Wild Animal Safari

Forgive me now for this long post - but sometimes words just don't do it justice... so thank goodness we can take a hundred or so pictures....

This past week we loaded up the family (and Uncle Dan) and decided to go on a Safari. If you haven't heard about this - it's the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mtn. Ga (near Callaway Gardens). I've wanted to go for awhile because I remember going to one as a kid and thinking it was so cool - and since I'm a big kid at heart - I really wanted to go to see if they are as cool as I remember them being. :^)

We decided on ditching our car and renting a Zebra Minivan for the occasion. I HIGHLY recommend that you either rent a van ($10 total extra) or catch a ride on the big Zebra bus (free with admission). If you have a group - we had 8 total (1 lap rider) a van is fun because you go at your own pace - if it's a smaller group/family - take the bus - 1/2 the fun is watching everyone else's reaction. But once again - I HIGHLY recommend you DON'T take your car in!

Loaded up and ready to go!
You can buy bags of food ($2 a bag - they recommend 1 per person and we agree - or maybe get more...) just save some for the end of the trip as well.

As soon as you get ready to drive into the park - you see what is to come and how up close and personal you get with the animals...

Now seriously - I mean you get UP CLOSE and PERSONAL...

Let me just take a moment to say - the van's don't have back windows - but they have bars so that the animals can't stick their heads in (at least not too far). The front seats have windows but you can keep them rolled up or down (they tell you to not roll them down more than 1/2 way). The buses (you'll see a picture at the end) don't have windows at all - but you are up higher.

(note the crack in the windshield - once again - don't take your own car in).
Along the road - which is 4-5 miles - but takes an hour to drive - there are some animals in cages. Those are the ones that might eat the ones that are out and about.

We saw some really cool things - like a group of Reindeer swimming across a little lake....

And then coming to greet us...

My picture didn't turn out very good - but we even saw a baby deer take it's first steps - that was totally cool. Momma and baby were in the tree line and we stopped and the momma deer nudged the baby up. It was like watching Bambi for real (ok, just the sweet begining when Bambi learns to walk).

And did I mention that the animals were very very friendly??????

Once again - don't take your own car in... unless you are ready to go get it washed afterwards. At the gift shop you can buy a magnet or bumper sticker that says, "I got slobbered on at the Wild Animal Safari" - yeah, they aren't joking...

And then you see this bad boy crossing in front of your van...

And then he comes to visit....

And we got a little bit of a jolt when he rubbed up against the van and the whole thing shook and rocked a bit. Yeah - add that to the list of reasons why not to take your own car in (and did you see the horns on some of those animals.... in case your list isn't long enough).

Megan had to join the guys in the back to see what thier view was like...

And what I really wanted to see.... the giraffes....

We didn't get up close and personal with the giraffes because as we were leaving, a Zebra bus was entering and the giraffes were all into the bus - the one with Giraffe height compatible windows...

The drive through safari was fun -but that's not all... Oh no, now you get to walk through their little zoo.

They actually had some neat exhibits. They have a group of Ligers (Lion/Tiger mix) and lots of animals that I'd never heard of. I saw a "Holy Cow" - the sacred Cow of India... much smaller than I imagined. Lots of type of monkeys, birds, hyena's, tigers, etc... Here's Megan peering into the alligator area - they were up close and just sitting there staring at us.

I didn't include lots of zoo pictures because the drive through part was the best - but I did have to put this beautiful guy in here...

The Peacock had actually seen himself in the door behind him and raised his feathers thinking it was another peacock (kinda funny) - but he gave us a good show.

The Safari is a bit pricey. It's about $18 for adults - kids 2 and under are free. Sometimes you can find coupons for BOBO free, and they have monthly deals. Like on Father's Day, dad's get in free. You definitely want to go early. The park opens at 10 - we got there at about 10:30 - started our safari about 11 - and by the time we finished the drive through at noon, there were tour buses showing up. So we were glad we were early. It is a bit hokey - but I have to say - we had a good time doing something out of the norm.