Anyone been to the Australian Reptile Park up near Gosford recently ? I know they had a huge fire there a couple of years ago, and have rebuilt. Is it worth going back to visit ? It must be at least 4 years since I've been there. I remember they had a couple of great Tassie Devil enclosures back then, and one was quite restless - so we got a good view of them wandering around their enclosure (I think it was mating season). I know they aren't reptiles, but it stuck in my mind okay ?
the fire at the reptile park .... as much as I enjoy visiting reptile parks whenever I can ( we dont have any snakes in NZ -- even the zoos cannot display them ) , I feel sorry for the fire fighters that would have had to confront a lot of hot angry and potentially lethal venomous snakes there ! At the largest incident of the type in NZ zoos ( an elephant managed to walk out of the enclosure unaccompanied by its keeper ) the police made a very wide cordoned off area , and was not going to argue with an elephant ( even though the zoos elephants are docile )The Police told the zoo it was their responsibility to deal with the elephant , if they didnt want it shot ! How do Australian police / firefighters deal with the above sort of situation for their own safety ?
Given that firefighters generally wear very thick protective clothing - I'd imagine even an angry Taipan wouldn't pose that much of a threat (unless the firefighter was very unlucky). Not sure what their containment policies would be in this sort of situation ... you certainly don't want a family of Inland Taipans out and about in the Sydney area.
I'm sorry for digging up this old thread but I was just on their website and it looks like a great place and I was amazed by the amount of exotics that they had. I was wondering if anyone has visited and could give a good review?
Haven't been there for years - it's been on the to-do list for a long time, but we never seem to get there. I enjoyed my last trip (before the fire!) ... which was probably 9 years ago now. I'll mention it to my wife and schedule a trip in sometime in the next few weeks ... it's only 90 minutes up the road - and it will give me another chance to play with my camera
I visited back in 2001, and was very impressed. Highlights include a large lagoon near the entrance with numerous alligators reminiscent of an Everglades swamp. The inside house (rebuilt after the fire) is very good, with a large collection of native and exotic species. Of note: very large alligator snapper, rough-scaled pythons, rhino adder. Several classic outdoor pits with local species of lizard - beardies and blue-tongues. Mixture of other native species - dingo, flying fox, koala, emus, kangaroos etc. Behind the scenes is the venom production units with loads of death adders and funnel webs, but also the off-display housing of reptiles. Saw my first (and only) pair of Boelen's pythons. All in all, a very nice park.
I'm planning a visit to Aust. Reptile Park in a few weeks time. I'll try to give an up-to-date report then. But that's not why I'm posting............. I've been checking the status of large exotic pythons in Australia on ISIS and it seems to me that Aust. Reptile Park doesn't report to ISIS. Anyone know whether Aust. Rept. Park is a member of ARAZPA? Don't all members of ARAZPA automatically join ISIS?
Ara, If you join one of the Sydney reptile clubs in the next week or two, then you get free entry to the Australian Reptile Park on Sunday December 7 when the ReptileSocieties hold their Christmas Party there. There will be behind-the-scenes tours, the croc will be fed, and the big retic will probably be fed too. Hix
ARP are members of ARAZPA. ARAZPA and ISIS are separate organisations and there is no requirement for membership of one to join the other.
I've just gotten back from the Australian Reptile Park. It's still quite good, i used to love it as a child, and it didn't disappoint upon return. Plenty of snakes and spiders and other reptiles to check out, as well as a large amount of birds, small mammals/marsupials etc. However, i think it could do with some more crocs! They only have the one big one, Elvis, and a bunch of American Alligators. Having said that, the Alligator enclosure is excellent; an enormous body of water with >10 Alligators enclosed. The things i love about the ARP include: - The hands on approach of the Zoo. Today i fed adolescent emus, a bunch of Roos of various sub species, and had a chat with a young Wombat and his Keeper who were just sitting on the grass in the shade. - The brilliant work they do with anti-venoms and research on anti-venoms. If you read the signs, apparently they're one of (i believe it actually said the ONLY) provider of anti-venom for snakes and spiders in Australia. - The rehabilitation work they do, and appear to have always done from the start. There's evidence of it all around the Park, great to see. Anyway, i've always been a huge fan of the ARP, only an hours drive from my house, i think it's great!
Absolutely they do, i saw it today. It was very active when i was watching, moving around quite a bit.
I think you mis-read the sign. There is a large facility outside of Adelaide that supplies a lot of snake venom (including many exotic species). However, I believe ARP is the only supplier of spider venom in Australia (although The Australian Venom Zoo in Queensland might be getting in the act these days). Hix
Hehe, there's a very, very good chance of that I knew it said sole supplier of something, haha. Well thank you kindly for the correction.
