Zoodoo Zoo
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Zoodoo Zoo provides unique opportunities to learn about, appreciate and interact with animals. Just 30 minutes from Hobart, this Zoo and Aquarium Association Accredited, guest funded Wildlife Park has been serving the Tasmanian community for over 20 years as one of Southern Tasmania’s most popular wildlife experiences. Nestled in the heart of the Coal River Valley, only minutes from historic Richmond, Zoodoo is the perfect place to explore amazing experiences and encounters, along with daily interactive educational keeper talks and a new and improved café, gift shop, and large indoor adventure playground. Guests are invited to hand feed Kangaroos and Wallabies in the walk-through Native Park, wander through the large bird aviary, and get up close and personal to animals from around Tasmania, Australia, and the World! The passionate Zoodoo Crew are creating an exciting new direction and vision for the future of the zoo.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles587 reviews
Excellent
344
Very good
137
Average
39
Poor
24
Terrible
43

Lynne P
Bosnia and Herzegovina4 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Family
We were a party of 3 adults and a 2 year old, the admission price $90...looking forward to the visit having really enjoyed the experience just over 2 years ago.
The safari bus which was the highlight last time was not operating. I am sure this could be reinstated with smaller groups. There were fewer exhibits and the enclosures were untidy with dead foliage. The grounds need landscaping and the cafe requires an upgrade with more options, a wasted opportunity for management to value add. We were very disappointed with the experience and sadly the attraction has really deteriorated.
The guide was trying to make an effort but the whole place looked a bit sad.
Written April 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your feedback. The safety of our guests is our highest priority and we have found that we are not able to meet government regulated guidelines for Covid-19 for the safari bus. We have added more great keeper talks, allowing for guests to get to know the animals in our care even better! As for our new and improved café and gallery space, we have now expanded our menu! We hope to welcome you back to Zoodoo in the future.
Written August 29, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Lea3383
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Family
We visited this week and our two girls aged 10 and 8 participated in the Keeper for a Day program. Cost was $200 for the first child then $100 for any extras, so we paid $300 and it was absolutely worth every cent. Entry for the girls, my husband and I was included, as was a cap for each of the girls and $15 each to spend at the gift shop or cafe. The experience they had was absolutely amazing. They spent the day feeding and taking care of various animals, cuddling monkeys, meerkats, pythons, birds, feeding lions and creating toys for tassie devils. To top it off they were each given a USB filled with amazing photos of their day. Honestly, an incredible day that any child will remember forever at a reasonable price when you compare similar animal experiences at other zoos.
Us parents and grandparents also enjoyed the time there looking around and participating in the animal presentations which were informative and hands on where possible. Unfortunately, no bus these days but definitely a day well spent. Further animals and exhibits are due to open soon.
Written May 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your great feedback! We are glad your girls enjoyed our new Keeper for a Day experience!
Written August 24, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Gill808
Tasmania, Australia422 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
Having written over 250 reviews this is a big call but I have to say that the staff at ZooDoo are possibly the best I have experienced anywhere. Knowledgeable, friendly, happy, funny, enthusiastic, and doing a great job of making a ZooDoo visit a memorable one. I have no doubt a visit would be a great day out for children, but we are seniors, and we will certainly be back!
There is an extra cost for personal encounters with animals, but our interaction with the meerkats experience was well worth it. Pleasingly the photos taken by the staff are included in this encounters package unlike many other tourist attractions where photos are extra.
The variety of animals is great from exotics such as Lions, to natives such as Tassie Devils, and farmyard animals such as sheep/chickens - but our highlight was the aviaries. Just so many colourful and noisy birds. A great variety of all sizes, shapes and plumages.
Written October 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

georgia
Hobart, Australia1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022 • Couples
It’s really sad to know that people care more about being able to go and see a cute animal or being able to say that they had an encounter with a meerkat, than the actual health and well being of the animals at this zoo.

The enclosures were disgusting, covered in faeces and so severely overgrown that there was no way you’d be able to see the animal in it (if there even was one). Parts of the marmoset enclosures were rotting and falling apart, and the new cassowary enclosure had rusty nails pointing into the enclosure literally at the eye level of the bird…

The company has put so much money toward the renovation and upgrade of the human orientated areas of the park (cafe and kids area) and are clearly paying for those expenses by cutting back any money going into the animals - like having staff to actually clean the enclosures and make sure they at least have fresh water (one enclosure had no water at all, on a 22 degree day).

