Going Wild at Knowsley Safari

We were invited to visit Knowsley Safari, a 550 acre park located in the North West of England, and home to over 700 animals. We were given the opportunity to ride their Baboon Bus with a guided safari tour and discover everything that Knowsley Safari has to offer adventurous families.

Knowsley Safari offers an interactive experience for animal lovers where you can come face to face with the free roaming animals, have lions block your path and watch as baboons hitch a ride on your wing mirror. Anything can happen! In addition to the drive through safari, Knowsley has an amusement park, a walk through Wild Trail, Sea Lion Encounter, Bat Forest, play area, Flight of the Talons and much more to explore. It is a full day out for all the family.

Our first port of call was a ride in the Baboon Bus with a guided safari tour. The bus goes all around the drive through safari route including the infamous baboon enclosure, where the cheeky monkeys get up close and personal with the vehicle. The tour guide was a very friendly and bubbly Liverpudlian lass who regaled us with facts about the animals and the safari park as well as some zoo related anecdotes and general chatter. We actually learned a lot of really interesting stuff in a fun and entertaining way, and although I am not usually a fan of audience participation, she was very engaging and made the tour enjoyable.

It was very busy and quite hot when we took the tour so the bus got quite stuffy, especially when the windows were shut in the carnivore and baboon enclosures, so remember to take some water and use the guide book as a makeshift fan!

As it was so warm a lot of the animals were sleeping and not very active, but we had a great view of snoozing lions, rhinos and other animals. The baboons were, however, super active!  They leaped on the top of the bus, using the windscreen wipers as climbing aids as they scaled the windows. It sounded like they were having a real party up there!  From our window we saw other cars crawling with baboons large and small. The mums with babies were particularly wonderful to see. Some monkeys left little presents on the roofs of the cars. Seeing monkey poo on someone's nicely polished car made Freddy laugh his head off! Toilet humour never fails to impress my boy. Before exiting the enclosure, the baboons on our roof were encouraged off and dozens jumped down and scurried away, which was quite a sight.

After our Baboon Bus experience we went for lunch and were pleased to see veggie burger options for both adults and children in the restaurant. The restaurant was clean, reasonably priced and efficient and the fast food meals we had were not at all bad.

Following our lunchtime break we went to the amusement park where we bought Freddy a wristband allowing him and an accompanying adult on all the rides, which included a swing ride, a kids' rollercoaster, dodgems, a carousel and other similar rides. While Ian and Freddy amused themselves with that, my girls and I went to the Bat Forest. The walk through enclosure was dark, but our eyes quickly adjusted allowing us to view the spectacular Egyptian Fruit Bats in flight and hanging around. They buzzed past our heads, flying around us. Quite an experience! We also got to see the lovely sealions in their pool, which we loved.

It was at this point that the heavens opened and it absolutely poured down with rain. So we made a dash back to the car to do the safari drive through in our own car. We had been supplied with a Go Pro to record our trip around the animals, but as it wasn't waterproof I had to film through the window, which was being pounded by torrential rain. Needless to say, the Go Pro videoing was a bit of a disaster.

As it was much later in the day and cooler, the animals were more active and lively. We saw lots of varieties of deer, antelope and cattle and came face to face with a huge camel that ran beside our car. The lions were up and about, fighting and crossing in front of the queue of cars. Unfortunately, we were a few cars back and didn't get a real close up of the beautiful big cats. Our favourite moment was when a rhino walked out in front of our car and stopped right in our path. He looked a bit agitated and rocked from side to side and we were slightly concerned whether he was going to charge at us. But the reason for his agitation soon became clear when he raised his tail and did an enormous poo on the road right in front of us, before turning and sauntering nonchalantly away. True to form, Freddy was in fits of giggles at the steaming pile of rhino dung!

We decided to brave the baboon enclosure in our own car, deciding that the risk of having a wiper or trim pulled off was worth it for the fun of having monkeys on our roof! However, the wet weather subdued the baboons and they were all sat huddled up under the cover of the trees, not at all interested in hanging off our car. It was a shame, but we enjoyed seeing the monkeys cuddling together against the cold, looking so humanlike!

Knowsley Safari has been awarded the 2015 Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor. Until September the 4th you can get 20% off the price of entry when booked online, which makes the cost £13.20 for adults and £10 for children. The baboon bus costs an extra £5 per person and the amusement park wristbands cost £10 for unlimited access or £2 per ride.

It is a full day out for families and we really had a great day...in spite of the torrential rain storm!

www.knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk

A Family Day Out at Chester Zoo

On Saturday, with the shine shining, we set off for a family day out at Chester Zoo courtesy of Superbreak.  Superbreak offer pre-bookable fast track ticket and hotel packages so you can enjoy a brilliant day out at one of the UK's top attractions knowing you have a comfy hotel room waiting for you.  Perfect for a sunny weekend or for the summer holidays!

