Tasmanian Devil Unzoo

Located at Taranna on the way to Port Arthur, Tasmanian Devil Unzoo is marketed as "a place where the public learns about wild animals, plants and ecosystems through interaction with and immersion in natural habitats" whereas a zoo environment is more likely to have animals in cages / enclosures where people view animals without directly interacting with them. According the Unzoo, they have removed their boundary fences so most of the animals are free to come and go. We had driven past the Unzoo numerous times without visiting, and finally decided we had to stop and visit.

After an approximately 30 minute drive from The Beach Escape, we arrived at Tasmanian Devil Unzoo. When we visited, all visitors are taken on a guided tour of the park by a knowledgeable tour guide. You are taken through the various zones of the park whilst your guide talks about everything from the ethos of an Unzoo to the plants and animals around you. After congregating at the meeting point in the gift shop, we headed down the path towards the main attraction - one of the four Devil enclosures. Due to their nature, the devils are kept in an natural looking enclosure. Whilst we watched on, the devils were fed and you can almost feel the power of their jaws as they crunch through bones of the carcass they were given. After feeding time was over, everyone had an opportunity to have a peek up through the viewing dome inside the enclosure - we found that we had a devil eying us off from approximately 30cm away - was he after a seconds after his main meal?

Next up was a stop to hand feed a number of species of birds, and then we continued down towards the next zone whilst also keeping an eye out around us for things we might miss if we weren't vigilante - including spotted possums peering out at us from their homes up in the trees. We arrived at the next zone  that was inhabited by numerous animals - some that hopped and some that had wings that flapped, and all of them just hanging out waiting to be fed - with the food being delivered to them by us humans. The tour guide had plenty of food to feed the various inhabitants, and they were most obliging in eating straight out of your hand. The kids loved being able to feed the animals and spent ages making sure every one of them was suitably content.

Next up was a scenic walk down to the shoreline where there was a nesting sea eagle hanging around the area. Next up we walked back and entered another zone with a small dam. In the water there were eels swimming by, and the guide attempted to feed them (albeit unsuccessfully). We were then given time to wander around the park for a before returning to the visitor centre.

Overall it was a great day - the kids certainly enjoyed the experience (especially feeding the animals). The tour guide was very informative and we learnt a lot from them. We would highly recommend stopping in if you have a chance when visiting the area. You can also check out our image gallery for some pictures of our adventure at Tasmanian Devil Unzoo.