David Fleay Wildlife Park

David Fleay Wildlife Park, on Tallebudgera Creek near Burleigh Heads, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, is a wildlife park with a difference!

You can stroll through natural habitats and visit a nocturnal house to see some of Australia’s most iconic wildlife. You’ll meet crocodiles, koalas, emus, brolgas, dingoes, dunnarts, bilbies and kangaroos, along with resident platypus, Wally. Explore the park on your own or join the rangers in one of their daily wildlife shows.

The park plays an important role in demonstrating the conservation initiatives of David Fleay, who established the property in 1951. Previously employed at Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary, he became the first to breed platypus in captivity. Fleay was ahead of his time, in insisting that birds and other animals should be kept in conditions similar to their natural environment. The naturalistic enclosures you see today reflect that now-widely held philosophy. The park continues Fleay’s work of research, breeding and education; offering the chance to see many different threatened native animals in one location.

Most of David Fleay Wildlife Park is suitable for wheelchairs, prams and for those who find walking difficult. You can also explore the nearby Tallebudgera Creek mangrove boardwalk along the mangrove-fringed Tallebudgera Creek.