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Welcome to Carleton, a hidden gem in New Zealand's beautiful North Island. This page is your ultimate guide to exciting experiences and fun things to do in Carleton and its surrounding areas. Whether you're an adrenaline junkie or seeking leisurely pursuits, we've got you covered. From breathtaking hikes and stunning nature reserves to thrilling water sports and cultural exploration, Carleton offers a wide range of options for every adventurer. So, pack your bags and get ready for an unforgettable time in Carleton, where excitement awaits at every turn. Start planning your next adventure today!
Apart from the ape exhibit most of the enclosures are fairly basic, but there's an honesty that's appealing about 'Orana Park'. I get the imoression that everyone at 'Orana' ie workers and volunteers alike are passionate and truly care about the park and its animals. The animal zoo talks were enjoyable particularly the lions. And you can feed the giraffes for free or get closer to the lions or feed the lemurs for an extra fee. It was great having the shuttle transport available too.
Very well thought out space for the animals. Allow plenty of time, the animal feedings were we'll worth the visit. Loved the giraffes. The Lion enclosure was extra, but too see them up close was amazing. Highly recommend visiting Orana Park.
We spent 5 hours at Orana. Had a fantastic time getting close (behind barriers) to animals and a highlight was feeding the giraffes. So much to see and do. NZ is very spoilt to have Orana.
First of all I booked the wrong day! And the helpful people at reception had no problem getting me in when I showed up. Thanks loads! Had heaps of fun it's great being able to interact with the keepers and see them feed the animals.
It was a unique experience, the animals are much closer to us as there are no bars confining the animals. They have space to coexist. And even though we had to walk a lot, it was a lot of fun and the stroller they rent us at the entrance to carry the child is very functional.
I love how awesome this place is with very close encounter with the animals and feeding! I would like to compliment the team there, they are lovely, friendly and so helpful! Shoutout to Cass, Pauline and the Rhino guy from Israel (sorry I don’t think we even asked him his name), and the lady at Farmyard! I have learned so much from them! Thank you very much for a great day!
We spent over 5hours in the park and still didn’t see everything, had an absolutely amazing time, the gorillas were breathtaking, the giraffes so elegant and the meerkats so cheeky Loved it
I've been to animal parks and zoos all over the world, but I keep coming back to Orana because it's just so much more special, the conservation/breeding efforts and the respect that they give the animals allows them to live in the best possible conditions (while allowing the public ample veiwing). This park is the best example of how wild animals should be kept outside of the wild (and before anyone said that wild animals should only be in the wild! Loss if habitat makes that no longer an option!)
I had an enjoyable time with the wildlife, taking in this rare experience of the open park. I sat down with 'Fuzu', the gorilla and watched the antics of the meerkats. Don't go with the idea of completing a race circuit in record time but allow yourself a couple of hours to take it in. Families of all ages can follow the presentations in the pamphlet or design their own! You will go away feeling good, especially if the weather plays its part.
There is alot of amazing animals. A fun day.
I’m not a fan of zoos in general but when one makes it it’s mission to rescue and preserve endangered species it gets a big tick. The volunteers and employees are the backbone of this place and they really care about the animals. Highly recommend a visit to this open range zoo and spend big in the gift shop so they can continue to do their important work.
It was awesome to be able to feed the Lemurs and Giraffes
It was a good experience for our family. Mike is an excellent pilot with lot of experience. We saw snow mountains and sunrise which are extremely beautiful view
Wow what a fantastic wildlife park, we thoroughly enjoyed our morning there, highly recommend a definite must do in Christchurch ?
A special day, loved seeing Gorillas, feeding a Giraffe and the all th other animals. The bus ride around the park is very informative and I suggest you do that right around first. The food at the cafeteria was very good as well. Great day had by all.
Absolutely amazing an the staff are equally awesome very helpful and would answer any questions would highly recommend
Orana wildlife Park was absolutely amazing! We went at 1h30pm and wish we went earlier. There is so much to see and do. The Cafe has this beautiful view over the Giraffes and Rhinos while you enjoy your lunch. The staff were friendly and helpful especially on the shuttle. We will definitely be back!
