Get Away with Dre: Animal encounters and experiences for adults
Animal farms and animal experiences aren’t just for the kids. We’ll look at a few fun animal encounters around Australia that the adults will love.
Brunch and stay with alpacas
Image from: visitnsw.com
There’s a few places in NSW that can offer you some fun experiences with alpacas.
Just one hour north of Sydney, in the Central Coast, the Iris Lodge Alpacas is an eco-certified alpaca farm (since July 2021) where you can have brekky or brunch with the alpacas. This farm has 140 alpacas and you can learn about all their different personalities. The food’s good too, you can enjoy a farm-fresh brunch spread.
Head closer to Canberra, in Murrumbateman, the Blackwattle Alpaca Farm has a huge range of walking tours you can do with their herd of 60 alpacas. They also offer picnics with the alpaca on their farm, and feeding tours so you can feed them for a change.
You want to take more time getting to know your fellow alpacas, you can spend a few days at a farm stay in the Hunter Valley at Starline Alpacas Farmstay. This is a working farm with a range of accommodation options to suit families or couples-only. The alpacas stay and go right up to your cottage so you can feed them.
Another stay with alpaca option is in Oberon at Kenzell Farm, a 250 acre farm where they have a charming homestead accommodation you can stay in. You can take part in a breakfast with the alpacas and other farm animals. They also have an on-farm experience where it’s not just alpacas you can hang with, there’s cute sheep, miniature cows, goats and goat yoga.
Horse riding experiences
Image from: destinationdaintree.com
Horse riding may sound boring, but these horse riding experiences are far from that.
In Queensland you can do a beach riding tour with Cape Trib Horse Rides. They take you on a two hour ride through the oldest rainforest in the world (the Daintree), along the shores of Myall Beach, and literally in the water with your horse! The waters in Myall Beach are protected by reef all around a bay making it safe for your stead.
In Victoria, try a ride through Yarra Valley with Chum Creek Horseriding. This 2.5 hour horse trail ride that takes you up the mountain with amazing views of Yarra Valley and the Great Dividing Range. You’ll have the chance to see kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, echidnas, eagles and deer… but let’s cut to the chase, what makes this experince truly fun is the stop over for some wine tasting. Hopefully your horse knows how to get you back to the stables when you’re blind drunk.
NSW offers the same thing experince in the Hunter. Hunter Valley Horses takes you through bushland and vineyards on horseback from some wine tasting, or you can opt for a ride in a horse and carriage.
Swim with crocodiles
Image from: darwin-tickets.com
If you’re in Darwin, you have to visit Crocosaurus Cove. Their Cage of Death is a purpose-built acrylic cage that allows you to get in the water with a saltwater crocodile. The meal, I mean you, will get in the cage before it gets lowered into an enclosure with a giant saltwater croc for 15 minutes.
Crocosaurus Cove has the world’s largest display of Australian reptiles, with a 220,000 litre freshwatr aquarium. They also run 9 shows and experience throughout the day, everyday.
You can also have this experince in Queensland. In Port Douglas you can Swim with the Salties at Wildlife Habitat’s Croc Arena. They have three crocs: Big Al, Ton and Goliath. All are just over 4.5 meters and weigh 350-400 kgs each. The experience is in a purpose-built acrylic cage as well.
