Just an hour’s drive from Sydney, nestled into the gorgeous Central Coast hinterland, we discovered Iris Lodge Alpacas. The family-owned and eco-friendly property is home to over 100 alpacas, llamas and baby doll sheep and open for visits.
We love animal encounters and particularly enjoy participating when its on the animal’s terms. At Iris Lodge Alpacas the animals are free to come and go as they like. Whether they choose to engage or not is up to them. They are highly food motivated, so if you have a bowl in your hand you are fairly assured of a friend, until the bowl empties of course!
If you’re looking for a family-friendly weekend or school holiday activity, this one will be popular with all ages.
Iris Lodge Alpacas review
We had fun meeting both the alpacas and llamas at Iris Lodge Alpacas but we have a soft spot for the llamas. As Sean, the owner of Iris Lodge Alpacas, says, llamas are calmer. They seem a little more genteel compared to the alpacas. Not that we didn’t have fun with the alpacas, they are just a bit more feisty. To be honest, it’s not unlike the personality difference between Braeden and Amelia. Braeden is definitely more alpaca-like and Amelia is our quieter llama.
I’m not sure they’d like that analogy but it’s true!
The Alpaca Meet & Greet experiences are relaxed and although there were quite a few people in our group on the Saturday we visited, we could easily find our own space on the property to take photos and enjoy the serene environment.
Along with being chief server, Sean educates visitors with facts and figures about the alpacas and llamas. We left with many facts ready for any trivia night, including, llama ears are shaped like a banana, there are 22 colours of alpaca fleece (it’s also hypoallergenic) and alpaca teeth have no nerves.
Those with a big appetite tend to hang around the shed where the food is served and where the guests are eagerly holding bowls filled with feed. Some even cheekily take a self-serve approach.
Others hang back and prefer to live a quiet life further away from the action and are happy to be admired from afar.
No matter their personality, both the alpacas and the llamas are extremely photogenic so make sure to take your camera or have your phone fully charged. It’s hard not to leave with a camera roll full of lovely shots.
Accessibility on the property is mixed and is better suited to power wheelchair users. We were travelling with Braeden’s manual wheelchair with its regular tyres and we had no difficulty traversing the pathways or the paddocks. It should be noted that Braeden is light at around 59kg and we were visiting after a couple of weeks of dry weather.
Accessible parking is marked and located at the entrance to the property.
Even though the pathway is made up of small stone/gravel we found it surprisingly manageable. Braeden’s off-road tyres or a power wheelchair tyres would make it a smoother ride for the wheelchair user.
Although there is an initial frenzy of activity both by the visitors and the animals, there is plenty of space in the paddocks to find your own little area to peacefully enjoy your time.
Gates and pathways are all a good width for accessibility for wheelchair users.
An accessible bathroom is available at the entrance of the property.
The team at Iris Alpaca Lodge are keen for visitors with a variety of access needs to have detailed information on the property’s accessibility and have produced a detailed guide.Â
We were hosted for our visit but as always our opinions are our own. If you are visiting the Central Coast or keen for a lovely day trip from Sydney or nearby, we highly recommend spending some time with the alpacas and their calmer neighbours, the llamas. The Alpaca Meet & Greet experience would also make an awesome birthday or Christmas gift.
