Overnight wildlife experience at Western Plains Zoo

A new camping experience at Taronga Western Plains Zoo will soon be a reality with work underway on the $900,000 redevelopment of a lake and the landscaping of islands.
When complete, the development will offer an Australian bush overnight camping experience that immerses visitors in the bush experience presenting a unique opportunity for families seeking a camping trip with a difference.
To be known as the Billabong Camp, the overnight experience will consist of 20 tents located nearby a billabong in the Zoo's Australian Wildlife section and will hold up to 80 people each night. Guests will have close encounters with native Australian wildlife and have hands on experiences with animals such as reptiles. The experience will focus on school groups during the week and visiting families on weekends.
The redevelopment, which has received $100,000 funding as part of the NSW Government's Regional Tourism Product Development Funding Program, is expected to open in March, 2013.
Inspecting the work during a recent visit, NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, joined the Member for Dubbo, Troy Grant, to inspect work progress on the zoo's new attraction to be known as the Billabong Camp.
Minister Souris said the aim of the Regional Tourism Product Development Program, which was an election commitment, is to encourage industry growth and tourism spending in regional NSW, statting "since the beginning of this year, the Government, through Destination NSW, has delivered a total of $5 million of funding across 129 regional projects to develop new experiences and improve existing visitor attractions.
"The Billabong Camp overnight experience will provide visitors with a unique bush experience that will connect them with wildlife.
Troy Grant described the Billabong Camp as "an exciting innovation for Dubbo's top tourist attraction", adding "this is a brilliant project that will surely boost the local visitor economy by encouraging visitors to stay longer in Dubbo for this unique experience."
Taronga Western Plains Zoo General Manager and Inland NSW Tourism board member, Matthew Fuller added "(this) is an exciting time for the Zoo with this new overnight experience just one of a number of other projects in the pipeline for the near future."