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Published: December 28th 2010
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Tree of Life
This is on Discovery Island and had animals carved all around its base.. the entire tree is a model.. Very, very cold is the only way to describe it. There was no wind today and the skies were clear and bright blue....but regardless of the picture postcard appearance, it was bitterly cold. The photos will give testament to that.
Today around midday we got to Disney's Animal Kingdom...this was the one that Sandy was dreading taking me to as she expected complaints and comparisons to Africa. Well, was she surprised - and to be honest so was I. Where Epcot attempted to emulate the real thing and failed, the safari drive here in the Animal Kingdom was really pretty good. Yes, its completely artificial and there were antelope mixing that never could geographically in Africa, but it was a damn good copy and very well done. Fantastic enclosures...huge multi acre blocks, and while captivity is not a good option, if you are going to be in captivity anywhere this is the place.
The drive is a good 15 minutes, with regular brief stops for just a few seconds here and there for photographs. They also run a silly little poacher scenario through the middle of it but this is aimed at education as opposed to entertainment. What we
Tree of Life..
..a closer look at some of the carvings.. saw included hippo, baboon, kudu, eland, giraffe, rhino, elephant, thomsons gazelle, warthog, water buck, sable, ostrich and three cheetah lying in the sun. You can drive all day in Africa and not see this much so for those who haven't travelled around Africa this is a good (and significantly cheaper) option.
They have built an authentic East African village (it is more of a township) which is described as one of the most challenging projects Disney has taken on. It is also very good, just missing the wild dogs, free range chickens and street hawkers...also just a little too clean. But again really good.
After that was the Pangani Bush Walk and this was also really well done. They have an underwater viewing facility for watching the hippo swimming and this was amazing. There was lots of fish in the water as well so was fascinating for the kids and adults. Further on through this and there are two large enclosures for Lowland Gorillas. These were just fantastic. One enclosure had a family group of either 5 or 7 of which we saw two females, one with a young baby. The second enclosure had a bachelor group of
Happy campers..
Kids hyperactive and no blue slushy involved this time.. 4 young males. These were out in the full sunlight and very active, occasionally play fighting, chasing each other or then just sitting around chewing on bamboo. This was brilliant. Given the problems they have in their natural habitat, enclosures and operations such as this are what best ensure the survival of these species.
Wandered through a few of the other attractions from Africa and then went into the Asia section. This is also very well done and has great enclosures for the Tigers and a walk through aviary. Many of the animals were staying inside as it was just too cold for them.
At 5.45 we went to the days last session of the Lion King production they do here, a 20 or so minute music and dance show with amazing props, trapeze artist / gymnasts, costumes and all the well known songs from the movie. Caitlin was just entranced with the whole thing and took in everything. Really well done.
Came out into the dark and even colder. Wandered down into Dino-Land USA, just cos we told the kids we would and they had a ride on one of the attractions there and then, despite
Male Sable..
Old favorite from Zim.. their protestations, we left just after 7 pm.
The car parks here are enormous!!! It is very fortunate that our rental has a locator button on the remote because in car parks as wide as the Serengetti, it is amazing how many white Chryslers there are in there.
Another first was getting back to the apartment without getting lost or delayed...back here by 7.30.
A good day, no thrills or spills but good fun and lots to see and do. The guide book we have used says that this is a one day venue...I think we will break with that and return amongst our remaining days here.
Did I mention that it was cold!!!
Oh, and minor point...there are no polar bears here!
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JB/Nana
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Nostalgia
Hi Guys Looks like a fun day. Caitlin and Reuben about ages with you and Karen the first time we took you to the Game Park in Zim Michael. It looks fantastic and a great range of animals to have seen. There will be stories to be told when you return home. I can't imagine how much the kids are enjoying all of this.They are having a feast of adventure and excitement. I hope Reuben wasn't too disappointed that you didn't do the sales again today.!!! Take care & continue to enjoy!!!!