This weekend just gone we went to Drusillas Zoo with Auntie Alice (of @curiousalicestudios) . I love this place and having read some pretty rubbish reviews wanted to post about our experience having now been twice in the last few months!
You enter through the Zoo entrance with an Iguana, tortoises, giant snake and some super cute monkeys before finding yourself in a courtyard with a cut through to the water park and play area or you can continue through the Zoo route.
Q is all about the animals so off we pootled through the zoo and started finding all the amazing animals they have on offer. I always worry about animal enclosures but theses animals have much to entertain them and some really interesting looking habitats. The information about each animal is really clear and interesting and there are loads of fun stations with activities for kids.
The Animal Olympics stations are hilarious and informative at the same time.
Weirdest animal award has to go to the bearcats, they are so odd! They look like a real blend of animals and act properly slothlike, Wouldn't want to meet one in the wild though!
Lunching tips
The Zoo takes a couple of hours to do and then you finish at the waterpark and play area. These are fantastic looking but I'd recommend you hurry through and find yourself just past Hello Kitty land. there is a great little green space for picnicking in the quiet (the picnic areas in the play ground are noisy and busy!) or if looking to buy lunch there find the Explorers Café where you can get hot or cold food with a good variety of drinks (even a cold beer if you are not driving and so inclined! ) Maybe because it is so close to the end, but it is quieter than the other food outlets and yet much nicer!
After Lunch we had a blast in Hello Kitty land where she drove around the track a few times and enjoyed the tea cups. We then hit up the hello kitty tattoo parlour this seemed a risk but she loved it! We got her an airbrushed glitter Ghecko tattoo for £6. A little pricey really but she loved it and it lasted a good 3 days despite baths so kinda worth it?
After the Hello Kitty experience we found ourselves at about 2.30pm with a happy hyper toddler who doesn't nap and wondering what to do with ourselves next! Auntie Alice took the hit and took Little Q round the play park for 40 mins whilst Daddy and I enjoyed some shade and watching some lovely Auntie / Niece bonding in the Banana boat swings.
At this point we decided to work our way round the zoo backwards towards the entrance, we got to see all the animals again and it finished off Little Q's enthusiasm for shopping nicely so we wandered through the shop, had some quite quick cuddles with stuffed animals and she was happy to leave empty handed (miracle!)
All in all this was a great day out, and well worth it!
top tips:
* arrive for opening
* pick up a animal spotter!
*hit the zoo first
*have an early lunch at 12ish
* have some cash on hand for spontaneous tattoo based purchases
* don't be afraid to go backwards through the zoo to leave, the animals are all fed at different times so you might get to see something you missed on the first time around.
You can find the Drusillas Zoo website by clicking here.
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