Monday 27 January 2014

Animal Adventures


Hello........ On Saturday afternoon I went on a bit of a huge adventure for me. It's fair to say I've been having a bit of a rough time lately with my health, in fact this was only the fourth time I'd left the house this year. So this was a big big deal for me

Yes we were off on Safari, my sister popped the wheelchair in the car and off we went, truth be told I wasn't really well enough but I was determined to go.  We were off to Port Lympne Wild Animal park home of the Aspinall Foundation.



The park is situated on a very steep hill, so not ideal for Wheelchair users but they couldn't have been more helpful, on arrival the lady in the shop radioed for a mini bus to come and pick us up and dropped us off where we wanted to be. So we headed straight to the truck stop the perfect way to get around a big section of the park 'The African Experience'.

The driver lifted the wheelchair up onto the trailer and we were off.  Past the Cheetah and her cubs, then past the elephants and Zebras who were sadly but sensibly all in the houses, way to cold to be out and about


However lots of the animals were braving the elements apologies if I get them wrong first we spotted a Water Buffalo, who was happy in all the mud and flooding from the recent weather


Then this chap, It makes me so happy to see acres the animal can roam in


We saw Heron and Ostrich as well, all from the moving Safari truck



Waterbuck and Raon Antelope by this point I was almost bouncing up and down with excitement and then it got even better ...........



Lookie lookie my favourite Giraffe right up close


Aww so lovely and serene I did feel a bit sorry for them all as the terrain was so wet,



Aww one last look, it's hard to believe we are in rural Kent


This is the very bottom of the park that is quite flooded


See ducks !!! 
 we then saw the African hunting dogs who were ragging about playing


The Blue Wildebeast we out and about (apologies if I'm wrong I'm trying to identify them from the park guide)


Lots and lots of them, I'm sure they were all very happy that the Carnivores are situated elsewhere in the park.  I always feel so sorry for them on the nature programs


Just look how much room they have to roam in, it makes me so happy, plus the great thing about the Aspinall foundation is that they have breeding program and return animals back to the wild where they can.


Here's the view from the top, sorry it was quite a murky foggy day. Here we got off the truck to go and say hello

 
to this little guy, bless him he was on century duty while the rest of his friends and family were in there burrow huddle around a heat lamp, he was making such cute little noise and so close.


Back on the truck I even spotted a Panda, oh no sorry that's 'L' in his Panda hat.


On the way back round we passed the Black Rhino Mamma and her Little one


such a shame so many of these animals face extinction it makes me very sad and thats why when I was well enough to work I used to donate straight from my salary each month to the Aspinall Foundation.


Our Safari tour took most of the afternoon and as the rest of the park would have been real struggle in the manual wheelchair, the Safari Truck driver radioed for the van to come and pick us up.  I was pretty exhausted by this point and had, had such a wonderful time seeing all the animal especially the Giraffes


We weren't quite finished though there was time to see the Barbary Lions and Wolves at the top of the park and this magnificent creature.


This is the closest I've ever been to a Tiger, so beautiful and less than a metre away


 The Amur Tigers,  were prowling around there enclosure but they were happy enough to poise for photos and rub against the viewing windows glass to say hello, just like our cats rubs around our legs at home.

So I had a marvellous afternoon so very worth the ME/Lyme payback. You can find out more about the park and the Aspinall foundation 'here'  if you are in the area it's well worth a visit.

Clare xx


18 comments:

  1. Hello Clare, I am totally envious of your Safri adventure - it sounds amazing I'm so pleaed you had a wonderful time. Wonderful, wonderful pictures, the animals are brilliant especially the Amur Tigers they look awesome. And being so close up to them just brilliant. I am excited for you. A trip to remember.
    Take Care
    luv
    irene
    xxxx

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    1. Hello Irene yep had a great time you can go glamping there to which I would love all the lodges look over the water hole, hoe I'd love that.
      Clare x

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  2. Sounds like you had a wonderful visit. Well done you for going despite feeling so poorly. And what a good sister to take you. Giraffes are wonderful animals aren't they? I always think they're a bit unreal looking! Juliex

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    1. Hi Jule they are one of my favourites, you can go and have animal experiences at the park and I'm seriously thinking about a Giraffe one as a birthday treat, I never know what I want and I'd rememeber that forever.
      Clare x

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  3. I am so glad that you were able to get out and about!! How kind of your sister to organise this, she is obviously a great person and a lovely sister. I love giraffes too, the way that they walk always amazes me. I hope that your visit has given you a boost and that things will be looking up soon. xx

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    1. Thanks Amy, they are amazing creatures xx

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  4. Hello Clare, I am amazed that you have all this in Kent - wonderful - and I'm so happy for you that you were able to go and enjoy the day with your so kind and thoughtful sister! Hopefully it won't be too long before your health picks up a bit again - such a shame there's always a price to pay for your outings! Warm hugs, Joy xo

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    1. Hello Joy, we very lucky to have this less than an hour from home, hope you are well
      Clare xx

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  5. It looks like a great place to visit but the weather must have been terrible. I hope it wasn't too hard to warm up after that! I love giraffes too. I'm glad you had a chance to get out, I hope you're feeling well.

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    1. Hi Jennifer I loved to go on one of the parks giffarafe experiences one day, where you can meet and feed them, weather in the UK has been awful so much flooding but it just keeps raining.
      Clare xx

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  6. It looks like a wonderful day out. It looks like you have had a lot of rain down there though! Julie x

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    1. Yep Julie the rain has been non stop, on the way home from the park a storm ripped through ahead of us we could see the lighting in the distance when we got futher along the road one small section of the main road was hit and nine tree were down, just like that. Here's hoping for sunshine
      Clare x

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  7. Clare, what a fantastic day. I am so glad you were able to get out and see this wonderful preserve. I hope that you are not feeling the ramifications of you trip too badly today. Stay warm and dry and rest.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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    1. Hi Meredith, still recovering from my adventures but it was well worth it. xxx

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  8. That looks like a really fab day out (despite the weather) and your pics are so lovely to look at. Beautiful animals, all of them.. except maybe the wildebeest, they are still amazing, just not the most beautiful! Love those majestic giraffes though. So sad as you say that so many of these wonderful creatures face extinction. The mere mention of poaching makes me so mad. Well done you for caring and supporting such a worthy cause. Hope you're having a good week, xx

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    1. Hi Gilly, it was such a lovely afternoon, but I was so glad I'd wrapped up warm, Giraffes are my favourites have been since I was little, it will be a terrible world with out all these amazing animals xx

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  9. I am so happy that you were able to visit such an interesting site, Clare, and thank you for sharing the wonderful photos of your adventure. I am wishing you well. xx

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