This family owned wildlife park covers 14 acres of meandering Adelaide Hills landscape in a natural bush setting. You can really get up close and personal with the wildlife. The kangaroos and wallabies have a large sprawling area which visitors can walk through allowing you to handfeed them. This is pretty much open range so visitors are able to get eye to eye with many of the kangaroos - fantastic for overseas visitors! With many rare albino species this is a truly unique experience.
Koala holding sessions are conducted three times daily. Visitors can hold, cuddle and be photographed with the koalas at no charge. Kids will delight in this experience and overseas visitors will be thrilled at the opportunity to get so close to our natural fauna. In addition, the park hold "unleashed" sessions on the last Sunday of each month, presenting a variety of animals, birds and reptiles for handling by adoring visitors. This may mean an opportunity to pat a dingo, hold a snake or meet one of the native cockatoos.
It's not all Australian native animals either. There are also many exotic species such as monkeys, alligators and ostriches. There is also a fantastic "kid's zoo" for the little ones, featuring goats, pigs, sheep and a variety of poultry.
The park is a particularly good place to visit on a weekday when crowd numbers are down and there is greater opportunity to interact with the animals - you'll often have the park to yourself. Admission is well priced, and certainly much lower than the Adelaide Zoo or Cleland Conservation Park - the interactivity with the animals and general ambience of the park is also of a better quality.
This is not your average wildlife park - the open setting allows visitors and animals to truly get together. There is an on-site cafe, but there are also plenty of places to sit and eat if you prefer to BYO as well as a sheltered barbecue area. There's also the fantastic Cudlee Creek Tavern nearby and The Cudlee Cafe just a little further down the road on the way to Lobethal.
A great place, whether you're an Adelaide local, or interstate or overseas visitor. Bring your walking shoes and your camera, and prepare for a fantastic day. For more information you'll find the Gorge Wildlife Park website here:
Gorge Wildlife Park website
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