Event: Australia

Healesville Sanctuary

When:	Daily
Where:	Healesville Sanctuary
Costs:	A$23.60; concessions A$17.80-A$21.20; 4-15s A$11.80; under 4s free Family tickets available
Opening Hours:	Daily 9am-5pm

Healesville Sanctuary, less than an hour from Melbourne, offers the chance to see more than 200 species of native Australian birds, mammals and reptiles in a bushland setting.

Visitors follow a path around Healesville Sanctuary, taking in different habitat areas dedicated to different species - all of which live in large, natural environments. As well as birds, there are dingos, koalas, red kangaroos and Tasmanian devils.

Dedicated to conservation and rescue, the Healesville Sanctuary is also home to the Australian Wildlife Health Centre (AWHC), a fully interactive veterinary hospital, where visitors can see, for the first time, the behind-the-scenes work vets do caring for sick, injured and orphaned animals. You can follow animals which have been rescued or needing treatment until they are rehabilitated and released. Also meet the vet staff to find out Healesville Sanctuary's international role in wildlife conservation and care.

With such a huge array of species to see, this is a big day out, but there is a bistro where visitors can eat or get takeaway hampers for a family picnic. There are also barbecue and picnic facilities throughout the Healesville Sanctuary grounds, a shop, and facilities for every eventuality.