Getting Up Close and Personal with Iconic Australian Wildlife at East Coast Natureworld in Tasmania

The East Coast of Tasmania is one of the best parts of the state to visit and while you’re there one of the must-see attractions is East Coast Natureworld! Set on a beautiful stretch of land with stunning views, this nature park is one of the best places in Tassie to get up close and personal with iconic wildlife like cute wallabies, Tasmanian Devils, quolls, wombats, emus, reptiles, birds and more. Read on to find out everything you need to know about visiting East Coast Natureworld for yourself!

About East Coast Natureworld

East Coast Natureworld is located just outside the coastal town of Bicheno, which is about two and a half hour’s drive from Hobart, or about 2 hours from Launceston. It is possible to visit Bicheno as a day trip, but if you really want time to experience everything this region has to offer then I think it’s better to stay overnight, or longer, so you don’t miss out.

We were staying in Orford so it was only an hour and 20 minutes to Bicheno from there, which is much more doable as a day trip. Keep an eye out for my upcoming guide to exploring Tasmania’s East Coast!

Spread out over 150 acres of coastal bushland, East Coast Natureworld is home to lots of native wildlife (it’s not a zoo) including free-roaming birds, wallabies and kangaroos that will approach you for pellets which you can buy in the shop if you want to feed any. They also have a few different huge enclosures for Tasmanian Devils (which are endangered), a couple of big aviaries and other enclosures but the whole place feels very open and natural.

Visitors can wander around and take photos, see Tassie Devils getting fed or even take part in special encounters where you can get up close to baby Tasmanian Devils, echidnas, sugar gliders or wombats. They also offer a “Devils in the Dark” night-time experience – just one reason to stay overnight in Bicheno!

Our Visit to East Coast Natureworld

I’ve been to East Coast Natureworld years ago but didn’t have any photos and we were doing a road trip along the East Coast highway on our most recent trip to Tassie which included a stop in Bicheno. I wanted to see this nature park again and since Dennis doesn’t mind being dragged places to see animals we visited on a hot summer’s day in February. I will say that the middle of summer is not the best time for visiting, as many of the animals were hiding away sleeping or just sleeping where we could see them and no wonder because the sun was fierce!

We were lucky enough to arrive right before some of the Tassie Devils were fed though, so that was fun to see them being active and hear some information from the keeper as he fed them. I also enjoyed seeing in one of the enclosures two devils who seemed to be almost taking turns sitting in a water trough to cool off!

We enjoyed wandering around to see a silly emu, some albino wallabies, more wallabies and even a kangaroo, who came right up to us with her joey to see if we had any food. We hadn’t bought any so she soon wandered off but some Cape Barren geese followed us for quite a while – they were persistent! Later on one of them even bullied a little wallaby away from us, which was pointless as we weren’t feeding them. There was also a very cute baby wombat called George currently staying at the park, although I couldn’t get a good photo of him.

We didn’t see many birds in the aviaries, aside from a kookaburra, and the peacock who isn’t contained. We saw one quoll asleep in the quite cool-looking quoll enclosure and somehow managed to completely miss the nocturnal house – which might have been a bit cooler as far as temperature goes, but oh well. I also pointed out to Dennis the many wild native hens (AKA turbo chooks) that were wandering around.

Getting to East Coast Natureworld

If you’re heading to East Coast Natureworld from the Hobart direction then you need to drive through the town of Bicheno as the park is about seven minutes (by car) out of the main town. Of course, if you’re heading down the coast from Launceston then you’ll reach it before you get into Bicheno proper. The only way to get to East Coast Natureworld is by driving, as it’s located on the Tasman Highway and there isn’t really any public transport to get there. They’re open from 9:30 am until 3 pm in winter, I think with extended hours in summer but their website currently only shows the winter opening times. Check out the official website for more accurate opening times and ticket prices.

Other Things to See and Do in the Area

If you’ve made it all the way to Bicheno to visit East Coast Natureworld then you need to make sure you also check out some of the other beautiful and quirky things to see and do in the area, like:

• Douglas-Apsley National Park: If you want to do some bushwalking to see beautiful waterholes and waterfalls then this unique Tasmanian National Park is a good pick, and it’s just up the road from Bicheno. You do need to purchase a Parks Pass to enter any National Parks, but this one is particularly beautiful in summer, just remember to bring some swimming gear in case you do want to swim – there are definitely no crocodiles in Tasmania to worry about!
• Bicheno: The town of Bicheno is a destination itself, with gorgeous beaches and a natural blowhole, as well as some lovely little cafés and restaurants. This is also an excellent part of Tasmania in which to see Little Penguins (sometimes called Fairy Penguins) at night. We even saw a young one hiding in rocks during the daytime when we were there but if you want to guarantee seeing plenty of them then some companies offer penguin tours and if you stay at Diamond Island Resort then you can view them there in the evening.
• The Pondering Frog Café: If you’re heading along the Tasman Highway to or from Bicheno from Hobart, make sure you stop off at the Pondering Frog Café for a snack/break so you can visit this adorable spot which features a big ‘pondering’ frog outside and hundreds of frog knick-knacks for sale inside! We stopped here to take some photos and also had some yummy ice cream on the deck. It’s just so cute and quirky, there’s even a frog slide and other play equipment for kids.
• Devil’s Corner Cellar Door: Just five minutes up the road from the Pondering Frog Café is Devil’s Corner Cellar Door, one of the most picturesque winery/cellar doors that you definitely won’t want to miss if you’re into wine and gorgeous views. Along with wine tastings, wood-fired pizzas and fresh seafood to enjoy, there’s also a lookout to even better appreciate the coastal scenery.
• Friendly Beaches: For more stunning beaches head down the road to Friendly Beaches, which is technically one strip of white-sand and azure water beaches. You can only camp if you want to stay here, or just visit for a bit if you want to swim, sunbathe, walk or just admire the beauty of the area.

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Have you visited East Coast Natureworld? Let me know about it in the comments or pin one of these if you want to go there and see it for yourself!