Availability

Pre-booking is usually required. However, if you want your own ranger and you haven’t pre-booked, ask us. Depending on their workload on the day, there may be a ranger available.

Overview

Fitness level – you choose your level of exertion

Because you have your own ranger, you can set the pace.

For a super-leisurely experience, you can relax at the visitor centre and have your ranger bring the experience to you.

For the more adventurous, you can “go bush” with your ranger off the tracks.

Or you can settle for something in between such as an easy bush walk along the bush tracks, or a behind-the-scenes tour to visit some of the animals.

Design your own experience

Here are some suggestions, but feel free to ask for something different

• Spikes, scales, feathers and fur. An up-close-and-personal encounter with your favourite animal(s) (your Personal Ranger time does not include time with Dingoes, Tasmanian Devils, Wombats, Servals or Meerkats, encounters with these animals must be booked separately).
• Bush tucker and bush medicine. Incorporates Aboriginal lessons from the bush.
• Aboriginal sites visit. Learn from the sites that the original Australians left written on the rocks.
• Bush tools. Throw a boomerang, learn about ochre, and handle various indigenous tools.
• Explore off the tracks into the bush. Visitors are not allowed to wander off the paths unless with a ranger to guide them and keep them safe, and to make sure that we don’t unintentionally harm our environment.

How much can you fit in?

These are recommended time requirements

Behind the scenes with four to six different animals (does NOT include Tasmanian Devils, Servals, Wombats, Dingoes and Meerkats) – 1 hour

Boomerang throwing and a personal introduction to the free-ranging kangaroos and emus – ½ hour

Bush tucker and bush medicine walkabout – ½ hour

Exploring the bush ‘off the tracks’ – 1½ hours

Aboriginal sites visit to the hand stencil cave and petroglyphs, plus bush tucker and bush medicine on the way there – 1½ hours

Prepare for Your Visit – What to bring with you…

A picnic is a good idea. We sell snacks in our gift shop, but you may want something more substantial.

Closed walking shoes (or, even better, boots) if you will be heading out on the bush tracks. Sandals are ok on the ‘animal loop’ and if you are not going “behind the scenes” with animals.

Long pants are a good idea if you are going to go off the tracks with your ranger, of if you are planning an encounter with meerkats as they will want to climb on you and they do have scratchy claws.

Insect repellent is highly recommended to deter mosquitoes, leeches, ticks and other bity bugs.

A refillable water bottle will save you money and reduce plastic waste.

Sunscreen and a hat are ALWAYS a good idea, even on overcast cast days. Clouds don’t stop the invisible UV rays that do all the damage. If you’re from the northern hemisphere, you may not have experienced how fierce the sun is in Australia because we don’t have a protective ozone layer in the sky.

Although umbrellas are ok, they can get caught on branches if you’re going for a bush walk. We rather recommend a rain coat (or you can purchase a disposable rain poncho in our gift shop – if you do get one please reuse it to reduce waste going into landfill).

Enjoy Your Experience

During your visit, follow your personal ranger’s instructions. These are intended to keep you and the animals safe, and make sure you get the most out of your experience. Your ranger can give you interesting insights into our sanctuary’s ecosystems, wildlife behaviour, and conservation efforts. Be sure to ask questions and make the most of the opportunity to learn from your Ranger’s experience.

Feedback and Gratitude

After your visit, we’d love to get your feedback about your experience with your personal ranger. Our rangers always want to know what you enjoyed, and what you would change. We especially appreciate google and redbook reviews as these give other potential guests an idea of what to expect and what they may want to do when they visit us.