Lion Country Safari

It took us a decade, but we finally made it to Lion Country Safari, the premier local attraction. Even though we did camp in the adjacent campground a couple of years ago, that was a "vacation-planner-camping" visit and we didn't pay extra to tour the park, although we did hear the lions from our tent. I thought it would be nice to have the option to do only the "adventure park" or the drive-through safari, but they are a package deal. (If you want to wait until an hour before closing, it is possible to get a small discount for a drive-through only experience. We had to leave by 2 PM, so that wasn't an option this time.) Buying our tickets through AAA helped defray the cost, but this is still something you need to budget for ahead of time. After spending a few hours there, we had explored most everything, but not all, and since this didn't count as our "official, cross-it-off-the-list" visit, we will be back someday!

After producing our pre-paid tickets, we were off to drive through the animal habitat. This took close to two hours; the speed limit is pretty slow, and there are also plenty of places to pull over and stop to watch the various animals. We saw the lions (the only animals behind double fences), several varieties of antelope, zebras, giraffes, rhinos, primates and lots of birds. Most animals stayed far away from the vehicles, but not the ostriches. We got pecked a few times!

Once done with the drive, we parked and went to explore Safari World! Included in our admission were the rides - a flying elephant ride, a carousel, a mini train, and paddle boats - and a short boat tour to see more monkey islands, along with some animal displays and a couple of waterpark-type slides and features. For an additional cost you could feed the giraffes or birds. In addition to picnic tables scattered throughout, there were options to buy food. We'll try the main restaurant on our next visit, but this time we brought a picnic lunch.

 

It was a beautiful day, and fortunately not too warm. The boys still wanted to play in the water, and I imagine during our hot summers an annual pass might be worth the money, just for the waterpark area. We're glad we had such delightful company to help us experience Lion Country Safari for the first time.