Sometimes you are invited to attend an event which is just too good to turn down. Being asked to attend a BedBUGS Sleepover in the BUGS Exhibition at London Zoo with Hexbugs was such an amazing opportunity, I was fully prepared to head the 120 miles into London to be involved!
So along with
Helen from The Crazy Kitchen and our two girls, we headed to Regent's Park, and armed with torch, sleeping bag and PJs made our way to the BUGS enclosure.
BUGS is home to a collection of species...locusts, dung beetles, leafcutter ants, spiders, rats and cockroaches...and it was our home for the night!
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| Getting to know our new neighbours! |
We got to meet a Tarantula named Polly in a meet and greet encounter!
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| Kizzy wasn't too impressed by the Tarantula. |
The children were given a
Hexbug and had the opportunity to play together with the impressive Hexbug habitats. These bugs were far safer than some of those behind glass, although the scurrying was very similar. They are great fun and kept the kids entertained.
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| Hexbug....a safer kind of bug! |
We went for a great torchlight tour of the zoo in the dark. The lions were rather curious as a group of journalists, photographers and bloggers peered at them through the darkness. The aardvarks got very excited by their unexpected visitors and acted like over zealous puppy dogs, trying to sniff us and lick us with their huge snouts and ridiculously long tongues! Monkeys viewed us with suspicion...it was a very different experience than exploring the zoo by daylight.
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| The girls ready for action! |
After getting ready for bed (using the public toilet block...not glamorous!) and listening to a story, we made our beds ready for sleeping on the floor. Thankfully Kizzy had a fabulous Hello Kitty Sleeping Bag from HGL that she had been sent to try out so she was sorted for the night.
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| Hello Kitty Sleeping Bag by HGL |
I was pretty jealous of her fleecy, snug and cosy sleeping bag and we loved the girlie design and the good size. It squishes up really small into its carry bag making it really convenient to pack and carry. We were glad to have it with us on our indoor camping experience!
She slept well, meanwhile I was shivering under my pathetically thin sleeping bag with my legs hanging out, battling insomnia! I heard the lions roaring in the distance...that felt really exotic at 3am. However the buzz from the locusts was not as appealing a sound, nor was the humming of the air con!
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| My sleeping buddies! |
As the sun rose at 6.30am we were woken up for breakfast followed by a early morning tour of a few more exhibits including Penguin Beach and Rainforest Life. It was a beautiful autumnal morning and it was lovely to have a walk around before the crowds descended!
The Rainforest Life exhibit was amazing. The animals were all very active and curious to see us there so early. The anteater came for a close look. He was so adorable!
We also loved the bats, the naked mole rats and the Emperor Tamarinds with their handlebar moustaches! The free roaming animals made it a really exciting experience. Tamarinds hopped over your head and birds flew freely around the enclosure.
The Penguin Beach Exhibit was a fabulous habitat for the zoo's collection of penguins. The girls particularly loved the glass viewing area which made them feel like they were floating in the penguin pool.
We had a fantastic experience at London Zoo with Hexbugs. Not many of the million visitors that visit the zoo annually, can boast that they have spent the night lying on the floor of the bug house...I feel most honoured!!
