An African Safari is coming to Chester Pass Mall

From next week, families can get up close and personal with lions, gorillas and baby elephants at Chester Pass Mall – all thanks to the wonders of augmented reality technology.

To celebrate the school holidays, Chester Pass is taking its customers to the heart of Africa to play with a lion pride, a silverback gorilla and a baby elephant – with no quarantine necessary. For five days only from October 6th, Virtually Wild will bring an immersive safari experience to Albany.

The covid-safe school holiday activity will let families learn and explore using augmented reality technology, allowing users to see and interact with hyper-realistic endangered animals through a screen. Gesture recognition software will allow users to ‘touch’ and engage with the animals, as well as snap a selfie with them.

M Group Properties Director, James Collis, said, “We are so excited to bring our Virtually Wild program to customers to help bring smiles to their faces towards the end of what has been a challenging year for so many. This interactive experience will share important messages about conservation, while providing a fun, free experience in a covid-safe environment. We can’t wait to see the community rubbing shoulders (or tails) with these incredible African animals.”

Each private session will last for ten minutes, with up to 4 participants per session. Sessions will be available continuously from 9AM to 3PM from Tuesday October 6 until Saturday October 10. Bookings are not required, and queues will be managed for social distancing.