The Jungle

We have been talking about visiting the zoo for some time. We wanted to show K how big an elephant was in real life and provide some context to the pictures she has seen in books and on TV. We made the 3 hour trip this weekend and K was excited to have her big sister join us at 'the jungle',

We started the day early, leaving home at 6.30am. By 10.30 we were at the zoo, prepared for some walking ahead of us.

We headed early to the African Savannah which was a good move by S. We were able to see the largest animals before the crowds got too big.

K enjoyed sitting on the rails when she could to watch the animals. I think she felt a bit closer to them. She enjoyed less those animals behind large fences or barriers.

The morning of our visit K woke up and the first thing she said was, "Are the lions going to eat me?" I hope the zoo visit has given her a bit more of an understanding about zoos in general and how animals are housed / cared for.

 

 

This orangutan was K's favourite. It played with a big blue tarp like a superhero's cape. She also hasn't stopped talking about the pink bottoms of the baboons!

Look how tall I am.

Horse rides of any sort are always fun.

And numbat rides.

The playground was small and didn't cope too well with the school holiday crowd.  K waited to climb the small fort in the background up the one ladder. She waited patiently whilst 20 or so other kids pushed in, with shirt fulls of sand, climbing the ladder to pour the sand down a pipe. She copped more than a face full of sand whilst waiting at the bottom of the ladder. When she did get up to the top, she realised she had no chance of getting back down the busy ladder. She took a good look at her options then took a risk at the fireman's pole. She's never been down a pole as big by herself and after a bit of uncertainty hanging from the top (what the heck do I do now), she made it to the bottom - much to Mum's relief.

 

We didn't get around to seeing everything during the day. Mum was unwell and by early afternoon, we were ready to call it quits. I'm happy though that we made it to our first zoo experience, and one that we can build upon over the years to come. Thanks big Sis for making the day fun and so much easier for all of us. K loves spending time with you and you are a great role model in her life.