Chester Zoo is easily accessible from Jct 14 of the M56 or Jct 12 of the M53, and is set in 110 acres of landscaped grounds.  It is home to a range of over 400 rare, endangered and exotic species of animals, which are housed in large enclosures.  There are some great exhibits including the Realm of the Red Ape where you can see the family of Orang-Utans at play.  There is also a monorail and waterbus for anyone wanting a more leisurely way to get around and see the 11,000+ animals.

With our Superbreak ticket we were able to jump the queues at the ticket kiosks and head straight into the zoo.  Armed with our map we were ready for our zoo adventure.

As soon as you arrive through the gates, you can see just how well maintained, spacious and modern the zoo is.  There are lots of open spaces, beautifully landscaped areas and well kept animal enclosures.  The paths are well signposted so it is easy to find the exhibits you want to see.  Animal welfare is of utmost importance, and the world class enclosures provide the best environment for the animals to live in, whilst providing some up close encounters for us to enjoy.

There are Zoo Rangers on hand around the zoo giving talks, plus you can watch some of the animals being fed.  A trip to the zoo isn't just about entertainment, it's also about education.  Freddy learned lots about animals and their environments, what they eat and how they live.

We headed straight to the Fruit Bat Forest as Freddy was quite keen on seeing the free flying bats.  Being a big fan of superheros, he wanted to feel like Batman in his Bat Cave.  It is very dark in the exhibit and the sensation of bats flying past your head is quite a thrill!  Freddy was very brave and spotted some of the huge Fruit Bats hanging upside down from their perches.  He did complain that they were a bit smelly though!

The Realm of the Red Ape was wonderful.  The brilliant exhibit has lots of interactive displays and information about the Indonesian forest and its inhabitants. The huge enclosures provide lots of space and lots for the apes to do.  We spent ages watching a mother and her young baby play with a sackcloth blanket, hiding themselves and then peeping out.  It made Freddy giggle to watch their antics.  There were also snakes in the exhibit in glass fronted enclosures.  Freddy enjoyed spotting them among the plants and branches.  They were definitely his favourite of all the creatures he saw!

Around the grounds are some statues - perfect for photo ops!  The life size models gave us an idea of the size of the Komodo Dragon and a newborn elephant calf.  There is a lot of attention to detail around the zoo with models, pictures and information boards to keep the most curious of young minds occupied.  There was a zoo ranger who was talking to the kids and comparing the skulls of a human with those of some apes.  It is so interesting to see the similarities between us and other animals.  There is also a craft stand where children could make animal pictures using their handprints.  There is an exhibition called Hot Pink Flamingoes - Make Change Not Carbon, which includes a trail around the zoo.  It raises awareness of climate change.  Plus you can learn about UK gardens, bees and birds with Bloom - celebration of UK wildlife.

On such a sunny day we were grateful for so many places to just sit and relax in the sunshine.  The grass is all so beautifully kept, meaning there is lots of room for the kids to run around or to have a picnic.  You can even hire deckchairs!

Freddy absolutely loved the play areas.  The Fun Ark is a great place for little ones to let off steam and play in the big themed area.  Wherever Freddy goes, it is the playgrounds and play equipment that he enjoys the most, and he was most impressed!

For lunch we headed to June's Pavillion where we were pleased to find veggie burgers, chips and salad on the menu.  A Family Meal Deal costs £25 and you get 2 adults meals, 2 kids meals plus drinks.  It's not bad value at all and the portion sizes were big.  You get plenty of fresh salad to add to your burger, which was nice.

The self-service restaurant is very spacious, very clean and has several different counters offering different types of food to suit most tastes.  There are several other outlets and kiosks around the zoo and they even offer a homemade picnic service, where picnics are made to order.  You can even add some fizz to your lunch by ordering a bottle of champagne!

Freddy went for a monkey faced pizza for his lunch, priced at £4.95.  He really enjoyed it and it was freshly baked to order.

After lunch we were back to the animals.  The girls all love Giraffes and we spent quite a while simply watching the family of giraffes as they wandered around their enclosure, occasionally stopping for a bite to eat or to scratch their necks on the door frame.  There were some young animals alongside some much larger ones, including one that stood over 4.5 m tall.  There is an enormous height chart on the door to their pen so you can see how tall they are when they walk past!

By far, my favourite exhibit was the elephant enclosure.  The Asian Elephant herd includes two very young infants, Bala and Hari, who are cousins.  They are so adorable.  The younger elephant Bala, born in January 2013, is such a little livewire!  From throwing dirt to chasing a family of ducks who had landed by the water hole to falling over a log, Bala kept us totally enthralled with her antics. She was so much like a human toddler in her behaviour and her mum kept a watchful eye on her little calf!

We were surprised to discover that one of the elephants at Chester Zoo is the same age as Ian, and they can live to be 70 years old.  They are such majestic creatures and it is great to know that Chester Zoo have launched the Asian Elephant Conservation Programme to help villagers and elephants live in harmony in India and reduce the conflict between them.

The Painted Dog enclosure is great.  We were privileged to see a family of incredibly rare African Painted Dogs, which are almost extinct in the wild, just after they were fed.  They were very active and had such beautiful colouring.

