Duration:
4h30m
This Half Day Moonlit Sanctuary and Brighton Beach Boxes brings together Australia’s unique wildlife and the famous Brighton Beach boxes in one morning.
Operated By:
Up-Close Wildlife Encounters
Escape the city bustle and journey just one hour from Melbourne to the award-winning Moonlit Sanctuary. Spend 90 magical minutes getting up close and personal with Australia’s most iconic native animals. 🐨 Hand-feed friendly kangaroos, spot sleepy koalas nestled in the eucalyptus trees, and meet dingoes in a beautiful, natural bushland setting.
Iconic Brighton Beach Boxes
After your wildlife adventure, we head to the vibrant Melbourne coast to visit the world-famous Brighton Beach Boxes. 📸 Take a stroll along the sandy shore and capture the perfect photo in front of these colourful, historic bathing boxes against the backdrop of the Melbourne skyline.
Perfect Half-Day Itinerary
- Convenient Timing: Return to Melbourne by 12:30 pm, leaving your afternoon completely free to explore the city. ☀️
- Expert Guided Experience: Travel in comfort with local insights along the way.
We will send you an email to confirm nearest pick up time and place if your accommodation is not listed.
SUITS
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James our tour guide made the experience though, happy to be co-pilot any day! Thank you!
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Jodie
29 Oct 2026
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Susan
29 Oct 2026
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Alan
29 Oct 2026
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Julie
29 Oct 2026
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Todd
28 Oct 2026
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Sylvia
28 Oct 2026
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Marie
23 Oct 2026
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Jonathan
23 Oct 2026
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Jackie
22 Oct 2026
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gilmorha
20 Oct 2026
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Ian
20 Oct 2026
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MTMHampshire
20 Oct 2026
Thank you for a lovely day Travis
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Sarah
01 Oct 2026
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Therese
01 Oct 2026
The moonlit sanctuary was great. I paid extra to pet a koala which was definitely worth it.
This is a great half day tour ( not a lot of walking ) but definitely a lot of animals to see.
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LS12345
30 Sep 2026
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David
30 Sep 2026
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Ashish
30 Sep 2026
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Jill
30 Sep 2026
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Anne
24 Sep 2026
OF seats or suspension system.
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Linda
24 Sep 2026
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richw796
22 Sep 2026
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richw796
22 Sep 2026
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Vacation764183
22 Sep 2026
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Gian
21 Sep 2026
A great day trip from Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road. We spotted wild koalas, kangaroos and big seas. Sarah is an excellent guide and driver with lots of information given along the way.
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Matt
05 Sep 2026
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Clayton
31 Aug 2026
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Marion
31 Aug 2026
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TP15450
31 Aug 2026
Josh was incredible informative, knowledgeable, engaging and super fun!!
Word has it, he’s better than some guy named Travis. :)
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SlickRiq
30 Aug 2026
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Suzanne
30 Aug 2026
Riccardo
30 Aug 2026
Bert provided an excellent experience across the southern part of Australia. Really went above and beyond to explain the sights and answer all questions.
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Zack
24 Aug 2026
At Moonlit Sanctuary, he took us through the different areas and animal exhibits (and made sure my 13 year old got into the koala encounter - and what an encounter it was! My son said it was the experience of a lifetime! He pet a koala who was posing and hamming it up for the camera!). The guide knew the animals personally (which kangaroo was which and how each typically behaved, etc) and the staff there. Amazing experience.
We then continued to Phillip Island, where he took us through the Nobbies, pointing out the penguin nests and finding some that were occupied, as well as stopping at beautiful lookouts over the stunning coast. He then gave us a briefing on what to expect at the penguin parade (where to stand and go for the best views - how much time to spend at the viewing platform - we took one of the platform upgrades - and when to head to watch them walk along the path).
One thing we liked a lot about our guide - he cared about the animals and their welfare, driving carefully and slowly along the island roads to preserve the safety of the animals and their habitats (we saw large buses coming through at high speeds, even though there were some animals on the road).
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Elana
18 Aug 2026
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howardj1983
17 Aug 2026
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Sarah
16 Aug 2026
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Mom2boyz2000
14 Aug 2026
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Carmelo
12 Aug 2026
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Relax64860610770
12 Aug 2026
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pierson
04 Aug 2026
Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and kept the day fun while sharing interesting facts about the places we visited. Everything was well organized, the transportation was comfortable, and we had enough time to enjoy each stop without feeling rushed.
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Melbourne who wants to experience some of Australia’s most iconic sights and wildlife in a single day. Thank you for a fantastic experience!
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Joaquín
04 Aug 2026
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Gage
04 Aug 2026
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Sebastian Topet, General Manager at Oceania Tours & Safaris, responded to this review - 2026-08-07
Thank you for your review.
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Liam
04 Aug 2026
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Sebastian Topet, General Manager at Oceania Tours & Safaris, responded to this review - 2026-08-07
Thank you for your comments. We are glad you enjoyed the tour.
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pierson
04 Aug 2026
Our Great Ocean Road tour with Sarah was amazing! Lots of beautiful sites, Apollo Bay, Twelve Apostles, Otway rainforest and koalas! Can’t say enough good things about Sarah…she was wonderful guide!
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Tracy
09 Jul 2026
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Fernando
09 Jul 2026
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David
09 Jul 2026
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Gregory
09 Jul 2026
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Tia
08 Jul 2026
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Kandy
08 Jul 2026
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Dave
07 Jul 2026
Sarah was a wonderful guide for a very full day out along the great ocean road. If you’re in Melbourne it’s a ‘must do’.
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Maggie
27 Jun 2026
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273mariae
24 Jun 2026
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Cecilia
23 Jun 2026
Trip should leave a couple hours earlier so no rushing and time to fully see and enjoy both the remarkable Moonlight Sanctuary, get early dinner to go and get to Phillip island to tour then to penguin park earlier to enjoy the exhibits at the visitors center and spend more time watching the fun fairy penguins that don’t start Landing from sea till dark. Felt rushed at both of the best parts of tour but did see a lot of wonderful wildlife.
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Linda
22 Jun 2026
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Passenger45011291803
17 Jun 2026
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Margaret
17 Jun 2026
Fred arrived a bit early to pick us up. Child car seats were provided. Before we knew it, we were at the Moonlit Sanctuary. He gave each of our two children (ages 9 and 6) some roo food so they could feed the wandering kangaroos and wallabies. Our visit to the sanctuary included some time checking out the other animals, including the wombat, koala, and dingoes.
Afterwards, we drove through the Nobbies to glimpse at the magnificent coastline. We also happened to spy upon a penguin resting in its home, waiting for others to return later that evening.
The penguin parade was also a sight to behold. We highly recommend upgrading to the Penguins Plus experience. Aside from just better viewing, where you’ll see the penguins return home as they pass by the seating area, some will hang out just outside arm’s length, as they appear to have made a home under the seating area itself. That gives plenty of time to admire them up close. If you don’t have a good seat at first, just be patient. Plenty will open up later. Everyone (part of the tour or not) only gets about 50 minutes to observe the penguins before lights turned off.
Our kids found this the best thing they did in Melbourne this trip. This is a must-do experience for penguin and animal lovers.
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Chris
17 Jun 2026
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arginie
14 Jun 2026
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Voyage50722490709
14 Jun 2026






























































