Morialta Conservation Park: Can I see wild koalas in Adelaide?

If you want to see wild koalas in Adelaide, head to the Morialta Conservation Park. Pure SA runs walking tours in this Adelaide conservation park.

What is the Morialta Conservation Park?

The Morialta Conservation Park in Adelaide is one of the best places in Australia to see koalas. It’s possible to take a guided walking tour at Morialta with a guide who knows where the koalas hang out. To reserve a spot on this Adelaide wildlife walking tour, head this way.

The Morialta Conservation Park is 533 hectares of pure loveliness, around 10km north-east of Adelaide city centre. Crucially, this Adelaide conservation park is still within the city boundaries. Morialta the sort of place where Adelaide residents go for a bushwalk, but tourists don’t tend to know about. And it should be near the top of the list of things to do in Adelaide.

Top Adelaide hotel recommendations

For the beach: Oaks Glenelg Plaza Pier Suites. For families: Big4 West Beach. Most fun: Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets. For setting: Oval Hotel. For heritage: Adina Apartment Hotel Adelaide Treasury.

wild koala in Adelaide at Morialta Conservation Park — The Morialta Conservation Park is the best place to see wild koalas in Adelaide. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Wild koalas in Adelaide at Morialta Conservation Park

It’s also a haven for native wildlife. Take a look up a silvery-barked gum tree, and you’ve got a good chance of seeing a sleeping koala. Morialta Conservation Park is not a zoo, either – these are wild koalas in Adelaide, a city of over a million people.

Morialta takes the shape of a gorge. From the bottom, reaching the higher trails that skirt around the top seems rather daunting. But once some good, old-fashioned shoe leather is put to good use, the task doesn’t seem nearly as tough.

Morialta Conservation Park has a network of trails criss-crossing it, many of which lead to the three Morialta Falls. They can be combined in a mix-and-match route.

**15 fabulous Adelaide experiences to supercharge your visit**

DOLPHINS 🐬: Swim with wild dolphins, kayak with the resident bottlenose pod or watch them on a dolphin cruise.
FOOD AND WINE 🍷: Indulge on Adelaide food tour including Adelaide Central Market. Or try a wine discovery tour with tastings at the National Wine Centre. Or the ultimate Penfolds Magill Estate experience with full estate tour & Grange tasting.
WILDLIFE 🐨: Spot koalas on a guided Morialta nature hike. Or walk from Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty with entrance to Cleland Wildlife Park.
CRUISES ⛵: Watch the sun set on a twilight coastal cruise, get to know the city on a Torrens River cruise or take a high tea cruise aboard the Popeye.
SPORT 🏏: Dare to take on the Adelaide Oval Roofclimb or enter the fabled scoreboard on the behind-the-scenes stadium tour.
ACTION 🚵‍♂️: Descend Mount Lofty on a downhill mountain bike tour or kayak along the Torrens River.

Bird species in Morialta Conservation Park

Mike Bartram, who runs Pure SA’s bushwalking tours to Morialta, says 74 bird species have been recorded within the park. Some of the more endearing species, such as black cockatoos, rosellas and kingfishers, are easy to spot. The photogenic quartzite rock walls hem them into their urban oasis.

Bridges cross the creek beds, although they’re hardly necessary on a hot November day. The waterfalls, which pour freely in the winter months, reduce to a trickle. Little rock ledges in the creek bed become handy seats for a breather rather being thoroughly submerged.

Pick your perfect Adelaide day trips

Barossa Valley tours: 1. Wine-tasting with lunch 🍷. 2. Food and wine tour. 3. Small group wine tour with exclusive VIP tastings.
Kangaroo Island in a day – including sea lions 🦭, koalas 🐨and national parks.
Adelaide Hills tours: 1. Sights plus Murray River lunch cruise combo. 2. Small group cheese, chocolate & wine tour with Hahndorf German village.
McLaren Vale tours: 1. Small group wine tour with lunch. 2. Hop-on hop-off wineries tour 🍷. 3. Food and wine indulgence tour, including the gloriously weird d’Arenberg Cube.
Victor Harbor and southern highlights tour – including the Granite Island horse-drawn tram.

History of Morialta Conservation Park

That such a respite from the city exists is down to John Smith Reid, who agreed to donate part of his land for a public reserve in 1911. Four years later, Morialta was declared a National Pleasure Resort. Now it is a perennially popular escape for the people of Adelaide when they want to burn off a few calories or enjoy the fresh air.

Morialta Conservation Park walking tours

Few visitors know about it though, and it shows the rewards reapable from branching out of the city centre. It’s easy enough to visit Morialta without a guide, but Pure SA’s half day walking tours cost $118 if you’d prefer the company of an expert eagle eye.

Other activities to try out at the end of a Melbourne to Adelaide road trip include climbing the Adelaide Oval, mountain biking tours from Mt Lofty Summit and swimming with dolphins. There are also several excellent museums in Adelaide CBD.