A day on Safari... sort of

A few weeks ago Bug and I drove down to my dads house and the three of us went to a wild animal park. It isn't like a zoo where all the animals are locked in small cages. It's hundreds of acres where the animals roam free. The lions, cheetahs and bears are separated from the zebra and giraffe of course! You drive your car along a gravel road and can stop and look at the animals from a distance. Occasionally you get a close encounter from an Emu wanting a closer look.

I hadn't been in years, but this was Bugs second trip with grandpa. A couple years ago while he was staying with Grandma and Grandpa they watched the movie Madagascar and decided to take Bug to the animal park the next day.

On that trip the Rhino's were a little too close for Bugs comfort. Unfortunately on this trip they were sleeping in the shade a long way from our vehicle so I couldn't get a good shot.

There were however many other animals to look at and take pictures of. First up, the lions, they were behind a fence this time, when I was younger there was no fence, just a guard telling you to keep your windows rolled up!

The Bears put on a "show". It was awesome to watch them play in the water.

I didn't get a nice close picture of the Giraffe, there was a young one eating on tree branches.

We almost missed these little guys as we drove past. They were perfectly still as they sunned themselves on logs.

The Elk and deer were resting in the shade.

My picture doesn't do this pretty guy justice. He was really gorgeous.

Unfortunately the Cheetahs were not in good photography range. The Hippos were under water, but we did get to see their heads for just a minute as they popped up to take a breath. It was interesting how many people didn't have patients to wait and watch the animals. They would drive around us, hurrying to the next animal. In doing so they missed some pretty cool sights.

When we were done with the driving tour we stopped at the "village". They have some Flamingos there, Bug was in awe of their color and the way they with their heads hidden on their backs.

They have a Koi pond with Monkeys on an Island in the middle. Bug was able to feed the fish and some pushy geese.

They also have an area where they show off the elephants. As we fed the fish, we heard the elephants coming and were lucky enough to have them walk right past us.

Three of them walked trunk to tail. They were so impressive. There is something about their eyes..... with all of those wrinkles.

It was a really fun day, we stopped for bagel sandwiches on the way home and then Grandpa filled our Jeep with plants.