Jamala Wildlife Lodge: luxury zoo accommodation

The Jamala Wildlife Lodge was opened in November 2014 as part of the National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra, Australia. It is Canberra’s ultimate overnight and safari hotel with the opportunity to interact with a range of animals in the zoo.

The National Zoo & Aquarium on the banks of the Molonglo River next to Scrivener Dam was established as a small native wildlife park. The current owners, Richard and Maureen Tindale purchased it in 1998 with the aim of transforming it into an extended sanctuary with breeding and animal exchange programs. In 16 years it has grown in size with the addition of the Jamala Wildlife Lodge on the zoo grounds. It is the only private combined zoo-aquarium in Australia.

Within the Jamala Wildlife Lodge is the main reception with a terrace that overlooks the zoo, and a downstairs “cave” restaurant – where sometimes the animals come to look at the guests eating their meal.

The Lodge is luxuriously decorated with African artifacts and art. There are three accommodations options: (1) seven rooms inside the main lodge with a shark tank, swimming pool and spa, (2) six Giraffe Treehouses with views of the adjacent giraffe enclosure, and (3) five exclusive Jungle Bungalows that have been built within the habitat of lions, bears, or cheetahs.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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