OAKVALE WILDLIFE PARK REOPENS TO THE PUBLIC

OAKVALE WILDLIFE PARK REOPENS TO THE PUBLIC

Published 1 Jun 2020

Oakvale Wildlife Park staff and animals were full of smiles and excitement today (Monday 1st June) as we reopened to the public.

With the doors opening at 10am this morning guests were welcomed into the park and were surprised with some wonderful makeovers along with 3 new calf’s, 1 baby donkey, 13 new lambs, 3 baby guinea pigs, 7 little chickens and 3 new piglets where were all born during the closure. Located on 25 acres there is ample space for all guests to enjoy what they have on offer while still practising physical distancing measures. Oakvale have implemented a COVID 19 Safety Plan in line with the government guidelines, so you will see a few changes when guests arrive at the park to ensure the safety of their visitors, staff and animals.

Owner Leanne Sansom said: “There was much anticipation this morning with the doors opening, the staff and animals were delighted to see cars arriving prior to our opening time. When we opened our doors this morning at 10am our hearts melted with the kind words of support and encouragement from the visitors entering the park. The excitement on everyone’s face from young to old bought tears to our eyes. Being allowed to open the doors to the public has not only given our business a new ray of hope it also provides our community with a safe and open area to spend time with nature.”

Oakvale Wildlife Park closed their doors on Wednesday 25th March 2020 due to the government’s response to COVID-19 and for the last 67 days, since closing the doors to the public, they have been busy performing makeovers and improvements to the enclosures, kiosk and grounds. The staff have worked tirelessly during this time to give the park a new facelift along with spending quality time with our animals.

Business Development Manager Elyss Larkham stated: “We recommend purchasing tickets online to ensure a quick and easy check-in once you arrive, however, tickets are still available for purchase upon arrival at the kiosk. Due to the rules and regulations, we do require guests to provide their name and contact phone number upon entering. We still have animal encounters available to be booked however these will need to be booked in advance.”

At the commencement of opening rather than encouraging large gatherings of people by having Animal Keeper Talks they instead are having lots and lots of keepers and volunteers roaming the grounds with animals and providing extra guest experiences to keep everyone entertained, informed and educated.