Between Sydney and the Blue Mountains at Doonside, Featherdale is one of the country's largest collections of Australian native animals, and among the easiest places to get close to them. Koalas sit at hand height along a boardwalk, kangaroos and wallabies graze a walk-through yard, and the park holds an exceptional range of native birds, reptiles and small mammals, from cassowaries to quolls. Compact and shaded, it makes an easy half-day on the way to or from the mountains, and children can hand-feed the roos. It is a reliable, close-up meeting with the local wildlife.