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If you are wanting to see kangaroos in Australia then there is only one place to go – The Kangaroo Sanctuary Alice Springs! This was my absolute favourite place in Australia and the highlight of my 7 week sabbatical in Australia and New Zealand. We even missed our trip to King’s Canyon to go here (long story!) but it was 100% worth it.
History of The Kangaroo Sanctuary Alice Springs
Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns aka Kangaroo Dundee established his baby kangaroo rescue centre in 2005. His passion for wildlife rescue began whilst working as a tour guide, where he found a kangaroo lying in the road. He discovered that although the kangaroo had sadly died, she had a tiny joey in her pouch that was clinging on to life. Brolga saved that little kangaroo baby, who became the first of many.
During the early days, Brolga was living with his family of kangaroos in a tin shack in the bush. In 2011 he then created a 188 acre wildlife sanctuary for the kangaroos that couldn’t be released back into the wild. Soon, he was approached by the BBC about making a documentary about his life and work with the kangaroos. The documentary was called Kangaroo Dundee and was a huge success broadcast worldwide.
Fast forward to today, and Brolga and his partner Tahnee have successfully built Central Australia’s first Kangaroo Rescue Centre. It is here that the animals are rescued, rehabilitated and then released back into the wild. Many of the kangaroos, much like that first little joey, are orphaned due to road collisions. Brolga and Tahnee’s mission is to educate the public. The tours of their sanctuary help to educate visitors, as well as provide valuable funds to support their ongoing work.
Guided Sunset Tour
After being picked up by bus and driven a short distance from our hostel, we arrived at The Kangaroo Sanctuary. Our tour was hosted by Brolga himself who greeted us all and told us all about his work with the kangaroos. He asked if anyone had watched his show ‘Kangaroo Dundee’. Naturally there I was fangirling at the front having seen all of the episodes.
We were shown around parts of the sanctuary and I remember another visitor gushing to me that it was like being on the tv show, which it totally was! We were even shown inside Brolga’s tin shack where he lived at the start of his ‘Kangaroo Mum’ journey.
Even though the sanctuary is large and dusk was setting in, there were plenty of kangaroos to be seen. During the tour we met some young kangaroos that needed to be bottle fed. I was one of the lucky two tourists chosen to bottle feed. Imagine how excited I was!
No one missed out though – when we first met Brolga, he was carrying a baby kangaroo in a bag, a little joey named Hope. Everyone on the tour was given the opportunity to hold Hope and take some pictures.
If you’ve seen the Kangaroo Dundee television series, then you may be familiar with a roo named Roger. Roger was one of Brolga’s many rescues after his mother was killed in a car accident. He went on to become the alpha male at the sanctuary and became famous online for his stature. Brolga himself is 6ft 7, with Roger being even taller!
For our safety, Roger was contained in a fenced off area during the tour. However we were privy to watching Brolga join Roger on the other side of the fence and subsequently Roger trying to fight him. Sadly, Roger has now passed away at the grand old age of 12.
If you are visiting the Northern Territory then you must stop by The Kangaroo Sanctuary Alice Springs. I promise you will not regret it! Advanced booking is essential as the sunset tours only run on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Bus transfers are also included.
If you want to know more about Brolga’s life as a Kangaroo Mum then you can read all about it in his book Kangaroo Dundee.
