Vacation Care
Join in the adventure of our daily talks, tours and workshops!
Visit the animals and explore the bush tracks any day
or book a ranger-led workshop
- Ranger-led Workshops for Vacation Care Groups
| Up to 20 children | $450 |
| add extra children | +$22.50 |
| 1 adult supervisor per 10 children | No charge |
| additional adults (staff or parents) | +$22.50 |
- Day Plan
| 10:00am | Arrive and BYO morning tea |
| 10:30am | Ranger-led activities |
| 11:30am | Break for BYO lunch |
| 12:00pm | Ranger-led activities |
| 1:00pm | Ranger-led workshop ends |
| anytime until 3pm | Vacation Care staff supervisors guide children until time to depart |
- Your workshop includes 2 hours of ranger-led animals and bush skills activities
| Some of the animals you may meet: | Hands-on bush skills: |
|---|---|
| Naughty Parrots | Explore the bush tracks |
| Kangaroos & Emus | Boomerang throwing |
| Reptiles | Bush tucker & bush medicine |
| Alpacas & Goats | Making bush soap |
| Bunnies & Guineapigs | Ochre face-painting |
What makes Walkabout School Workshops different?
At Walkabout, guests learn what “Connecting with Country” and “Caring for Country” means.
At Walkabout, you literally “step into the animals’ world” of native wild bushland habitat, making this quite different from a conventional zoo experience.
Vacation Care workshops include a “spikes, scales, feathers and fur” module as well as activities drawn from traditional Aboriginal culture.
A unique learning environment
170 acres of old growth Australian bushland, unspoiled nature and rich cultural landscape
Friendly wildlife roaming free
Heritage listed Aboriginal art and shelter sites
Bush tucker and bush medicine growing along the tracks
The real Australian bush
Native wildlife and small farm animals
Knowledgeable rangers
Our education team
The rangers who guide you are the same people who look after the animals and their wild habitat.
Our ranger guides are experienced in conducting in-field workshops with groups of all ages and abilities.
Cultural permissions
Our Education Coordinator is both an educationist and an anthropologist.
We work with our cultural advisers to ensure that all Aboriginal content in our programs is both appropriate and respectful, and that any knowledge shared is always with permission.
Workshops tailored for all ages and abilities
Our workshops offer combinations of activities including animals, the bush and traditional Aboriginal content.
Our team adapts each workshop for age and ability, keeping in mind the age-range that can be quite wide with Vacation Care groups.
Vacation Care staff’s responsibilities
Children must be actively supervised by the Vacation Care staff throughout the program. The Vacation Care staff’s responsibilities include ensuring the children (and attending parents) follow all of the rangers’ safety instructions.
What to wear and bring
- flat closed shoes
- sun hat
- rain gear, even if no rain is forecast
- sunscreen even if it is overcast
- insect repellent
- water bottles (or you can buy water at reception)
Wet Weather Policy
Make sure the children and adults bring their rain gear.
Except in extreme weather, the program will go ahead in the rain.
If the weather is expected to be too extreme for the rangers to be able to run the program, or if it might be dangerous, Walkabout will contact you to reschedule your excursion or give you a credit for a future excursion.
If Walkabout does not assess the wet weather conditions as too dangerous but you would like to reschedule anyway, we respect this and will work with you to find an alternate date.
Calga weather patterns are quite different to the Sydney Basin and the Central Coast. It can be pouring with rain down the road in Kariong or Hornsby, but dry in Calga. You can contact Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary up to 5 days before your excursion to make general enquiries about expected weather conditions, with more accurate weather information available 48 hours prior.
Deposit and Refund Policy
A $100 deposit secures your booking.
The deposit is non-refundable because, once your booking is confirmed, Walkabout will turn away other bookings (and income) for that day.
In the event of bad weather, your deposit is transferrable to another date or as credit for a future booking.
How to book
Please complete the enquiry form (below).