Moonlit Sanctuary

Moonlit Sanctuary is a popular day trip from Melbourne. Book one of the night tours, or visit during the day to get up close and personal with a variety of animals. Visitors can pet a wombat or a koala, take a dingo for a walk, hold a barn owl or python, or spend a day helping staff feed and care for the animals.

Many tours stop at Moonlit Sanctuary along with spots such as Brighton Beach, which is famous for its brightly-colored bathing boxes; and Phillip Island, where you can observe thousands of penguins heading to their burrows at dusk. Multi-day tours of Mornington Peninsula also tend to visit Moonlit Sanctuary.

• The park’s popular evening tours, which begin at dusk, must be pre-booked.

• Experiences like petting wombats or holding a python require pre-booking and an additional fee; the park also offers packages that allow you to have a number of different animal experiences for one flat fee.

• Moonlit Sanctuary is fully accessible for visitors in wheelchairs.

• The park offers a casual restaurant and a food kiosk, as well as multiple accessible restrooms.

Moonlit Sanctuary is a 1-hour drive from Melbourne via the Eastlink freeway or the Monash Freeway (M1) and Western Port Highway (A780). To reach the park via public transportation, take the train from Melbourne to the Frankston station, then take the 776 bus, which will drop you outside the park.

Moonlit Sanctuary is open daily from mid-morning until early evening all year round except for Christmas Day. Evening tours begin after dusk; the exact time varies. The park is particularly busy during the Australian summer holidays (in December and January), so book tickets in advance if you’re visiting during that time.

In addition to Moonlit Sanctuary, Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula offers a number of natural, historic, and cultural attractions. Highlights include the Peninsula Hot Springs, home to natural pools that are said to have therapeutic properties; the Ashcombe Maze and Lavender Gardens, where you can enjoy the fragrant scent of lavender while exploring one of the country’s largest hedge mazes; and Mornington Peninsula National Park, where you can surf, hike, and swim.

It takes around two hours to explore the Moonlit Sanctuary on Mornington Peninsula. Night tours last 1.5 to two hours. Daytime behind-the-scenes tours go about an hour. When booking a general admission ticket, you’ll select a time. The last entry is 3pm, and visitors can stay until 4pm close.

The Moonlit Sanctuary houses native Australian wildlife. You'll find mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians—including Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, kookaburras, and dingos. The sanctuary is dedicated to helping save Australia’s endangered wildlife, like the bush stone-curlew and orange-bellied parrots, from extinction. Animal encounter experiences cost extra.

The Moonlit Sanctuary is a popular day trip from Melbourne, which is about an hour's drive. It’s home to native Australian wildlife, such as koalas, kangaroos, and dingos. The park can arrange roundtrip transfers from Melbourne for its evening tours for a fee. Most group tours from Melbourne include transportation.

Yes. General admission tickets are available, with daytime and nighttime tours and encounters costing extra. Its night tours, which let visitors see pythons, feathertail gliders, and quolls in their natural nocturnal environment, are popular. Animal encounters (pet a wombat, play with the dingoes, and help feed the animals) are available.

The Moonlit Sanctuary is a wildlife conservation park within the Pearcedale Conservation Park on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne. It’s home to native Australian wildlife, including koalas, wallabies, kookaburras, and dingos. The sanctuary aims to help save Australia’s endangered wildlife from extinction by releasing animals back into the wild.

Visit the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park on the Mornington Peninsula to get an up-close look at koalas. The park offers a koala encounter that allows you to pet and cuddle the critter in a one-on-one or small-group experience. Note that you do not hold the koala during this encounter.