Monarto Safari Park, an hour out of Adelaide, has long been one of not only South Australia’s, but Australia’s most underrated tourist attractions.

It is as close to the veldt of Africa as you can get without flying over the Indian Ocean with a staggering 1500 hectares that blend the best of an open air national park with the infrastructure of a museum.

Credit: Frankie The Creative

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There are more than 500 animals on site – pride of place (gettit?) goes to its lions and giraffes but there are also rhinos, black bucks, hippos, chimps, hippos, zebras, hyenas and some buffalo who must be wondering how the hell they got there.

It is best explored by the free Zu-loop bus included in your entry ticket which stops at myriad viewing platforms and there are also 12 kilometres of (safe) walking tracks. Add a bunch of free keeper talks and some excellent animal experiences such as Australia’s only 360 degree lion encounter and you could be forgiven for thinking, ‘how are we going to fit it all in?”

Credit: Journey Beyond

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The answer is simple: stay over. The Monarto Safari Resort is part of the Journey Beyond group – whose other high-end offerings include The Ghan, the Indian Pacific, Salsalis at Ningaloo Reef and the Melbourne Skydeck.

Entry level rooms are the Savannah King and Savannah Twin starting at $285 with Waterhole View rooms from $345. Breakfast is at an additional rate of $40 per person and $25 per child. The vibe is one of high-end glamping on raised platforms with a pair of pools.

Credit: Journey Beyond

But perhaps the best aspect of the Monarto Safari Resort stay is the exclusive experiences – at an extra cost – that are on offer. These take advantage of the fact that African savannah animals are most active at dawn and dusk. The Dawn Wildlife Safari ($135 for adults) sees you setting out at first light on safari truck while the Sunset Wildlife Safari ($165 for adults) is a golden hour meander through 550 hectares of free-roaming herds of white rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs, eland, ostriches and zebras. All with drinks and canapes thrown in.

This article originally appeared on escape.com.au. It has been published here with permission. 

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