Newquay Day 6 - Newquay Zoo and Paulos Circus

Day 6 in Newquay and the weather was a bit unsure what to do. One minute a down pour, the next glorious sunshine. We spent most of the morning at Newquay Zoo which was literally 5 minutes away from our campsite at Hendra. The zoo is certainly not a Colchester or Whipsnade, but its still well worth a visit and we all had a really good time and attended a couple of the animal feeding sessions.

 

After the Zoo we managed to get tickets for the Paulos Circus which was within throwing distance from our tent. It was so close and the kids were so keen that it seemed rude not to go along. Having said that the circus itself was nowhere near as good as the one we saw in Norfolk earlier in the year. It was still very good and had some incredible acts, but wasn't the best circus we have seen which was quite surprising given that it has a reputation from the TV Circus programme.

 

At the end of the day it was back to camp where me and Joshua knocked up another camp dinner of Cornish pasties, corn on the cob and boiled potatoes. We were all starting to take a bit of a liking to the proper Cornish pasties and certainly eating our fair shares worth!

A very pretty bird with its little chicks at Newquay Zoo.

Tina, Holly and Joshua watching the birds in the tropical bird house.

Three mischievous little meerkats.

Some of the meerkats having a play.

There was 3 lions at the zoo.

We managed to catch the penguins being fed.

Tina and the kiddies in an oriental themed part of the zoo where otters play in the water below. Unfortunately they were all sleeping today!

The Savannah plains with zebra, ostrich and some antelope.

Ring tailed lemur island was Brandon's favourite and he bought himself a few Lemur items from the gift shop as well.

The boys were keen to get their own body boards for the beach, so after a bit of shopping around we picked up a couple for them today. Here they are practising outside the tent with Holly trying to copy.

Holly striking a surfer pose on Brandon's body board.

Brandon looking like a pro as he practises. Now lets try this pose on the water!!!!

The kiddies outside Paulos circus. We were lucky to catch their very last show before moving on.

The kiddies posing by the circus truck.

A sneaky picture inside the circus. Couldn't take many as they specifically said no cameras or videos.

At the end of the day a Cornish dinner fit for a King, well 5 King's to be more precise.

Newquay Day 5 - Eden Project

Day 5 in Newquay and the kids were all sleeping very well in the tent. I think the very active days and all the fresh air is knocking them for six and we were actually struggling to wake them up in the morning. All 3 of them seemed to be some comfy and settled in their camp beds.

 

Once we did eventually prize them all out of bed and get them dressed, washed and fed - we headed off to the amazing Eden Project for the day. This turned out to be another full on day with lots and lots of walking and lots and lots of up and down hills. The Eden Project has two amazing large dome complexes full of various plant life. Once is dedicated to the rain forests and the other is Mediterranean plants/gardens. Both of them are extremely hot and humid and all of us were sweating buckets walking around them. In the middle of the rain forest dome is a air conditioned cool room which is about the size of an elevator and my why a welcome relief that is to cool down a bit.

 

In addition to the infamous dome's there was a really impressive animatronic dinosaur display, vegetable gardens, lots of garden statues to admire, kids play areas, dinosaur fossil activities and so much more. One of the highlights of the Eden project is that they also have one of the longest zip wires in the country which runs across the whole quarry going over both the dome's. Me, Josh and B were so looking forward to going on this but unfortunately you had to be over 50kg's in weight which ruled both the boys out. So in the end none of us went down which was the only negative of the day.

 

Amazingly whilst in the Eden project getting a nice Mexican burrito for lunch, we bumped in to Brandon's school teach from Year 3. Talk about coincidence!

 

Holly may have slipped out of her penguin quilt but she was still more than happy to sleep in every morning (and in some weird positions!).

Joshua all tucked up and comfy in his quilt.

Brandon finally learnt it is more comfortable to sleep on his bed than at the end of his tent room.

Arrival at the Eden project and the impressive dome's in the background.

This is the huge rain forest dome with the dinosaur adventure and stage area in front.

Exploring some of the walkways to get down from the visitor centre to the domes.

The kiddies playing in a rest cave.

The pictures don't do the dinosaur adventure justice as they were all animatronic with realistic noises, eye blinks, mouth opening and roaring etc.

Most of the dinosaurs had an open side to show some of the skeletal structure.

The kiddies with another animated dinosaur.

A little baby velociraptor.

One of the largest dinosaur's on display which was chasing a little fish around.

Me and the kiddies in front of a large statue bumble bee.

Love this picture inside the rain forest dome and getting Holly to smell some of the flowers.

Absolutely stunning plantation inside the dome.

Josh the cool dude not feeling so cool walking through a rain forest in jeans and a long sleeve top!

A little bamboo hut to explore right in the middle of the rain forest.

Holly cooking everyone up some lunch.

One of my favourite plants of the day was this hanging Chinese lantern flower.

Inside a rain forest den.

View out across the rain forest.

Family picture inside the rain forest dome.

They even have a waterfall inside the dome.

Brandon with a colourful sugar plantation truck.

Back outside and the kids all cooling off in a ship wreck play area.

Some unusual fence designs.

A very unusual rustic, industrial statue hidden amongst the hillside.

After lots of walking around we all jump on the tractor train for a sit down and a ride around Eden.

The 3 kiddies exploring a little electric Renault Twizzy car. Love the fold up doors.

The kids all got to try their hand at being a little Indiana Jones and find some hidden treasures.

Holly managed to find a beautiful blue gemstone in her little mud filter basket.

Joshua being an archaeologist and chipping away at some fossils in the ground.

Brandon looking more like a dive than an archaeologist.

A large dinosaur statue which is made entirely of junk. From TV's to iron's, phones, washing machines and so on.

Some rather unusual horse statues. Not suite sure what is going on with those head shapes!



Brandon had his face painted as a Cheetah at Eden. Pretty amazing art work.

Joshua taking B and Holly for a ride in another Renault Twizzy.

Inside the slightly cooler Mediterranean dome.

The kids chilling in the Med.

Is that flying pteranadon's in the Med?

Yet more unusual statues and a large Spanish bull in the middle.

 

The Eden Project is a great educational facility for the kids with so much to do and so much to learn there. Despite the dissappointment of the zip wire, this was a great day out and we all really enjoyed ourselves. Of course a little taster Cornish cider in the shop at the end of the day was a pleasant way to finish our visit!

At the end of the day at Eden it was back to camp and yet again arcades and indoor bowling. Brandon beat Joshua at bowling for the first time tonight.