If you’re a teacher or camp coordinator weighing up options for your next school camp, chances are your list looks fairly familiar – the usual bushland retreats, the usual activity programs, the usual choice between “adventure-heavy” and “nature-based.” Wirraway Homestead, tucked in the rolling countryside of the Adelaide Hills just an hour from the CBD, is trying to do something a little different: give students a genuine farm experience they simply can’t get anywhere else in a South Australian school camp.

Here’s what makes it worth a look.

A farm experience, not just a bush camp

Plenty of camps offer bushwalks, archery and team games. Wirraway Homestead offers all of that too – but its real point of difference is bringing students face-to-face with animals, land, and a slower pace of life. For many kids, especially those growing up in the city or suburbs, it’s their first time hand-feeding a horse or simply sitting still long enough to properly get to know an animal up close. It’s the kind of experience that tends to stick with students well after the bus ride home.

The only school camp provider in SA offering horse programs

This is a genuine standout: Wirraway Homestead is currently the only school camp provider in South Australia offering horse programs as part of its adventure packages. For schools wanting to give students something memorable and a little unexpected, that’s hard to replicate with a standard ropes-and-canoeing itinerary.

New for 2027: the Homesteading animal care program

Launching as part of the School Adventure Packages, the new Homesteading program goes beyond a one-off animal encounter. Students get hands-on with genuine animal care activities – feeding, handling, and learning what it takes to look after animals responsibly. It’s practical, it’s engaging, and it fits neatly alongside curriculum themes around animal welfare, sustainability and responsibility.

Pricing that flexes with your budget

We know budget is often the first constraint you’re working around, not the last. Wirraway Homestead now offers a three-tiered pricing structure for school adventure packages, so you can select the offering that fits your school’s budget without missing out on the farm and horse program experience that sets WW apart.

Somewhere for your staff and volunteers to actually stay

Anyone who’s organised a camp knows the accommodation puzzle isn’t just about the students – it’s about where your mixed-gender staffing team and parent volunteers are going to sleep. Wirraway Homestead’s Pete’s Place is available, subject to availability at time of booking, as private overflow accommodation for teachers and parent volunteers. It’s a small thing on paper, but it solves a real headache: it gives you a genuine option to offer prospective volunteers beyond a single shared room, which can make all the difference when you’re trying to get enough adults on the bus.

Character-filled accommodation for up to 105 guests

Wirraway Homestead’s bunkhouses and self-contained accommodation suit small-to-mid-sized school groups, offering a warm, welcoming base for students to slow down, connect, and experience something genuinely different from their everyday routine.

The details

  • Location: Strathalbyn, approximately one hour from the Adelaide CBD
  • Accommodation: Character-filled bunkhouses and self-contained options for up to 105 guests
  • All-inclusive School Adventure Packages including catering, accommodation and facilitated activities
  • Pricing: Three-tiered structure to suit different school budgets
  • Staff/volunteer accommodation: Pete’s Place available as private overflow accommodation (subject to availability)

If you’re planning a school camp for 2027 and want your students to come home talking about something other than the zipline, Wirraway Homestead is worth a conversation. Get in touch with our Adventure team on (08) 8388 5234 to find out more or check availability for your preferred term dates.

Watch our school camp video here.