Getting There
The Hunter Valley Zoo is located in the vineyards near Cessnock New South Wales. There is a small car park near the entrance as well as parking on the road outside.
Although a small zoo, it has a wide range of animals ranging from native Australian to lions, cheetahs, meerkats birds and reptiles. If you are local or an international visitor it’s a fantastic place to visit.
The staff were all friendly helpful, letting us know what was available to see and when various displays were happening. A map of the zoo is included in the entry fee, to help find your way around.
Food
There is a good variety of food and drinks available inside the admission building. A spacious grassed area is available for visitors to use, and has a free gas BBQ. Families are encouraged to being eskies and have a picnic in this outside area.
Feeding the Animals at Hunter Valley Zoo
The admission building sells animal food so that kids and adults can feed animals. Staff will tell you which animals can be fed, but generally it was any enclosures that you could enter.
There is a petting zoo where visitors can get up close to some animals and feed and pat them. Animals here ranged from kangaroos and deer to farm animals.
Getting Around the Zoo
All tracks at the Hunter Valley Zoo are dirt and grass and constructed to make them wheel chair friendly. As it’s not very big, getting around is very easy.
All enclosures have steps for the kids to stand on to see animals better. This is a great idea, even for shorter adults.
During the day there are scheduled shows for different animals. These are great as they give an inside into the animals and there needs.
Animal Encounters
The zoo offers encounters with the meerkats and some of the smaller monkeys. For a fee, you get access to the enclosure with a guide for twenty minutes. Participation is limited to groups of four. We went into the meerkat enclosure and had a great time. They climbed all over us, ate from our hands and even perched on top of our heads. If you can afford it, we highly recommend the experience.
Other Facilities
The toilets were clean with disabled access and change tables.
There is a good souvenir shop near the entrance.
The zoo is busier in school holidays as families take the opportunity to visit with their children.
To see what else there is to do in the Hunter Valley, please see some of our other stories.