A totally wild, uniquely Australian experience
Step into the animals’ world!
Kangaroos, koalas, kookaburras and cockatoos. Aboriginal sites, bush tucker and bush medicine, and boomerang throwing. Native bushland and bush tracks. Aussie rangers.
You can meet and fall in love with Australian animals in any zoo anywhere in the world. What’s different about visiting Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary, is you get to experience and fall in love with the Animals’ natural world.
Whether you’re Australian or an international visitor, you’re not going to get a more Australian experience than this.
- Extended Program
Option #E1 Sharing our World with Animals
Recommended for medical and bio-science students
- Koalas, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, wombats, pythons and cockatoos (and kangaroos and their other animal friends too)
- Diseases pushing Australian animals to extinction
- Animal behaviour & the human interface
Option #E2 Animals, Bush Tucker & Boomerangs
Includes a bush walk
- Meet koalas and kangaroos and their animal friends
- Bush tucker (bush food) and bush medicine
- Boomerang throwing, ochre face-painting, bush soap
Option #E3 Animals & Boomerangs
If you mainly just want to hang out with the animals
- Extra time with the animals
- Boomerang throwing, ochre face-painting, bush soap
Option #E4 Cultural Concepts Walkabout
With permission from our Aboriginal teachers
- Meet koalas and kangaroos and their animal friends
- Aboriginal cultural-concepts ridgeline-walk
Option #E5 Business Workshop
Recommended for business-faculty students
- Meet koalas and kangaroos and their animal friends
- Classroom case-study, Walkabout’s story
- Boomerang throwing, ochre face-painting, bush soap
- Extended Program – Daytime
| 9:30am | Arrive, gather in carpark until all participants are here. Walk up to the Visitor Centre together. |
| 9:45am | Safety briefing. Safety for animals and people. |
| 10:00am | Join the Emu and Kangaroo Roundup. A very Australian take on “the running of the horses”. |
| 10:15am | 15-minute break. Fill up water bottles. Your adventure awaits! |
| 10:30am-12:00pm | Ranger-led Workshop part #1 |
| 12:00pm-1:00pm | Lunch break. Bring a picnic, or we can cater for you. |
| 1:00pm-2:30pm | Ranger-led Workshop part #2 |
| 2:30pm-3:30pm | Free-time to re-visit your favourite animals, or browse through the gift shop, or head home early to beat the traffic. Or hire the campsite or cabins and stay all night. |
- Extended Program – Evening (Summer)
| 3:30pm | Arrive, gather in carpark until all participants are here. Walk up to the Visitor Centre together. |
| 3:45pm | Safety briefing. Safety for animals and people. |
| 4:00pm | Join the Emu and Kangaroo Roundup. A very Australian take on “the running of the horses”. |
| 4:15pm | 15-minute break. Fill up water bottles. Your adventure awaits! |
| 4:30pm-6:30pm | Ranger-led Workshop part #1 |
| 6:30pm-7:00pm | Dinner break. Bring a picnic, or we can cater for you. |
| 7:00pm-8:30pm | Ranger-led Workshop part #2 |
| 8:30pm-9:30pm | Time to head home. Or add a campfire (safe weather permitting) to make the evening last a little longer. Or hire the campsite or cabins and stay all night. |
- Standard Program
Option #S1 Animals
- Meet koalas and kangaroos and their animal friends
- More time with the animals
Option #S2 Animals & Bush Tucker
- Meet koalas and kangaroos and their animal friends
- Bush tucker (bush food) and bush medicine
Option #S3 Boomerangs & Bush Tucker
- Boomerang throwing
- Bush tucker (bush food) and bush medicine
Option #S4 Animals & Boomerangs
- Meet koalas and kangaroos and their animal friends
- Boomerang throwing
| Morning Workshop | Midday Workshop | Afternoon Workshop | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive, gather in carpark until all participants are here. Walk up to the Visitor Centre together. | 9:30am | 12:30pm or you can arrive earlier and have a picnic lunch. | 1:15pm or you can arrive earlier and have a picnic lunch. |
| Safety briefing. Safety for animals and people. | 9:45am | 12:45pm | 1:30pm |
| Join the midday Emu and Kangaroo Roundup. A very Australian take on “the running of the horses”. | 10:00am | 1:00pm | Not Applicable will join the evening Roundup |
