South Australians to once again embrace koala bear hugs

Wednesday 30 December 2020
South Australians to once again embrace koala bear hugs

MEDIA RELEASE

The iconic Cleland Wildlife Park koala holds will recommence this weekend along with other new animal encounter experiences.

The popular koala hold experience has been unavailable to visitors due to COVID-19 restrictions. The hold experience will be available again from Saturday 2 January with online bookings required.

Cleland Wildlife Park visitors will also be able to have the opportunity to hold a snake or lizard with the Reptile Experience recommencing as well.

There will be three new close-up animal encounters available including an Echidna Experience, a Bird Keeper Experience as well as a Mini Beasts of Cleland Experience.

Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said Cleland Wildlife Park is one of South Australia’s most popular attractions.

“Just 20 minutes from the Adelaide CBD, Cleland Wildlife Park is one of Adelaide’s most accessible and conveniently located wildlife experience nestled in the heart of the Cleland Conservation Park,” Minister Speirs said.

“Visitors have been asking when koala holds will be available again and we’re thrilled to be able to bring back the wildlife park’s most popular interactive experience.

“COVID-19 restrictions have impacted everyone in different ways and I want to thank South Australians for their patience.

“In exciting news, Cleland Wildlife Park will also have new experiences available from this weekend which will allow visitors to get up close with some of our other popular animals.”

The first of these new encounters for Cleland Wildlife Park is the Echidna Experience where you can get up close and personal with a parade of our friendly native spinney pals.

The second new encounter is a Bird Keeper Experience which offers visitors an exclusive opportunity to spend time with a wildlife bird keeper. Visitors can interact with a variety of native South Australian bird species while learning about the unique habitats they live in.

For those that are interested in smaller animals – the park’s new Mini Beast Experience kicks off from the 12th January and is a fun, interactive opportunity to explore the interesting world of bugs, spiders, beetles, ants, scorpions and other critters from the ocean to the outback.

Experiences and tours incur additional cost and due to expected popular demand, visitors are encouraged to book their tickets online to secure their preferred experience.

Cleland Wildlife Park is open every day from 9.30am – 5pm.

Discover more about Cleland Wildlife Park’s many unique animal interaction experiences at https://www.clelandwildlifepark.sa.gov.au/cleland-experiences