Me and my family really loved it it was so cool awesome zoo totally worth it and highly recommend this place if your looking to take your kids here do it they'll love it
We purchased our tickets online through book me, with our focus being the native birds, especially the Keas. On arrival we were informed the Kea enclose was closed due to the introduction of a young Kea being introduced. Expressing our disappointment, the team at check in, rang the keeper and confirmed the did only two keeper talks a week and one was later that morning. We were lucky with our days as it allowed us to view several exhibits before the talk in the enclosure, where the Kea had an enrichment feeding. Being the only talk was it was crowded, but the Kea where very close. At the end we asked the keeper when she was feeding the native birds and she said straight afterwards. We headed to the walk-through native bird aviary and as strangely we were the only people in it with the keeper, it spent ages as my wife had a great time photographing birds as they came to feed. If you want to see the Kea ring and check if/when talks/enrichment are on.
Well worth the money. Great food at the cafe
Wish we had more time for the lion cage
Visited Orana Park yesterday with my girls and we had a blast. Beautiful, sunny day for it (plenty of shade around the park.) Got in early at 10am to beat the lunchtime crowd but I'd recommend timing your visit a little later as most of the animals were still sleeping or hadn't had their morning coffee yet. Zzzzz..... Speaking of coffee, one star off for the very weird tasting latte (sour milk? ... Maybe Yak milk?)
amazing went to change to yearly pass but noticed they run june to june so will look at it in june :)
Such an awesome experience! I definitely will be returning. Best advice is to make sure you get there early and make the most of it. That was my mistake coming late we missed a few cool experiences because the park is so big with so much to see and do
I went to this park on a rainny day but had a great time with my family. It was actually easy to find some animals as they were sheltering together from the rain ;-) Free shuttle service,friendly staff and most of all all the wildlife was so lovely and amazing! Worth spending a day by following their feeding schedule. I thought we would stay for about 3-4 hours from 10 am but literally left after 4pm. My top 3 there was very quite Otters, Gorillas, and Tasmanian devils♡♡♡
Amazing animal encounters, got to feed the giraffes and see animals I never knew existed. Amazing staff, awesome cafe and so many close up experiences. Would highly recommend!
Love to see the animals living in a safe and protected haven. You get to stand so close to the wildlife and observe them as if you are on a safari adventure! Love the cafe and the information provided by the helpful rangers. Would love to visit more frequently in future =) Thank you for the great work in sustaining this place.
fantastic place to visit very friendly staff , orana park very well looked after
I would've liked to have given a 5 star, however there were a couple of issues. One is accessibility both to get to the park and back and also getting around the park. There really should be a bus that goes to the park and back to town that doesn't cost $40 each way if you haven't got a car. I know that's more a NZ transport metro issue. Now there is a shuttle and I was also offered a wheelchair however the shuttle only stops at certain points and to get to some enclosures it means you have to backtrack or walk down more pathways. Hence I didn't get to see all the animals up close because of all the walking. The path to me doesn't seem wheelchair friendly unless someone had an electric wheelchair. Lots of gravel and slopes. There was a Lil bit of rubbish in the gullies and some parts looked overgrown. It's hard to see the lions through all that fencing. Mind I didn't realize there was another spot around the side for them. I'd say that it was hard to see some animals up close which I guess the good thing is it means lots of room for the animal to roam. You definitely need a good camera to get good photos. On the other hand it was really amazing to see the gorillas and feed the Giraffe. I was lucky cos one decided it would come over after many missed out on feeding them. And the staff are nice. My hot chips weren't cooked properly in the Cafe and the Chai the Cafe uses doesn't taste good. May need to change it. It was a nice day just sad I didn't get to see all and be involved in all the feeding times due to walking. Thanks
We really enjoyed it! We fed the giraffe! Was awesome
My young children ages 6 and 3 loved their outing. We were lucky to board the shuttle early on to see the whole park and help us decide which animals to spend more time at. The giraffes, barnyard and gorillas were our favourite. Great to interact with the gorillas for some time.
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