Heritage trams offer another option on operating days; check the tram timetable and confirm your return service. If you use a wheelchair, ask about the tram operating that day, as boarding arrangements vary between vehicles.

Food, toilets, prams and access

The kiosk sells light meals, drinks, coffee, ice creams and snacks. EFTPOS is available at the entrance, kiosk and souvenir shop. For a meal outside the wildlife park, obtain a pass-out stamp before leaving if you plan to return that day.

The park describes its paths as suitable for wheelchairs and prams, but it does not provide wheelchair hire. Accessible toilets and baby-changing facilities are in two toilet blocks; the Molly's Farm block does not have those facilities. Prams and strollers are excluded from the Farm Show and wombat presentation, with parking areas provided outside.

Read the accessibility information and contact the park in advance about assistance animals or specific access needs. Much of the visit is outdoors, even though the interactive presentations have cover.

Four interesting facts to look out for

• The name outlasted the original location. The family bought Caversham Wildlife Park in 1988 and moved it to a newly built home inside Whiteman Park in May 2003. Its history explains why you should navigate to Whiteman rather than Caversham suburb.
• There is more than one kind of wombat here. The collection includes bare-nosed and southern hairy-nosed wombats. Look at the face when comparing them.
• Male emus do the incubation and raise the chicks. The emu account describes the male spending about two months incubating the eggs.
• The perentie is Australia's largest lizard. This monitor lizard is an inhabitant of arid country, an interesting contrast with the rainforest animals elsewhere in the park.

If your group still has energy afterwards, explore more of Whiteman Park. For visitors continuing to the Swan Valley, one relaxed afternoon stop is a more comfortable pairing than trying to fit a full wildlife visit into a packed food-and-wine itinerary.