The chimpanzees were on top form on their island home, but we were a little grossed out by the antics of one of the monkeys who took a rather large interest in his own bodily functions. Someone should let him know that bodily waste is not meant to be played with or eaten!! 

The zebras, buffalo and antelope were all magnificent.  The unusual aardvark and the tapir were wonderful to look at up close.  The big cats were sunning themselves lazily.  Some animals had managed to hide themselves away from view, but on a whole we got a good look at all the animals we wanted to see.

It really was a great day out and we all had a fantastic time together enjoying what Chester Zoo had to offer.  It is such a beautifully kept zoo with so much to see and do.  We didn't get to do everything on offer and somehow missed the Spirit of the Jaguar exhibit completely.  That'll be first on our to-do list next time we visit, because we will definitely go again!

Find out more about Chester Zoo at www.chesterzoo.org or book a Chester Zoo Superbreak and enjoy a short break with hotel and fast pass tickets!

West Midlands Safari Park - Our Review

We have only ever visited safari parks in the summer so when we received tickets from MoneySupermarket  to visit West Midlands Safari Park for their Wild Winter Safari we couldn't wait to discover this whole new experience.  So on a beautiful, clear, crisp winter's day, we wrapped up warmly and headed off for our safari adventure.

We were greeted by cheerful characters, Christmas trees and fake snow.  Festive music played keeping everyone in a Christmassy mood.  Santa has his own grotto with a workshop full of toys and helpful elves.  It's magical!  You can meet a cuddly meerkat and ride on Santa's sleigh adding to the magic of the season.

The fun fair is closed for the winter giving the walk-around area a calmer ambience.  There is lots to see on foot.  The African Village has free roaming lemurs, families of meerkat and friendly goats.  We loved the  village's attention to detail.

The lemurs in Lemur Woods were running around,  jumping from the branches of the trees and scurrying along the fences, acting naturally within the freedom of their woodland home.  We enjoyed the antics of the cute, cuddly Madagascan acrobats.

The meerkats live in enclosures with glass sides so you can see them clearly.  They were cuddling together to keep warm which delighted the children!  Everyone watched mesmerized as they stood up and looked around.  Kizzy swears one was dancing to the Christmas music.

The Goat Walk is a lovely hilltop area with free roaming goats who just love being petted.  Ella and Kizzy channeled their inner 'Heidi the Goat Herd' and spent ages stroking, cuddling and talking to the characterful creatures who loved every moment of the attention.

In Hippo Lake the huge beasts were dozing at the water's edge.  Discovery Cove has lots to explore.  The Reptile House gave us the chance to try our best Parcel Tongue to the snakes on display.  Twilight Cave was fabulous.  The bats were very active and we watched as one climbed up a branch using the claws at the tip of its wings like little hands.  Small bats buzzed around our heads illiciting squeals from the kids.  The penguins in Penguin Cove looked chilly huddled up together...but I'm sure the Antarctic is much colder!  There is a Sea Lion Theatre show but unfortunately we missed it.

The Lost City Plaza has a selection of shops and a fast food outlet. We enjoyed mince pies and mulled wine. The souvenir shop is perfect for a spot of shopping.  The huge array of cuddly toys proved very tempting!

We really enjoyed the walk around the exhibits and loved being entertained and educated.  

                                         

We returned to our car for the Wild Winter Safari.  The four mile drive-through  is home to more than 600 animals including the UK's only pride of rare white lions.  There are opportunities to get up close to the free roaming animals on the lookout for someone to feed them!  Animal food costs £3 a box and is well worth buying.  Feeding the deer is a really incredible experience for little ones.  Freddy gave us some safety advice before we set off.

It was quite late in the afternoon when we started our journey so it was very quiet so we went at our own pace stopping to watch the animals and feed the deer at our leisure.

Freddy was a bit worried initially about animals "eating our face" or "getting in our car" but soon got over his concerns and excitedly watched as deer surrounded our car hoping for a little snack.

It was magical for the children to feed them,  laughing as they nibbled the pellets from their hands.  Freddy's technique was to drop the food but he still watched excitedly as the animals gobbled it up.

As well as goats, cattle, deer, camels, llama, emu, zebra, rhino and giraffes, the drive through has sections with big cats and wild dogs behind fences.  You get very close to them from the safety of your car. The pride of white lions were spectacular.  Some were play fighting over a twig, just like playful kitties...only bigger!  The white tigers and cheetahs were prowling the fences.  We got a great view of some beautiful exotic creatures.

As the sun set on a beautiful day, we felt really close to the animals who were watching us as intently as we were watching them.

West Midlands Safari Park really is a perfect day out. The animals were very active and happy to approach the car which is the magic of safari drive-throughs.  The experiences that the children had were wonderful and unforgettable.  So whatever the weather, whether it is a sunny, summer's day or a chilly winter day, West Midlands Safari Park is a great venue for a family day out.

We visited West Midlands Safari Park as part of the Moneysupermarket competition to find Britain's best family days out.  Take a look at their site to find great deals on family days out!

Reptile Porn!