Welcoming New Friends and School Holiday Fun!
This Spring at the Sanctuary we’ve got some exciting new things coming! We have plenty of school holidays programs and fun! With face painting everyday for everyone to enjoy.
Thanks to Shaun and his team at Ballina Fair we have recently welcomed some shy and sweet new members to the family, with our Squirrel Gliders and Swamp Wallaby friends. As the wallabies slowly settle in, they are quite the ones to spot, and maybe will even say hello if you come to the Sanctuary in time for kangaroo and emu feeding each day.
Kicking off the school holidays we shall be hosting our Puggles Kids Program with the help of our friends at Rugrats Helping Hands. If you have little ones between the ages of 5-8 years-old Puggles offers fun, educational and hands-on activities.
We also offer our Wildlife Guardians Program which is for the kids between 8-12 years. This runs on the 1st-3rd, 8th, 10th and 11th of October from 9am-3:30pm. Our Guardian Program offers a comprehensive sanctuary tour with a designated keeper where kids get to meet all our wildlife residents.
On the 4th and 9th October those aged 12-18 years can join us for Keeper for a Day. A day to discovering what a day in the life of a sanctuary keeper is like through interactive, hands-on activities. They’ll get a sanctuary tour with a designated keeper, meet the residents, attend keeper talks, the free flight bird presentation, kangaroo and emu feeding sessions, and even enjoy a private snake and lizard encounter.
For each of these programs remember to pack their swimmers as on warmer days they get to enjoy themselves at the splash park and enjoy putt-putt mini golf. All in a safe, caring, wild environment. Numbers are strictly limited, so sign up now for a unique and educational experience that will inspire a lifelong love of wildlife and conservation in your children.
October is an especially exciting month as we’ll be welcoming some new scaley and slithering friends with our upcoming opening of the reptile house! We’ll be introducing some new amphibious friends with some beautiful frogs, stick insects and very special new members of our snake family, some with a little more venom!
To have this all happen we have had the pleasure to work with Dane Murrell’s team at Rolling Stone Projects. With their help we are getting closer to opening this Spring! You won’t want to miss out on the launch, as the new wildlife residents aren’t the only new big addition to the park.
Later in the month on the 25th October we shall be hosting a Paper Making Class with Born In Paper ran by Byron local Susan Wright. Learn to make handmade paper, add flowers both fresh and dried, raw cotton and colours to make beautiful paper! Learn to prepare your pulp, to make Plantable Papers, add seeds, and emboss wet papers. The workshop runs for 2 hours from 10am at $70 pp.
Spring is also a perfect time to Book an experience at The Sanctuary. We have recently introduced some new experiences such as with our Squirrel Glider’s where you get up close and personal and even feed the three new cheeky and cute gilders Poppy, Sunny & Maple in their nocturnal house. There’s plenty of experiences to choose from but our Walk the Dinosaur Experience with Dirrawong is one not to miss! You will accompany Dirrawong on his daily enrichment stroll around the Sanctuary as explores, basks in the sun and enjoys his favorite treats whilst in his reptile-friendly leash.
For those who want more out of their day our VIP wildlife experience is an stand out option for a full-day of immersive and 1:1 experiences with our wildlife and keepers with beverages and lunch included.