Introducing Monarto Safari Park!

We’re excited to be transforming from Monarto Zoo into Monarto Safari Park, the largest safari park that will exist outside of Africa.

Complete with a first-of-its-kind luxury resort and glamping facilities, Monarto Safari Park will offer longer visits and a range of new and wild safari experiences in an area known as Wild Africa including open-sided vehicle tours through herds of roaming animals and a huge walk-through lemur habitat.

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Wild Africa accommodation

As part of the redevelopment, we’re building a first-of-its-kind luxury resort and glamping facilities.

This $40 million accommodation development is made possible thanks to a private developer, who will build and operate the resort and glamping facilities, giving our visitors the extraordinary opportunity to experience a luxury sleepover at Monarto Safari Park for the first time.

Sleep nestled in the wilderness under a blanket of stars or retreat to luxury after a day of exploring the park, the expansion includes a luxury resort, conference, function and restaurant spaces, as well as luxury eco-glamping facilities.

Like every visitor who comes through our gates, our hope is that our accommodation guests will leave changed, having found a stronger connection to nature and its habitats, knowing that their stay has made a meaningful difference to our efforts as a conservation charity.

Brand new Visitor Centre

Not to mention, we’re building a brand-new $16.8 million Visitor Centre, funded by the Federal and State Governments, which will provide a world class entry to the park.

Monarto Zoo has become an increasingly popular tourism attraction and the current visitor facilities, built in 1997, are struggling to cope with the rapid growth in visitation we’ve experienced in the past five years.

Plans for the new Visitor Centre include a large indoor and outdoor cafe, nature play spaces, retail, and improved parking and accessibility.

New safari experiences and
unprecedented animal encounters

With the opening of the accommodation facilities by 2022 and new Visitor Centre in late 2021, we’ll also launch new tours, including safari experiences with open-sided vehicle tours through herds of roaming animals and a huge walk-through lemur habitat in a precinct known as Wild Africa.

Set-off on an African safari and watch animals roam, all from the comfort (and safety) of a safari vehicle and discover the benefits of getting off the beaten track.

Can’t wait? Head to our ‘animal experience’ page and book your up-close animal experience today.

Explore all Animal Experiences

 

White Rhino

We’re changing our name

To coincide with the expansion, we’re changing our name to Monarto Safari Park to reflect who we’ve been for the past 26 years, where we’re going, and the experiences we’re creating for our visitors.

Our market research shows our visitors see us as a safari park and our staff call us a park, so it’s time we called ourselves one!

While we’re working towards a full name transition by late 2021, from today onwards you can refer to us as Monarto Safari Park.

As a conservation charity, the last thing we want is to create unnecessary waste which ends up in landfill, which is why we’ll we’ll be rolling out the name change in a way that reduces the impact on the environment.

With this in mind, please bear with us as we update our signage, replace uniforms, and bring the name change to life over the next two years.

Grab your ticket or Zoos SA membership today.

Tickets Membership

Frequently asked questions

We’re excited to be transforming from Monarto Zoo into Monarto Safari Park, the largest safari park that will exist outside of Africa.

Complete with a first-of-its-kind luxury resort and glamping facilities, Monarto Safari Park will offer longer visits and a range of new and wild safari experiences in an area known as Wild Africa including open-sided vehicle tours through herds of roaming animals and a huge walk-through lemur habitat.

The $40 million accommodation development is made possible thanks to a private investor, who will build and operate the resort and glamping facilities, giving our visitors the extraordinary opportunity to experience a luxury sleepover at Monarto Safari Park for the first time.

Key announcements include:

  • A luxury resort to be completed by 2022
  • Glamping facilities
  • Conference and function facilities
  • A new Visitor Centre and world class entry to the park

The accommodation development will compliment the new safari experiences which include:

  • Open-sided vehicle tours
  • A huge walk-through lemur habitat in an area known as Wild Africa

Monarto Zoo will be re-branded to Monarto Safari Park.

The new Visitor Centre will open by late 2021.

The new Visitor Centre will be on the northern side of the park in an area that is currently off-limits, and a new entrance will be constructed. We will advise entrance details when the new centre opens. The current Visitor Centre will continue to be available for visitors and also education programs.

