Monarto Safari Lodge opens, completing park’s luxury transformation
Glamping facilities are now open alongside a five-star resort at Monarto Safari Park.
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A much-anticipated “glamping” accommodation option has officially opened at Monarto Safari Park.
The first guests arrived at the Monarto Safari Lodge over the Easter long weekend, completing businessman Gerry Ryan’s $40 million vision for the park seven years after he first invested in it.
Each of the 20 luxury safari tents features ensuite bathrooms and stunning views across the park’s Wild Africa precinct, populated by giraffes and zebras.
A central lodge is home to a restaurant, gym, swimming pools, a pickleball court and an outdoor lounge.
The new facilities complement the award-winning, five-star resort which opened nearby last year.
“We set out to create something that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Australia, an all-inclusive safari lodge where you can experience Africa’s most magnificent wildlife without leaving the country,” Mr Ryan said in a statement.
“The luxury lies not just in the accommodation and world-class dining, but in the complete immersion: watching a tower of giraffe from your private deck, looking out to the horizon and seeing zebra graze, knowing that every moment has been designed for you to connect deeply with nature.
“This is the kind of transformative experience that guests travel halfway around the world for, and we’ve brought it home to South Australia.”
State Tourism Minister Emily Bourke described the lodge’s opening as a game-changer for the industry in SA: “A world-class luxury experience that positions our state among the world’s most sought-after safari destinations”.
The new lodge offers the height of luxury. Photos: Journey Beyond.
Monarto Safari Resort general manager Andreas Huck said lodge guests would experience the height of luxury, with meals, wellness facilities and a sunset safari tour included – “And if you’re so inclined, you can also pop over to the Safari Resort and enjoy the facilities of the day spa.”
Packages also included a multi-day pass to Monarto Safari Park, he said.
The accommodation offerings will provide valuable funds to Zoos SA for the combined conservation effort of zoos and parks across Australia, of which Monarto is a part.
Zoos SA chief executive Phil Ainsley said it was important to connect people to the natural world in ways that were comfortable, exciting and safe.
“Every person who stays here contributes vital funding to our conservation work with critically threatened native species such as the plains wanderer, the Mallee emu-wren, the red-tailed phascogale and the many African species that now call Monarto home,” he said.
“Conservation only occurs when we collaborate and when communities come together.
“We have a simple goal: visitors leave with a greater knowledge and connection and at least a tangible action they can take away towards conservation.”
The Safari Lodge accommodation is for people aged 16 and over, with younger children welcome in all other areas of the park.
- More information: monartosafariresort.com/safari-lodge.
