The Mornington Peninsula National Park

A wildlife wander on the Mornington Peninsula is an excellent reason to just relax, slow down and really experience nature. If you walk quietly through our landscapes or stop for a little while in a bird hide, you'll be amazed at the variety of wildlife that can emerge. So grab your camera and binoculars, put on some comfortable walking shoes and come and meet the native animal and birds that make our bushlands, wetlands and coastal lands come to life so vividly.

The Mornington Peninsula National Park, which covers 25,000 hectares of this region, is a great place to start. Greens Bush, for example, is rich with birdlife, while kangaroos feed on its open grasslands at dusk and in the early morning.

Point Nepean, a key feature of the National Park, is a good spot for watching for dolphins, seals and the occasional whale during winter. If you'd like to get closer to aquatic life, you can book a tour that takes you swimming with seals or dolphins.

The wetlands are natural havens for thousands of birds, and the woodland walks around them reveal wildlife including koalas, kangaroos and wallabies.

A short passenger ferry ride across Western Port Bay takes you to French Island, – it's home to so many koalas that you're guaranteed sightings in the wild when you take an eco tour. There's also a ferry to Phillip Island if you'd like to continue your wildlife adventure with the fairy penguins.

But if your time is limited, attractions such as our wildlife park, farmyard and nocturnal sanctuary will make it very easy for you to see koalas, kangaroos, wombats and wallabies, farm animals which the kids can cuddle or pat, and the creatures that only come out at night such as quolls, bettongs, owls and sugar gliders.