The new accommodation facilities and wild safari experiences will be built and operated in an area known as Wild Africa, a 560ha property which adjoins the existing Monarto site and is adjacent to the existing African Lion enclosure at Monarto.

Get completely immersed in the sights, smells and sounds of the savannah as you travel across the open plains through herds of animals seemingly free to roam – safari style! You’ll enjoy an unforgettable off-road safari in Wild Africa at sunset and escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

The luxury accommodation will be funded with the help of a private investor and the Federal and State Government has provided funding for our new Visitor Centre.

That’s right. As part of the redevelopment, we’re building a first-of-its-kind luxury resort and glamping facilities to be completed by 2022.

Sleep nestled in the wilderness under a blanket of stars or retreat to luxury after a day of exploring the park. The expansion includes a luxury resort, conference, function and restaurant spaces, as well as luxury eco-glamping facilities.

We anticipate you’ll be able to book directly with our resort operators or through the Zoos SA bookings team.

Our valued members will continue to enjoy unlimited free visits to Adelaide Zoo, Monarto Safari Park, and most major Australian zoos for 365 days a year. Like any of our experiences, members will have access to members prices and discounted experiences within the park.

Just like you need to purchase a Lions 360 ticket or any of our special animal experiences, you will need to purchase an additional ticket to enjoy our safari and accommodation experiences.

Our hope is that our safari and accommodation experience guests will leave changed, having found a stronger connection to nature and its habitats, knowing that their visit has made a meaningful difference because we are a non-for-profit zoo-based conservation charity.

Yes, all existing tickets and vouchers issued with the old name will still be valid in accordance to the specific date shown on the ticket/voucher.

We anticipate that Monarto Safari Park will become a multi-day experience, combined with overnight accommodation, dawn, dusk and daytime tours.  We already encourage our visitors to spend a day at Monarto as there is so much to see, so with more experiences available, it will be a challenge to complete all in one day.

No, absolutely not. There’s always something to see and do at Monarto Safari Park. Where else in Australia can you hand-feed endangered species like rhinos, be knee-high to a giraffe, step into the heart of the lion’s den and get within clawing distance of the most fearsome cats of all, or experience the ultimate heart-racing luxury of arriving at the zoo via helicopter before enjoying a three course lunch? Nowhere!

To coincide with the expansion, we’re changing our name to Monarto Safari Park to reflect who we’ve been for the past 26 years, where we’re going, and the experiences we’re creating for our visitors.

Our market research shows our visitors see us as a safari park and our staff call us a park, so it’s time we called ourselves one!

While we’re working towards a full name transition by late 2021, from today onwards you can refer to us as Monarto Safari Park.

As a conservation charity, the last thing we want is to create unnecessary waste which ends up in landfill, which is why we’ll we’ll be rolling out the name change in a way that reduces the impact on the environment.

With this in mind, please bear with us as we update our signage, replace uniforms, and bring the name change to life over the next two years.

A small fee per night per room will be added to each accommodation booking which will directly go to our conservation activities. The revenue from the additional safari experiences will be invested into improving facilities at both Monarto Safari Park and Adelaide Zoo.

This project has been supported by the Australian Government and the Government of South Australia.

AustGovt_logo

 

Accessibility and Fitness Levels

Basic: Basic terrain, suitable for all fitness levels*.

Intermediate: Walking upstairs, getting in and out of high vehicles and walking on uneven terrain; suitable for intermediate fitness levels.

Advanced: All day tour, which includes laborious work, getting in and out of high vehicles, walking upstairs and walking on uneven terrain; suitable for Advance Fitness levels.

* Not all basic Behind the Scenes are wheelchair friendly.

Keeper Hayley made this incredible Pygmy Blue-tongue cake for the #TSBakeoff, complete with the spider burrows thes… https://t.co/jTG6sWpSmS

About Zoos SA

Zoos SA is a not-for-profit conservation charity that exists to connect people with nature and save species from extinction.

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Contact Us

Monarto Safari Park,
Old Princes Highway,
Monarto South, SA 5254
Tel: (08) 8534 4100