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Lion Country Safari Review
4/13/08- We ventured down to West Palm Beach this morning to visit Lion Country Safari. This is another one of those places that you might know of, but never have found the time to visit. Let me tell you now before I even start. Find the time. The drive down was right at two hours even with a stop for gas. When we arrived at the admission gate to get our tickets the attendant explained the various rules for the drive through safari. First and most important was that everyone must keep their windows closed at all times. There were several others and then he told us that he had to look for any items in the bed of my pickup (You will understand later). He also gave us a CD that will guide you through the park as you drive along (You give the CD back at the end of the tour). Then we made a pit stop at the bathroom as it takes about an hour and a half to drive the length of the four mile preserve. There also is a snack stand where you can purchase drinks, snacks, film, and other things you may have forgotten. I cannot begin to list all of the animals we saw on the tour, but I will provide some highlights.
The first part of the tour was an area that contained several species of animals from South America. Now be forewarned. You will be inclined to stop and gaze at the animals which is great since mostly everyone else will be doing the same, but if you move a little bit to the side then those that don't want to stop for every single animal will greatly appreciate it. Trust Me. The rest of the preserve is broken up into six areas dedicated to the varying habitats present in Africa. The immense size of each area is impressive as the animals have a huge area to roam and interact with each other. There also is absolutely nothing to keep the animals from walking right up to your vehicle with one exception. The lions are enclosed in a tall wire fence to keep them safely away from the vehicles and to keep you safely away from becoming a play toy for the pride. The staff at the park is very serious about the "Keep your window up Rule" We saw several speakers placed throughout the lion area and wondered what they were for until we heard an unseen voice warn someone to keep their windows up. We could also hear the lions roar while we drove by. We did not have any close encounters with the animals until we neared the end of the Serengeti Plains area. It was there that we came across a line of stopped cars and could not figure out why no one was moving. After several minutes of slow progress we saw that an almost full grown ostrich was standing in the middle of two rows of cars and was inspecting every single vehicle that passed. We were the first truck in line and when he approached the truck he looked directly in at us and then stuck his head and neck in the bed of the truck looking for anything interesting. It took him about twenty seconds to figure out that there was nothing there then he moved on to a truck that was behind us and did the exact same thing. It was instantly apparent why they check the beds of trucks at the admission gate. Just past Inspector Ostrich was a group of adult Eland that decided right then would be a good time to cross the road. Once again we waited as these very large antelope walked across the road on their way to graze in another area. Seeing these animals up close was exhilarating and both of our kids were bouncing off the back seat trying to take it all in. Next up was a group of White Rhino's and a herd of Zebra. The kids were a little bit nervous about the rhinos (I really did not tell them that the rhinos would come up and stick their horns through the truck. Honest.) as they tried to see which one of them could get the farthest away from the sides of the truck. Fortunately none of the rhinos even glanced at us as we drove by and the kids settled down as I got "The Look" from mom. Next up was a group of Chimpanzee's that consisted of males and females of all ages. The last group of animals in the preserve was a small heard of Giraffe complete with several babies. Then it was time to hand over the informative CD at the exit gate and drive over to the parking lot for Safari World.
Safari World is the walk through attraction at Lion Country Safari. It is also included in the price of admission when you pay for the drive through safari (You can also drive through the preserve again before you leave at no additional charge). Plan on spending a couple of hours to fully enjoy Safari World as there is plenty to experience. We headed straight for the paddle boats for Mom and Ethan to take a spin around Lake Shanalee. There is also a deck boat to take visitors for a short ride around the islands in the middle of the lake inhabited by several different animals. Close by is a very fun putt putt course near the paddle boats and everyone enjoyed that diversion. There are also three amusement park type rides ( The Carousel, The Flying Elephant, and they even have a Ferris Wheel). There are opportunities to feed some lories in an enclosed aviary and there is an elevated giraffe feeding platform. Both of these attractions have very much in common with the same type of attractions we have locally at the Brevard Zoo. You will attract a ton of attention in the aviary, but beware of the very loose umm presents the lories may leave with you. Do not be surprised if you do not get a chance to feed a giraffe on your first visit to the platform. Be assured that since the park is not that large, it is easy to stop by for several chances. Also, at least the giraffes were in view each time we stopped by the platform which is something that may not happen elsewhere. One of the highlights for both kids was the very spacious water play area called Safari Splash. With 23 interactive water functions there is plenty to keep everyone's kids busy when there is a need to take a break from the South Florida climate. There is a snack bar right next to Safari Splash with quite a large menu. We had a couple slices of pizza to hold us over until later, but we were very tempted by the ice cream and funnel cakes (Never met one I didn't like). Something I forgot to mention. When visiting you are more than welcome to bring your own food and there is a large picnic area located near the entrance to Safari World. We always bring a small soft sided cooler filled with water, fruit, and snacks whenever we go anywhere which keeps us from spending $$$ on these items so that we can spend our money on actual meals. Anyway, after spending about 30 minutes at Safari Splash we headed over to the Petting Zoo for some classic barnyard interaction (Do not insert your favorite sheep joke here). Just past the Petting Zoo is a very cool maze made of shrubs that we spent quite a bit of time wandering through trying to hide from each other. There also is a small train ride (The height limit for the train ride is 48") for small children. There are many small exhibits around this area of the park and as well as an Animal Demonstration Theater (We did not get the chance to see any of the demos today). By now the kids were getting a bit testy and we headed over to the main restaurant called "The Main Restaurant". We were surprised by the extensive menu which had something for just about anyone. There is a decent sized seating area and a gift shop in the same building. After exiting the gist shop we headed for the Nature Walk and the Koi Pond before leaving the park. We came VERY close to driving through the preserve again, but it was the last night of Spring Break and both kids and grown up's needed to get home. There is not much else I can say about Lion Country Safari except I think it is well worth the drive and price of admission for a full day of animal encounters and fun.
Don't forget to check out "Ethan Says" just below the photos!
Photos from Today
Ethan Says
The paddleboat was fun, but my mom got hot. Putt putt was very fun. We heard lions roar and saw a lion chewing on a bone. I saw an ostrich looking in our truck. I can't wait to go back.
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