Sunday, July 20, 2014

Enjoy a Day of Family Fun at African Lion Safari!

When I was growing up in Toronto, Summers were filled with a lot of Family time and never-ending things to do. As a child, I remember going to African Lion Safari and having the animals within arms reach (no, we didn’t touch!) and the baboons climb all over our cars. The memories are so fond that I wanted to provide the same opportunities to The Kids. In turn, for the second year in a row, we headed to African Lion Safari.

Open from May 3 to October 13, African Lion Safari is located just over an hour drive from Toronto. The wildlife park is nestled in the middle of nowhere and contains over 1,000 exotic birds and animals of more than 100 different species. For 45 years, lions, giraffes, rhinos, zebras and more animals have roamed in one of seven reserves along 9km of safari trail. While you can drive your own vehicle through the reserve, my favourite part of the whole day is the educationally guided, air-conditioned Safari Tour Bus.

It gives you plenty of time to take pictures and not have to worry about hitting any animals. Which are everywhere and they don’t follow road signs. Note that sometimes the baboons leave and/or take “presents” from the cars.

African Lion Safari is recognized around the world for their conservation initiatives and breeding efforts with the Asian elephant, cheetah, white rhino and giraffe amongst others. In fact, this year, they had the birth of Canada’s first giraffe born by artificial insemination. “Safari” has been introduced into the herd and is living in the reserves. Unfortunately, her species is endangered with less than 1,100 individuals in the wild.

There are more than enough activities to fill an entire day and some! Activites include; Safari Bus Tour, Performances, Elephant/Pony ride; Elephant swim, Drive through the Game Reserve, Waterpark, Jungle Playground, Scenic Railway, Boat Cruise, Pet’s Corner. It’s hard to see everything and last year we didn’t get a chance to go to the Pet’s Corner or see all the birds, bats and tortoise so we made a point of visiting this year.

The Kids loved getting a chance to get right in the pen with the goats and to say that they were friendly would be an understatement. We stayed until we ran out of quarters for food to feed them.

Considering how much The Kids love trains, we went on the Scenic railway (again) and spent a few hours in the Waterpark.

The park also has a huge Food Court with lots of meal choices. It makes my day easier and it’s a treat for The Kids to buy something. I like that The kids pizza meal had a milk option and came with a lunchbox keepsake for them to keep. The best part is that you can eat your lunch (purchased or brought) at one of the many shaded picnic areas and even watch the Elephants Swim at the same time. As long as you don’t mind getting a bit wet!

If you’re looking for something to do with the whole family this Summer, African Lion Safari has something for everyone and is a must visit! There is so much to do and so many amazing picture opportunities. And no excuses because you can enter to win an African Lion Safari giveaway!