The boys cannot get enough of it Orana Park (http://www.oranawildlifepark.co.nz/), an 10 minute drive from our home and a perfect place to have lunch outside or just to have the boys lose some of that energy. It seems like we have the standard route because they always want to see the “toigers”, “loions”, the giraffes, the cheetas. For some reason, even without them being aware of it, they seems to be attracted most to those animals they recognize from movies such as the “Loion” King and Jungle Book. And it cannot be denied, big cats do have a special appeal.
More recently I started using photo editing software and it has to be said, the pictures do shape up using all kinds of filters an editing tools. Initially dull (usually overlighted) pictures with hardly any color do come out much better. So or you and for the boys here some pictures we took on our last visits.
Hardly ever there we end up missing these beautiful African Dogs most of the time. This time we were lucky and they came walking by right in front of our noses.
After the African dogs we follow the path to see the Osteriches and the Highland cattle. Booth beautiful animals but hey we better hurry up there as the Cheetas are waiting just around the corner.
These beautiful animals have a nice outfit there with plenty of space to do their incredible sprints. Sadly though my crappy equipment does not allow for great pictures of that. By the time the animals are in the lens and I try to shoot the picture, they are well out of sight. This time I was more lucky as one decided it could do with a rest and was kind enough to semi pose for my camera endeavors.
From the Cheeta’s the next stop is the Rhinos, they’ve got a number of them and usually they are too far away for my camera to make a decent picture. This time they we closer by and the result is below. I must admit they seem quite impressive to me every time I see them and I guess the boys will agree with me.
Onwards and forwards, off to the giraffes. And ohhhhhhhhh look at that there is a baby giraffe. They boys get excited coming so upclose in the sheltered accomodation where a mother giraffe “brestfeeding” her young baby. Outside another seemingly mother child couple is feeding itself from the high basket.
For our boys that usually means three real attractions left: the lions the tigers and most importantly the meetkats! Yoiu can’t have a zoo without some descendant of Timon from the Lion King in there. So instead of walking full circle, we decide this time we will cut through half way to go and see the meerkats and off course have some of the inevitable chips that they have been asking for. After that another planned cut through so we can see the lions and the tigers and a walk through the kiwi house.
On other occassions we may take lunch along and enjoy that on the farm yard, where the boys get in contactt with cows, sheep (always great to cuddle op with) the youngest is especially fond of the rabbbits and running around the chickens playing hode and seek.
This time, because it was a somewhat later spontaneous visit (a season pass is highly recommended!) we could leave that for another time when we had some more time before the place closed up.
The inevitable chips was enjoyed whilst crossing the small square towards the Meerkats enclosure and it was great to see that there again, you little meerkat babies were playing around the place. Sadly they were so far away and so small I could not share that precious moment with you.
So I had to stick with the “how to diog a deep whole in two minutes” show put up by one of the showoffs in the front of the pack.
Always great to seee these little animals, and it somehow brings me back to my youth as I remember vividly how the so called “stokstaartjes” (Dutch for meerkat) were one of my favorites on my visits at the Rotterdam Zoo, Blijdorp (http://www.rotterdamzoo.nl/?lang=EN).
Enfin, off too the last to animals to visit
before we call this day a day in the Orana Park.
The lions bu now have a substantial area at their disposal and some of them were just being fed. If you are older I can defintely recommend a ride through their enclosure whilst they are being fed. Out boys are a bit too young for that still and do not pass the age requirements.
The Desk of the Renaissance Man 