I honestly wish I hadn’t wasted my money and supported a business that is clearly so money hungry and couldn’t care less about the animals welfare. I could list so many more negative things about this place but know that it will change nothing. Heart breaking to know that the owners of the zoo will only see a negative review as a spiteful customer rather than taking it on and actually changing for the better.
Written January 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Georgia, Thank you for taking the time to express your concerns. While we do find some of the accusations upsetting we learn from all of the feedback given and in this case believe that clarification on your points will dispel your concerns. Positive animal welfare is Zoodoo’s top priority and at the forefront of every aspect of the business. Zoodoo is an accredited member of the Australasian Zoo and Aquarium Association – a professional body with over 100 member organisations throughout the region. Our welfare is assessed independently and based on the 5 domains model that is used globally for this purpose. Being a member with this professional body demonstrates our commitment to improving animal welfare. We are currently the only wildlife park, Zoo, or Sanctuary in Southern Tasmania with this accreditation. While we respect and share your passion for positive animal welfare, we welcome the opportunity to correct some aspects of your personal assessment of animal welfare at Zoodoo Zoo. We would have preferred to discuss and clarify these points in person if you had addressed these concerns or criticism with the animal care team whilst at Zoodoo. All the perceptions you have raised we take with extreme seriousness. Below we have taken the time to address the concerns you have raised within your review. Habitat without water: Senior management, owner and staff can absolutely guarantee that all animals in our care have access to fresh water 24/7, this is a most basic fundamental. All of our staff are professionals and care deeply about the animals in our care. We have staff with qualifications in zoology and animal care along with experience in zoos around the world. We can only suggest that you either observed a habitat that currently had no animal housed in it (during this period one of the four Tasmanian Devil habitats and the Eastern Quoll habitat were vacant but not signed as such) or you were unable to see the water receptacle in the habitat – some water troughs are located in shelters that are not visible to visitors. One of the foundations of animal welfare is that the animal has the choice to be out of sight from visitors, hence there are areas in our habitats that cannot be viewed. We understand that this leads to some complaints as people can’t see the animals 100% of the time – however we put animal welfare above the desires of guests to always be able to view animals. We would hope that guests with serious concerns of welfare would alert a staff member immediately about lack of water so it could be addressed, or ask staff to explain the perceived lack of essentials. Long grass in animal habitats: This is not a welfare issue for the animals, in fact, we deliberately leave some areas of long grass (as can be found in the wild) so as the animals can both seek refuge, have places to hide, and have a more varied and enriched environment. Some species use grasses to eat or for nesting. Having animals on manicured lawns is not a natural environment and could lead to some of the shy or more secretive species experiencing a level of stress. As addressed above, we do not force our animals to be viewable 100% of the time - and this is a good thing from a welfare perspective. We regularly take the time to explain this to guests when queried. At times we encourage guests to be patient when looking to see the animal or to return to the habitat a little later during their visit. Guest spaces: We put very little money towards our renovations of the guest spaces. Over the last 2 years we have had to close our doors several times due to the Covid-19 Pandemic – at one time this was for 3 months. During this time, the staff normally engaged in guest relations diverted their efforts to giving a face lift to our café and retail space predominately using materials we had on site or recycled resources. The ‘kids area‘ has been in place for many years and is valued by families with younger children - we cater for all members of our community. Our animal care team is our highest staffed team with the largest salary & wages budget of any of our departments so we disagree with the assertion that the guest area expenses is derived from cutting back on welfare. Cleanliness of Habitats: Our animal habitats are serviced 7 days a week by one of our 5 animal care staff. Every animal’s water is cleaned and refreshed at least daily. Marmoset Habitat: Whilst some of our habitats may be quite old and dated – the welfare of the animals that reside within them is not compromised by that. Through research and observations, we have found that some rotting timber in the marmosets habitat is actually a great activity for them – in the wild, in the rainforests, there is a lot of rotting timber, marmosets forage and dig in these for grubs and other goodies – ours also enjoy this activity. The integrity of the marmoset habitat is being regularly assessed and maintained until a time when new habitats can be constructed. We ensure that the animal welfare or structure integrity is not compromised in the meantime. Cassowary Habitat: We appreciate you raising our awareness of the nail protruding in the cassowary habitat, a piece of timber must have recently become dislodged leaving this exposed. This has since been attended to by staff. We appreciate the opportunity that constructive criticism provides us on our quest for constant improvement. The statement that our 24 staff not caring about the animals’ welfare is a big blow to a team that has worked hard to continually make improvements. We have animal care staff that have worked in many other zoos and have an amazingly diverse wealth of experience and knowledge – Including 5 years at Bonorong Sanctuary. Lastly, the owner of the Zoo – Donna Cuttriss, the General Managers and animal care staff, are always happy to talk with anyone that has any concerns about animal welfare or more general guest experience matters. You need only approach a staff member and ask for this to occur. As you clearly take animal welfare as seriously as we do, we would welcome you to make a time to come to the zoo and speak with us about our animal welfare and we could help you to understand the strict animal welfare assessments we adhere to. Our doors are open to inspection and constructive criticism so as we can continue to give our animals the highest standard of care. We would hope that someone who cares as deeply about animal welfare as we do would be interested to come to talk with us to put your mind at rest and ensure the animals in our care are in a state of positive welfare. Kind regards, Zoodoo Management
Written January 10, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jeany C
Gold Coast, Australia3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Family
We had a great day out at the zoo. So affordable for the up close and personal with the meerkats and marmosets. Entry to the Zoo includes Lion, Emu, Zebra and Camel feeding. You can pay $1 to get some wallaby and deer feed. The talks are very informative and staff are very friendly. Highly recommended from all of our family
Written February 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

