What an amazing day! Allison and I left the house early for our fun day at the Wild Animal Park. Our Photo Caravan tour didn't start until 10:45, so we had some time to explore the park first.
The baby is only 3 weeks old!
At 10:40, we boarded our truck for our very VIP tour of Africa and Asia. There were about 15 people on our truck along with a very knowledgable tour guide. After some quick dos and don'tswe ventured into Africa. We were able to sit or stand the entire trip and experience all of the sights, sounds and bumps along the way like on a real safari.
The first animals we spotted were these gorgeous rhinos resting in the sun. The driver stopped the truck for about 10 minutes to let us just observe their normal actions. They weren't even phased by all of our talking and movement.
Oryx at the feeding station.
It wasn't long before we spotted these breathtaking creatures. Giraffes were coming at us from every direction eager to try to get a leaf out of our truck. This baby was squatting down to get some water. We learned this is a very vulnerable position for them so they don't do it often.
Allison and I were just in awe as they kept coming closer.
Each of us got a chance to feed this giraffe a handful of leaves. Allison was even lucky enough to get a handful of giraffe slobber!
The birthday girl even got a 2nd handful to feed!
As we left Africa, I was amazed to see this male looking out over the whole enclosure protecting the other giraffes. Even though there is no danger inside the gates, they can still smell the lions and follow the same behaviors they would in the wild.
Then it was off to Asia for more rhinos. Unfortunately, they wouldn't come close enough to the truck for us to feed them apples, but we did get quite a few great shots of them.
On our way back to the loading station, our guide let Allison "safari surf" the rest of the way back.
Happy 8th Birthday Allison! I had a great day with you today.
