Camping at the Zoo

Note: There are a few differences between a Western zoo and and African zoo. You know the "African exhibits" that Western zoos like to use as an attraction? Yeah, it's not really the same when you are really in Africa. In reality, Western zoos probably spend a lot more money advertising their African counterpart, and African zoos can pack in just as much adventure but on a low-budget. Our adventure included getting to spend the night at the zoo, which added a whole other dimension to the experience that you just can't get elsewhere...

...so, without further ado...

Ten Fifteen Observations about Spending the Night in an African Zoo

1. Adjust your expectations. If you show up and there is no one to let you in to the zoo, and the person the security guard calls to let you in takes an hour before showing up, and then when they finally get there, they realize the electricity in the bandas is down, but promise to call someone to come fix it soon...yeah. Just plan on camping for the night.

2. Red Flag: you are the only human beings spending the night in the zoo except for aforementioned security guard. Hmmm...

3. The roaring sound that awakens you between 5-6am. Oh, that's just the lions...ok.

4. Walking out your doorstep and seeing giraffes over the fence, along with cob & buffalo- pretty cool! {...and they haven't gotten eaten by the lions, so we should be okay, right??}

5. Go visit the lions, and realize there is just a 10-ft backyard fence with some barb wire at the top that separates you from the 4 large cats. And one of them perks up and starts twitching it's tail when it sees your kids run by...Yeah. Time to move on to the hyenas.

6. Hyenas- there are only 2 of them. Why do they get a sturdy metal enclosure and the 4 lions only get a backyard fence? Interesting. Moving on again...

7. Peacocks and Parrots- located directly across the path from lions and hyenas (interesting placement), and have the most secure exhibit of any animal we have seen yet. If I were building a zoo, I would invest in securing the PREDATORS over securing the PREY...but, then again, I'm not building a zoo. What do I know? The cats are probably harmless...

8. Monkeys, monkeys, everywhere!!!! (Including in the street outside of the zoo). Hmmm...They're kind of like squirrels in a Western zoo. They get a free pass while everyone else has to stay within their bounds (and they kind of like to let all the other animals know it too...)

9. There's a playground area that has some equipment similar to carnival equipment. Lucy was really excited and started shouting, "an American round! an American round!" ...took me a minute to realize she was confusing the name with a "merry-go-round". Unfortunately, it didn't really look safe enough to ride on. But that's okay because...

10. Camels hang out on the playground! [Unattended]. With a million kids running all over the place. Sometimes there is someone there who will let the kids take a ride on the camel. Nice. I think Lucy enjoyed her camel ride, though she looked a bit frightened in the pictures.

11. In addition to the monkeys and camels, sometimes other animals get a free pass too {gotta be fair...}. Oh, yep, here comes the baby elephant strolling down the path. Good thing he looks friendly. Maybe the partitions between exhibits are just "suggestions" for the animals to stay in certain areas??

12. Gnats. Holy cow. They could have their own exhibit! They were like a desert sand storm. I'm not sure if it was the animals (they seemed well-kept...maybe gnats are a part of their natural habitat?) or the zoo's location directly next to the lake. I don't know, but they were beastly.

13. If the sign says they are feeding the chimpanzees at 4pm, you should always know that they MIGHT be feeding the chimpanzees at 4pm. Really, it could be anytime between 3-5pm, but it might not happen at all if the people who are supposed to feed the chimps are in a "meeting".

14. Don't get too excited if the electricity comes back on in your banda after your first night there. And certainly, CERTAINLY don't think that the electricity coming back on is a good reason to fire up the hot water heater, take a shower (no matter how dirty you are from the day...), and plan a movie night. That would be a huge mistake. Because, you know, a power surge just might happen while you are standing in the shower. And you could get electrocuted. Which makes you feel akin to Jack Bauer getting tortured, and thus yell irrational things at your wife, which just puts her in a bad mood. 

Electric Shocks + Wife in Bad Mood + No Movie Night due to No Power = 

A Bad Memorable Ending to Your Last Night at the Zoo.

{but at least you've earned the nickname "Jack"...}

15. All in all, if you have little kids who aren't really ready for the more mature African adventure (i.e. safari, rafting the Nile, hiking long distances, etc.), but they still want a little excitement...spending a night at the zoo could be just the right experience. You get to see a vast array of animals, {really} close-up, in a short time frame, and for a reasonable price. 

And when you are 2 and 4 years old, 

what can get more exciting than that?!

This is Life.

{always an adventure}