agigs
Hobart26 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021 • Family
My ten year old had one of the most amazing kid experiences I have seen at Zoodoo Zoo - Richmond Tasmania. Keeper Brett looked after the little guy for the day and it was amazing.
Brett was his boss for the day with his ‘shift’ running from 10am-3pm. He was inducted and then taken to meet and feed the wallabies and kangaroos and barnyard animals before feeding the Mamosets. Then the snakes, the ring tailed possums, the quoll, the zebra and the camels.
A few great things:
Brett as the keeper who the 10yo said was awesome.
The customer service and staff.
The quality of the care for the animals.
The depth of experience.
The raking of poo (critical).
Congrats  to the team for a stunning experience which ultimately goes toward care for the animals. Highly recommended.
Written February 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steven G H
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Family
A great little zoo with Exotic and Australian animals close to Hobart. Can catch the Red Decker shuttle bus from Hobart and also take in Richmond township on the way. A great selection of animal encounters and experiences to suit any budgets. Plenty of undercover areas for when weather turns and a Cafe that caters to all needs. Competitively priced with other similar attractions. Can buy an annual pass to visit as often as you like for price of 2.5 standard zoo admissions. Great for families as has a kids play area. Informative keeper presentations and financially supports several overseas and local conservation programs. They even have their own 300 acre wildlife refuge on the mountain behind the zoo. One of the few places in Tassie you can get a close up look at Swift Parrots.
Written July 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kelly M
Canberra, Australia34 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
I think if we were visiting the zoo and not doing any encounters, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much. I think it's really good for the kids, a fun shuttle ride to feed emu's, zebra's and camels was cute. But what I came for was the Animal Encounter Package and also booked the Serval encounter. The encounters are well worth it! Meeting the serval brothers is a must! Got to pat and play with them. The package includes a few natives, we got to meet a gorgeous quoll, adorable glider, a handsome red tailed black cockatoo named Jack and got to feed a couple Tasmanian Devils. Feeding the devils was cute but the perspex could use a replacement, its quite worn around the feeding hole. The package also includes meerkats (they weren't so keen as it was quite busy and they were scared of the extra attention....thats ok, we have met meerkats before) and marmosets. The marmoset encounter is so much fun! They are all over you with curiosity.
Try to do an encounter or two if you can... call ahead to secure a spot!
Written January 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David J.
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2021 • Family
Was very disappointed with my recent trip to Zoodoo “zoo”.... more like Zoodoo poo. I decided to revisit Zoodoo as I’d heard it was under new management and was keen to see the changes for myself.
Safe to say I was very disappointed.
I was surprised at how few animals remained since my visit 2 years prior. Almost no native animals on display, and those that were looked very unhealthy, we’re pacing and very distressed. Only to learn AFTER we had paid entry fees were we informed that the safari bus was no longer running. The bus has easily been the highlight of my previous visits. The large woman on the front desk was very rude and would not offer a discount because of this.
Do not visit this horrible place.
Written February 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Roderick B
150 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
Zoodoo is a must visit, especially for families. The zoo site is quite compact, so quick and easy to get around to all the presentations, and still have time to visit your favourite exhibits at your leisure. Staff are all friendly, and give the animal presentations in an interactive and engaging manner. The lions are certainly impressive animals, and awesome guests have the opportunity to feed them (through the cage) if they wish! The farm yard area provides a good interactive area for children. The kangaroos and deer are also very tame and friendly, and can be hand fed. Could have watched the marmoset monkeys for hours!

The Cafe provides a great option for lunch also (coffee was awesome - compliments to the barista!)
Written August 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your positive feedback Roderick! Hope to see you back at Zoodoo soon!
Written August 24, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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Zoodoo Zoo - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Zoodoo Zoo

Zoodoo Zoo is open:
  • Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM