Charming Creatures of Cleland Wildlife Park

Located just a short drive away from the Adelaide City Centre, Cleland Wildlife Park is a haven for native Australian wildlife in South Australia. Nestled within the sprawling Cleland Conservation Park area in the Adelaide Hills region, the government operated attraction is spread over 35 hectares of pristine bushland. All the usual marsupial suspects like the kangaroos, koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils, and echidnas can be found here, as well as native reptilian and avian species. What’s great about this sanctuary for beasts is the painstaking attention it pays to keep its surroundings as authentic and natural as possible.

This photo at the entrance of the reserve was taken by our little explorer Ethan himself.

As in all tourist attractions, the souvenir shop is a mandatory feature.

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A map and signages like this help to direct one to the various enclosures housing the native creatures.

Perched on a hill, the vast estate offered a scenic stroll through the Australian bushland.

Our first “sighting” of the day was a male Kangaroo Island kangaroo.

Here are more of them, huddled around a feeding tray and enjoying a crunchy lunch of carrots and corn.

Soon, they were “joined” by a slightly less herbivorous visitor.

Where shall we go next? Hmmm….

Unlike the earlier kangaroos, this red kangaroo here was more keen to feed from Ethan’s brown bag of goodies.

As was this large grey kangaroo, who appeared so tame that…

…even my wife Tina dared to give it a stroke or two, albeit in a gingerly fashion.

Other than the ‘Roos, we viewed other furry marsupians like this relatively inactive wombat…

…a rather frenetic looking Echidna, which was pacing restlessly up and down its enclosure…

…and a fast moving Tasmanian Devil or two. Unfortunately, these cute critters are in danger of extinction due to an infectious cancerous facial tumour.

More hopping marsupials greeted us, this time of the wallaby variety. At first, they were a little hesitant to accept food from us.

However, after some gentle persuasion, our little “Dr Doolittle” managed to coax one into eating from his palm.

Of course, all visits to an Australian wildlife park isn’t complete without paying homage to the cuddly (and quiet) koalas.

Here’s a family shot of us with a rather active little fellow who was grazing on the aromatic Eucalyptus leaves.