Established at the site of the huge bird aviary (which had been a major feature at World Expo 88), the sanctuary featured many species of Australian birds, marsupials and reptiles.

Traditionally, the live exhibits were often organized by taxonomy, resulting in clusters of carnivores cages, bird aviaries, primate exhibits, and so on, which led to sections within a zoo cared for by specialized staff.

At the Mt. Surprise Tourist Park, a large bird aviary is open to the public on payment of a gold coin donation.

Other attractions in the area included a children's park, walking trails, and a redwood bird aviary.

Aussie Walkabout - Wallabies, kangaroos, and emus share a mixed walk-through exhibit which leads to an Australian bird aviary featuring rainbow lorikeets.

The Blackburn Pavilion is a rainforest-themed tropical bird aviary that opened in March 2008, as a refurishment of the zoo's out-of-date bird house.

Australian Outback: features kangaroos, emus, wombats, koalas, echidnas, lace monitors and a variety of small bird aviaries.

Khao Khew Open Zoo is a magnificent blend of forests, wild animals, bird aviary and responsible animal management.

The greater Plettenberg Bay area (known as Bitou) is also home to Birds of Eden, the largest free-flight bird aviary in the world, and the free-roaming primate sanctuary called Monkeyland, among many other tourist attractions.

There was also a colony of large ants (kept with the butterflies), a small tropical bird aviary, and a small gallery of reptiles, amphibians, insects and spiders.