My kids loved horseback riding in Pine Mountain Georgia, but the highlight of our trip was the Wild Animal Safari. The way it works is you drive your car through a long road filled with tons of animals. Along the way you stop and reach out the car window and feed them. Even through the dense amount of slobber we were able to snap pictures and make memories.
When you arrive at Wild Animal Safari you check in at the Safari Cafe building. This is when you can purchase the animal food. It’s big, it’s gross and it smells like…animals. Think of gerbil pellets but 200x the size. I’d recommend purchasing at least 2 bags per person so that you everyone has the chance to feed as many animals as they’d like.
The road is long and filled with so many creatures you won’t believe it until you see it. The best part is that almost all of them are thrilled to interact with you. The goats and the alpaca were the happiest to see you and there just happen to be a ton of them. I fell in love with the dear, especially the fawns. But there were some bigger scarier animals as well such as the Lion, Tiger and Rhino’s. Luckily they are behind a fence for safety. Giraffe’s and Zebra’s will visit the vehicles though and the Zebra’s are feisty. Make sure and save food for them because they are at the very end and they’ll be expecting a meal.
If ever there was a lesson learned, it would be not to take your own vehicle through the Wild Animal Safari. Our very first encounter was with a gigantic buffalo with even bigger antlers. He got one stuck inside my window and I was pretty certain he’d break the window if not the frame of the door. So for just an extra $12 or $16 depending on the size of your party, you can rent a Zebra Van which allows everyone the chance to feed the animals and your precious car won’t get hurt in any way.
After the Wild Animal Safari is over you can head over to the Walk About. This is like an actual zoo experience where you also get to pet some animals. We fell in love, absolute love, with the Caracal. It’s a wild cat type thing that has a really strong relationship with his keeper. The day we were there the keeper Bryce had found some meat hidden in the Caracal’s large enclosure. Bryce took the meat away and the Caracal was very unhappy with him. It wouldn’t look at Bryce or interact with him in any way, honestly snubbing him.
It’s not everyday you get to see Kangaroo’s. Apparently they aren’t very people friendly, or rather they aren’t over interested with us. But when I would say “Hey you” for some reason this one Kangaroo would come bounding over. I got such a kick out of this and so did my kids. Jason kept saying, “Call it over again, call it over again.” Finally it got bored with us and left.
The stars of the show were most definitely the primates. Saying they interact with you would be an understatement. If a female walks up to the baboons cage and then turns her back, the baboon will freak out. He will slam himself into the fence and just scream like a maniac. Apparently he doesn’t like being ignored.
If you ever wondered whether Napoleon Dynamite was being serious, The Wild Animal Safari Walk About does have a real life Liger. It’s a real thing. You might need to ask someone to point you in the right direction because for some reason the large cats are kept far in the back, but I promise you’ll hear them from far away.
This was such a great day for our family and took up many hours. It’s probably a full days (4 hours) experience and you’ll be tired afterward from all the Oohing and Aahing. You can check it out at http://www.animalsafari.com
*I received media tickets in order to provide review. All opinions are my own.
