Where to spend time with native animals these school holidays

Still won­der­ing about the best way to give your kids a nature expe­ri­ence these school hol­i­days with­out hav­ing to dri­ve for hours? 

If you’re look­ing to swap screen time for green time, Cle­land Wildlife Park in the Ade­laide Hills might be just what you’re after. 

From full day activ­i­ties and self-guid­ed trails to sto­ry-time on the lawn, there’s plen­ty to keep the whole fam­i­ly entertained. 

Here’s what you can expect when you get there:

What’s on?

1. Wild­ifi­ca­tion

Step back to a time to when giant goan­nas and mar­su­pi­al lions roamed the Aus­tralian bush.

Kids can join this full day pro­gram and expe­ri­ence hands-on fun activ­i­ties and dis­cov­er what megafau­naexist­ed in Aus­tralia many years ago, and what ani­mals resem­ble them today. 

Ses­sions for Wild­ifi­ca­tion are designed for spe­cif­ic age groups so there’s sure to be some­thing for every­one. Check the web­sitefor all the details.

2. Self-guid­ed trails

Take up the East­er chal­lenge. Fol­low the ​‘Where’s Bil­by?’ trail to dis­cov­er some fas­ci­nat­ing fea­tures and inter­est­ing bil­by facts on an adven­ture around the park. 

Or join the ​‘Mega Mon­sters of the Past’ self-guid­ed trail and dis­cov­er what megafau­na exist­ed in Aus­tralia many years ago and what ani­mals resem­ble them today.

Find out more about these trails on the Cle­land web­site.

3. Sto­ry­time on the lawn

Held on each Fri­day of the school hol­i­days (except Good Fri­day), join the Cle­land keep­ers as they share some fun tales about the ani­mals that call Cle­land home.

Each ses­sion will focus on one native ani­mal. Cle­land staff will read a sto­ry­book, tell some amaz­ing facts and rec­om­mend where you can find that ani­mal with­in the park. 

Mats will be pro­vid­ed on the café lawn to make it extra comfy. 

What else is there to do? 

Want to make the most of your day at Cle­land? After the self-guid­ed tour, sto­ry time or a Wild­ifi­ca­tion ses­sion, why not spend the rest of the day explor­ing the park?

If you need to refu­el first, grab your­self a tasty lunch at Cleland’s Bark­ing Gecko Café or bring some snacks from home, find a cosy spot on the lawns (you’re wel­come to bring your own pic­nic rug!) and chill out amongst Australia’s most icon­ic animals. 

It’s prob­a­bly lunchtime for some of Cleland’s fur­ry friends too. You can pur­chase a bag of feed at the café and hand-feed the ani­mals that are roam­ing through the park by mov­ing slow­ly and qui­et­ly towards them. 

While we’re talk­ing food, you might also like to check out the pro­gram of Ani­mal Feed­ing Times, which is when Cleland’s keep­ers feed the ani­mals and share some sto­ries about their table manners!

After that, wan­der at your leisure. Grab a park map when you buy your tick­ets and make your way around the park, mak­ing sure you don’t miss any­one. Oh, and have your phone handy for photos.

Want to make the most of your vis­it to Cle­land. Here is every­thing you need to know to plan your per­fect Cle­land itin­er­ary.