Cleland Conservation Park

Cleland Conservation Park was established in 1967 with the name ‘Cleland Wildlife Park’.  It is in the Mount Lofty ranges, on the slopes of Mount Lofty.  Mount Lofty is the highest point in the Adelaide Hills.  It is only 710 Metres (About 2330 Feet) high, so it is not a huge mountain by any standards.  It is not the highest mountain in South Australia.  Australia generally is a low continent and lacks the high mountain ranges of every other continent.

Cleland ConservationPark is within easy climbing distance of the Mount Lofty Summit.

The Cleland Conservation Park was established to give people a glimpse of the amazing wild life of Australia.

Animals at Cleland include several species of Kangaroo, Koalas, Wombats, Emus, Cape Barren Geese and Tasmanian Devils; as well as a wide variety of other mammals, birds and reptiles.

There is a good café connected to the souvenir shop.  As well as the usual Chinese made ‘Australian’ toys, the shop has a good number of genuine Australian things, including many that are very educational.  There are picnic and barbeque areas.

Cleland Conservation Park is involved with the propagation of endangered Australian Animals, and caters for over 20,000 students each year.

Although Cleland Conservation Parkwas set up by the South Australian Government it is now operated as a commercial enterprise, and entry fees are charged.  Guided walks are available, and in the summer, night time tours are run occasionally.

Most of the Animals in Cleland Conservation Park are ‘free’ within the open spaces of the park, and visitors can wander among the animals.  Some of the animals are confined to smaller areas, so, for example, the deadly snakes are securely contained, and you cannot cuddle a Tasmanian Devil!

The dingo is the wild dog of Australia.  Charles Darwin in 1859 listed the Dingo as one of the two native Australian to have been domesticated (The other one was the Budgerigar).  Charles Darwin was wrong.  The dingo is not a native Australian animal.  The Dingo was introduced as a domestic dog many thousand years ago.  It has gone wild and has been part of the mainland (and some island) fauna of Australia for a very long time.

Cleland Conservation Park has a colony of Dingos.  It is very securely fenced to separate the Dingos from the public.  Dingos are not totally safe with humans, and there have been cases of people being killed by Dingos.