| 15-minute break. Fill up water bottles. Your adventure awaits! | 10:15am | 1:15pm | 1:45pm |
| Ranger-led Workshop | 10:30am-12:00pm | 1:30pm-3:00pm | 2:00pm-3:30pm |
| Join the evening Emu and Kangaroo Roundup. A very Australian take on “the running of the horses”. | Not Applicable attended the midday Roundup | Not Applicable attended the midday Roundup | 4:00pm |
| Free-time to hang out with the animals, browse through the gift shop, or have a picnic. Gates close at 5pm. | Ranger-led activities finish at 12:00pm | Ranger-led activities finish at 3:00pm | Ranger-led activities finish at 4:15pm |
- Program Fees
| Prices: | inclusions | Daytime | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extended Program (no catering) 5-6 hours | Includes 2 x 90-minute Ranger Workshops | +$140 per person (minimum +$2,100) | +$168 per person (minimum +$2,520) |
| Standard Program (no catering) 3-4 hours | Includes 1 x 90-minute Ranger Workshop | +$105 per person (minimum +$1,575) | Not Available |
| Optional extras: | must book for ALL guests | Daytime | Evening |
| Campfire and Marshmallows 1 hour | Subject to safe weather conditions (will refund if campfire not possible) | Not Available | +$15 per person (minimum +$220) |
| Catering for whole group | Sausage sizzle (3 beef sausages per person), soft drinks, tea and coffee | +$22 per person (minimum +$330) | +$33 per person (minimum +$495) |
| Aussie pies (2 pies per person choice of chicken, beef or vegetable), soft drinks, tea and coffee | +$22 per person (minimum +$330) | +$33 per person (minimum +$495) | |
| Sausage BBQ (beef), 2 salads (green salad, coleslaw), soft drinks, tea and coffee | +$44 per person (minimum +$660) | +$55 per person (minimum +$825) | |
| Chicken & Sausage BBQ, 3 salads (potato salad, green salad, coleslaw), soft drinks, tea and coffee | +$55 per person (minimum +$825) | +$66 per person (minimum +$990) | |
| Private space hire | Hire camp kitchen at campsite with lunchroom-style tables | +$120 space only +$150 space + use of BBQ to cook own lunch | Not Available |
| Hire barn outdoors on “Animal Loop” with private toilets and cafe-style seating | +$170 space only +$200 space + use of BBQ to cook own lunch | +$170 space only +$200 space + use of BBQ to cook own lunch | |
| Overnight stay: | Accommodation | Cabins | Campsite |
- What to Wear & What to Bring
| We recommend | |
|---|---|
| Footwear | Hiking boots are best. Otherwise, non-slip walking shoes suitable for bush-walking. White shoes are ok but they will get dirty. Sandals are ok close to the Visitor Centre but, if you head out along the bush tracks, you will need to take extra care as there are trip hazards and slippery places. |
| Sun protection (even on cloudy days, Australia has no ozone-protection in our atmosphere) | Cap or wide-brim hat. Sunglasses. Sunscreen. Water bottle. Our gift shop (usually) sells sunscreen, insect repellent, water. |
| Bag & Personal Stuff | Small lightweight backpack with personal medications like headache tablets, insect repellent, sunscreen, water bottle, mobile phone charger. Not recommended: Heavy bags and backpacks. |
| Wet Weather Gear (it may rain even when no rain is forecast) | Raincoat that is waterproof (not just water resistant) and covers you at least down to mid thigh. $5 rain ponchos can be purchased in our gift shop. Not recommended: Umbrellas (they get stuck on tree branches and blow away in the wind). |
- What to do when you arrive
Where to park
- If you will have 5 or fewer cars, park in the main carpark (drive in through the main gate with the animals painting).
- If you will have more than 5 cars, park in the outside carpark (to the left and right of the drive just OUTSIDE the main gate).
- If you arrive by bus, ask your bus-driver to park the bus on Darkinjung Road after they have dropped everyone off.
What to do next
- One person in your group (the contact person for the day) should either walk up to reception, or phone us from the carpark, to let us know you have started to arrive.
- Everyone should wait in the carpark for everyone else to arrive. This is because you may only enter the sanctuary after you have had a safety briefing, and the safety briefing is best given to the group, rather than one-one-one.
- When everyone has arrived, walk up to reception together.