We found the Great Ocean Road Wildlife Park ("GORWP") by sheer accident, on one of our all-day…read moredrives down the coast to Apollo Bay. I will admit that it wasn't the most eye-catching of spots to want to pull into; in fact, upon first glance, it appeared a bit tawdry and sad. (Being a big-time animal lover, I was sort of holding my breath with dread as to what we were about to subject ourselves to.) I think (maybe) there was one other car in the parking lot. Like I said, it's not particularly alluring from the road, and the drive in to the actual establishment is almost foreboding. I had to chuckle a bit (on the inside!) at the main office/customer service desk, as it was a bit dark and shoddy. (To be perfectly honest -- and I'm not sure why I felt this way -- by the time we walked in, my mind wandered to my childhood when we'd go to the fairgrounds and see those circus tents with big signs hawking "The Seal Boy," or "The Lizard/Alligator Man," or something freakish like that, and be disappointed when those supposed wondrous oddities turned out to be far more mundane, and were simply people with birth defects and nothing more. Anyway, I digress; but, that's what had run through my mind as we entered the animal sanctuary....
The initial set of aviaries and cages were either empty and/or in a state of disrepair and deterioration. Like a mini "Jurassic Park" gone to seed. A fairly disheartening enclosure with a glass/plexiglas wall housed a lone wombat dosing off. (I didn't realize they were mostly nocturnal creatures; thus, the see-through wall was for people to see how they, well, slept during the day! LOL! Now I know better; so maybe he wasn't quite so sad.) I was thinking to myself, as we made our way through this state of decrepitude, "Oh, boy, did we get gypped with the booby-prize!" Alas, once we had made our way through this unpromising area, we entered through a gated door into a wide-open, sunny landscape featuring a variety of Down Under critters, up-close and personal...! With emus, wallabies, kangaroos, and a menagerie of Aussie creatures, it was quite an eye-opening experience! Naturally, even though these creatures have the experience of coming into contact with human visitors, there is a considerable amount of caution as to how you approach these relatively wild beasts. I'll say, flat-out, it was a fantastic experience, unlike anything I've encountered!
And the grounds, too, continued expansively through various gateways and open corridors to other corrals of beasts and an assortment of fowl. For me, the highlight -- the pinnacle of my experience at GORWP -- was the dingo enclosures. Although, sadly, GORWP's four dingoes are kept isolated and caged for safety purposes, I was still able to get my fingers through the wire fencing to scratch a couple ears and stroke their heads a bit. (I know, probably a bit crazy, but they were so much like friendly dogs and were amazingly amenable to my coaxing. We were told they weren't dangerous, per se; but, were cautioned, nonetheless.) It's sad to think these beautiful, native creatures are so hated by many who live in this country (from what I've read on the dingo Facebook page), that they've been slaughtered by the thousands! It's reprehensible! (But, that's for another page....) The grounds continued a great deal, with rolling hills and expansive areas for kangaroos, llamas, and an assortment of others. This is a family-owned and run business, and you could see the folks going about feeding and cleaning and seeming to truly love the work that they've committed to do for these animals. The care was, surprisingly, truly genuine, in my opinion!
In sum, the Great Ocean Road Wildlife Park is truly worth seeking out if you're in the area -- it's worth seeking out for a visit as a destination on its own, and not simply as an afterthought or a curiosity because you drove by and saw a sign out on the highway. Take the kids, too! When we were through with our visiting the animals, and re-entered the main office, the guys out front were super friendly and happy to give us background on its origins, as well as the current operations of the park. Let me just say, I had made a 180-degree, about-face, attitude from my initial reaction by the time I walked out of that place! As the age-old English idiom goes: "Don't judge a book by its cover." Indeed...!!! 4 1/2 stars from me! (And, too, donate, if you can. The animals need your help!) :D
