SteveSo we found ourselves staying just outside of Adelaide with some good friends of ours in December 2015. Our friends had made the decision to emigrate to Australia a few years previously and never looked back. As they were our hosts, they took on the responsibility of showing us around their local area. One day we jumped into the car and hit the road. Our destination was Gorge Wildlife Park at Cudlee Creek. It was about 25 miles to the park from our friends’ house. We travelled there via the Barossa Valley highway too, which was kinda cool. Barossa Valley is just about the most famous wine region of Australia. There are well over 100 wineries with Vineyards there, including household names like Jacobs Creek.
Gorge Wildlife Park is a privately-owned reserve for wildlife and is approximately 20 miles northeast of Adelaide. The park has been owned and operated by the same owners since 1965. It wasn’t too busy when we visited, which worked in our favour. The park is set on 14 acres of land and has a wide range of animals being looked after there. It offered us an up-close look at some unusual wildlife. Well, unusual to the Brits anyway!
The first thing I saw was some ghost bats that looked a lot bigger than I expected. The park has a pretty big range of wildlife that was well spread out. Some of our highlights were the Koalas, Ostriches, Dingoes, Kangaroos and Wallabies.
One thing that was really good was that you could walk around and actually interact with animals in certain areas. We purchased some animal feed from the on-site shop and used it to feed the Kangaroos and Wallabies. Very cool.
It’s a reasonable $19AUD to enter the park, and you are free to stay as long as you want. There are staff dotted around the park who we found to be friendly and approachable with any questions we had.
One of the highlights of the visit was the ability to cuddle a Koala. At certain times during the day, the staff will allow visitors to hold a Koala for a few minutes under their supervision. This was free of charge when we visited, but now they charge $10AUD for the privilege. Still a good deal for a photo opp if you ask me! I was actually surprised at how light and fluffy the Koalas are after holding one, although they have some strength in them their claws!
Gorge Wildlife Park is kind of in the middle of nowhere, but this is Australia, right? This is a really good day out in the Adelaide area. Aside from holding a Koala, I was really not expecting to be able to wander freely with Wallabies and Kangaroos. This was a brilliant first day with our friends, and that’s before I get on to the wine tasting in the Barossa Valley! I can highly recommend Gorge Wildlife Park if you are ever in the Adelaide area.
