Walking with Yookamurra's Bettongs, Bilbies and Numbats

Join us for a guided walk in the mallee, either during the DAY with the birds and numbats, OR at NIGHT spotlighting for bettongs & bilbies!

Yookamurra Wildlife Sanctuary is an Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) property located just under 2 hours northeast of Adelaide in the Riverland region of South Australia. The property has a 1,100ha feral predator free area that has allowed the reintroduction of locally extinct mammals including Numbats, Bilbies, Burrowing Bettongs and Brush-tailed Bettongs within the fenced exclosure. Yookamurra also hosts some of the best stands of intact rare old-growth Mallee in south-eastern Australia – including many trees estimated at over 600 years old. 

Event Details:

Morning Walk:
10am - 12pm
Friday 4th October 2024
$15 per person

We are offering the opportunity to participate in a guided morning walk (~2 hours) through Yookamurra's mallee. You will learn about the semi-arid environment and the species and habitats AWC protects at Yookamurra. You will get to see scat, diggings and, if you're really lucky, you may spot a Numbat!

Spotlight Walk:
8pm - 10pm
Friday 4th October 2024
$20 per person

Alternatively, you can participate in our evening spotlight walk at Yookamurra (~2 hours). This event will start with a chat about the species present at Yookamurra and our work to conserve them. Then, we will go for a walk through the mallee, using spotlights to look for Bettongs, Bilbies and Possums.

Important Information: 

• Visitors must arrive 15min prior to the event start time and park outside the visitor gate entrance. You will be met by the guide at the gate and will walk in.
• Wear enclosed footwear, long pants and a long-sleeved top.
• Bring a water bottle, hat and sunscreen (for the morning walk), snacks (if required), a head torch or handheld torch (for the night walk) and a rain jacket (if necessary).
• Ensure you purchase the correct ticket for the day or night walk.
• Toilets and potable water are available.
• Mobile reception may be limited on the roads approaching and at Yookamurra.
• These animals are locally extinct outside of the fence and thus, the opportunity to see these animals living in the wild is very special. However, since these animals are wild, we cannot guarantee you will see them. We will do our best to see them by minimising noise and using high-quality long-range spotlights.
  
• The walks only require a moderate level of fitness. They are around 3km in distance at a slow pace. The walks are flat however, the ground is often uneven due to our digging animals! 

Location and Directions:

Yookamurra Wildlife Sanctuary, 745 Yookamurra Road, Fisher SA 5354

Enter 'Yookamurra Sanctuary' into Google Maps or follow the directions below.

Directions from Adelaide to Yookamurra: (The most direct route is outlined in detail below, however you can also via Mt Pleasant and Sedan to the south)

1. Follow the Sturt Hwy/National Highway A20 north of Gawler for approx. 62km (you will travel through Truro) then turn right onto Halfway House Road.
2. Follow Halfway House Road for approx. 13km then turn left onto the unsealed Pipeline Road.
3. Follow Pipeline Road for approx. 11km then turn right onto the unsealed Yookamurra Road (you will see the predator-proof fence and an AWC sign on the right). The Yookamurra ‘village’ is 0.2 km from the Yookamurra Road.
   
4. The entrance to Yookamurra will be on the right-hand side of the road, approximately 200m south of the turn off. It is identified by the road number sign of ‘745’.
5. Just before the gate you will see an area to park in. 
6. At the gate, you will see a lever/ button to the left of the gate that connects to our UHF radio channel 9; please depress lever and speak into it, to let us know you have arrived, and someone will be down to let you in.