One of the world's busiest news sites, Mail Online, headlined: "The zoo where the HUMANS are kept behind bars: Tourists locked in cage for close encounter with hungry lions."
Other major news outlets included the Scottish tabloid, the Daily Record, fellow UK 'red top' paper, Mirror, as well as sites in America and India.
"We've been doing this for years, but if they want to tell everybody about it, then it's great free advertising for us. It's great," zoo spokesman Nathan Hawke said today.
The big cats are fed from within the safety of the vehicle and often climb onto its roof.
"It's the reversing of the roles - with the humans being in the cage - which has got the foreign media so excited," Mr Hawke said.
"The Lion Encounter provides a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the size and power of these awesome predators.
"It's a great conservation tool, as the visitors can learn about these magnificent animals by getting so close to them. Although lions are top of the food chain, they're still very vulnerable."
He believed Orana was the only zoo in the world which conducted lions tours where it's the visitors who are caged.
The Lion Encounter runs daily at 2.30pm, with an additional cost to park admission of $30 per person.
