I was born, raised and grew up in Melbourne – I moved to Sydney when I was 23.  So really, I had 23 years to visit Werribee Open Range Zoo when I lived in Melbourne.  Only it never happened.  Insert shrug emoji.

I can’t remember when I first heard about Werribee Mansion and Park, and following on from that, Werribee Open Range Zoo.  But I’ve always wanted to visit the Mansion because I’m a bit of a history buff (don’t ask me trivia questions though!), not to mention my love of houses and interiors.  And at Werribee Mansion, people dress in the period in which it was built.  I still haven’t seen it – only managed to get to Werribee Open Range Zoo!  So I’ll have to come back, sigh…😉

I really didn’t know what to expect from the zoo.  I didn’t know if they had lions and tigers and bears oh my, or if we were able to wander around the open range zoo…the likely hood was no but you never know.  Something else I didn’t realise is that the Werribee Open Range Zoo is such an important place in the world, trying to help bring back animals close to extinction.  It’s pretty incredible.

It was a lovely drive, just over an hour from my Mum’s and very easy to find.  I did notice signs to Shadowfax Winery on my way…hmmm, very very interesting.

I pre-booked my entrance ticket online, and at the same time, decided to book an off road safari (thanks Mama 😊) – exciting!

After my arrival, I had about 15 minutes before my safari tour so I went for a slow wander.  They were very prompt, and with a few other families, we were off on our Wild Adventures safari tour!

There are so many animals that I was blessed to see: bison, wild donkeys (so cute, and they had a foal), hippopotamuses, ostriches, zebras, rhinoceros’, birds, camels (that have come back from dangerous low population levels with the help of the zoo) and because it’s taken me eight months to write this post, I can’t remember all that I saw, even with all of the pictures that I took. 

And whilst I didn’t get off the bus, not allowed to for our safety and that of the animals, we did get pretty close to them.

But the giraffes, oh the giraffes…they’re so elegant, regal and majestic.  And whilst I realise they can run ridiculously fast, when they amble along…they seem so peaceful.  I fell in love with them, and couldn’t get enough of them.

There is a free tour of the open range area on a tram type open bus with multiple carriages.  Whilst I’m sure it’s amazing, I really think the cost for the small, more intimate safari tour is worth it; we had more time out in the open range area, and we stopped and got to ask so many questions of our driver, who was incredibly knowledgeable.  I’m so glad I went on the safari tour.

 

There is of course much much more to the zoo than the open range area and tour, and I wandered around the entire zoo, seeing so many other animals in enclosures including wild dogs, sleepy lions, stopped by a talk on the hippos, saw monkeys, birds, silver back gorillas and more until I walked my way around back to where I started. 

Whilst there is a restaurant, I snuck in a quick lunch from the ‘takeaway’ style area outside and had a meat pie and salad which was actually really yummy.  On my way out from the zoo I went via the gift shop and I must say, they have some stunning items.  In addition to soft toys, books and other things, they have beautiful homewares, statues, jewellery etc and reasonable priced I thought too.  I found a beautiful statue for my best friend’s 40^th birthday present too.

Now of course that was not the end of my journey that day…after seeing the sign (ha) I had to go to Shadowfax Winery – and isn’t it these, the things we find on journeys, that make the best surprises? 

And what a great surprise it was.  The building is a spectacularly modern structure, yet perfectly rustic at the same time.

As it was a weekday, it wasn’t crazy busy and I was lucky enough to have a one on one wine tasting and please, do your self a favour and discover their wines.  In case you haven’t noticed yet, champagne and chardonnay are my absolute favourites, and I also enjoy rose, pinot noir and shiraz.  At Shadowfax, whilst I enjoyed all of their wines, it was their riesling that stood out for me, along with their rosé and their shiraz.  Sadly I wasn’t able to buy any rose though, sold out of single bottles.

After my tasting, I had a quick wander outside and discovered their herb and vegetable garden which presumably is utilised by the restaurant. 

I must come back, for more wines, and to eat in the restaurant.  It won’t be too far away, as I’ll be visiting the Mansion…see you soon! xx