Pontins Camber Sands Day 3 - Lympne Safari Park

Day 3 of our holiday started with yet another meet and greet with a Croc Club character as the boys met "Chuckles" the chimpanzee. Rather appropriate given that our plan for the day was to head over to Lympne Safari Park. After about a 45 min drive (without Joshua being sick and still having to listen to One Direction in the car) we arrived at the Lympne Safari Park which is the 600 acre sister site to the Howletts Zoo in Canterbury. I was kind of hoping it was one of those safari's that you can drive your own car through but instead they use some military style lorries with trailers to shuttle guests around the safari. In addition to the lorries, you can also explore the many acres of the site on foot which I would highly recommend.

 

Tina and the kiddies meet "Chuckles" the chimpanzee.

We arrive at the entrance to Port Lympne Safari Reserve.

The military style trucks to take the visitors around the reserve.

First animal we got to see was the Rhino. Never would have guessed they can run faster than Usain Bolt over a short distance!

A couple of prowling cheetahs.

Some gazelles grazing amongst the trees. We also got a brief glimpse of some giraffes and elephants.

The spectacular view across the reserve looking out to the South Coast of England and if you focus hard enough, France in the distance.

At the top of the first truck stop point we had a nice picnic in the presence of the meerkats and also took a look around the reptile house. Then it was back on the lorry to head over to the carnivore section.

Everyone loves the meerkats.

Great picture of one standing tall.

We 5 Kings getting the next lorry to the carnivore section.

 

Probably one of the most spectacular sections of this reserve is the gorilla castle enclosure which is absolutely huge. There were loads of gorilla's at the reserve and we probably spent more time standing there watching them playing than any of the other animals. There appeared to be a few silver backs in addition to a few babies clinging on to their Mum's tummy.

 

One of the silver backs rummaging for food.

My boys standing outside part of the gorilla enclosure.

Outside the chimpanzee cage they had a single monkey bar with a challenge to see if you could hang there for longer than a chimp. Joshua struggle a lot and only managed about 12-23 seconds. Brandon was the record holder with a very impressive 34 seconds. But then it was my turn and as usual I have to push the boundaries and decided to do mine hanging upside down with my legs hooked over the bar. Joshua found it really funny, especially when I then tried to get back down and fell to the ground with a good thud sound.

 



Brandon staying cool and calm as he hangs on a monkey bar for over 30 seconds.

Joshua was not quite as comfortable from the outset and only managed about 13 seconds.

As usual I have to take things one step further and decide to hang upside down.

And then fall to the ground with a thud.

The on-site hotel had some beautiful gardens to explore and inside part of it was a hedge maze. Joshua and Brandon absolutely loved charging around the maze and we must have spent about 30 minutes here. In the end I think both Joshua and Brandon were making their way through the maze in under 60 seconds.

 



Joshua in the middle of the hedge maze.

Brandon exploring the maze.

Joshua is first to find the exit to the maze.

Closely followed by Brandon.

Brandon celebrates his achievement.

The European Bison.

The baboon enclosure at the safari park is very open and about the same size as the rhino enclosure!

One of the funniest moments we had was watching the baboons playing in their house. We were all standing at the window looking in and everyone except Brandon noticed that one of the monkeys jumped onto the window sill that we was standing at. We tried to point it out to Brandon and he was still focusing through the window rather than in front of his own eyes. Anyway this monkey eventually walked right in front of his face and I swear he nearly lept back with a heart attack as he had no idea it was there.

Brandon smiling after getting a bit of a surprise from a baboon which climbed across the window sill.

Another leopard enclosure.

The bengal tigers were a bit sleepy.

Ready for another nap.

We could only see the lions from a distance as they were locked in their sleeping area and not allowed out into their enclosure.

 

 

Once we had finished in the Safari Reserve and bought half the shop we headed back to Camber Sands where we had some dinner and then got ready to go out. Once again the boys were not interested in any disco's or shows, they just wanted to hit the arcades and win more tickets.

 

Brandon feeding in his 2p's into the machine.

Both boys enjoying some arcade time.

Keeping Holly entertained with a money pot crown!