Christmas at Safari Zoo | Turkey and Tinsel Experience
A message from Naomi: Please note that Safari Zoo is no longer open to the public. After battling years of controversy, and despite their best efforts to improve things at the zoo, Safari Zoo had to close its doors to the public at the end of 2024. Other wildlife parks are open to visit in Cumbria, so feel free to scroll through my post on Child-friendly Days Out in the Lake District & Cumbria for more ideas.
What do you do when the only thing your penguin-obsessed two year old asks is to see real penguins for their third birthday? Pickle's favourite animals are penguins, and the only place we have nearby(ish) to see them is Safari Zoo just south of us here in Cumbria.
I'm not going to lie, after the drama Safari Zoo faced almost three years ago, we were a little dubious about going. With a little research we realised the investigations by the council and RSPCA had concluded at the beginning of 2018; and a lot of work has been done to improve the zoo. So, we decided to give it a go. We booked the Magic of Christmas ‘Turkey and Tinsel Experience’ online, which meant we not only got to see the penguins but also Santa, his reindeer and so much more besides!
What was included in the Magic of christmas ‘Turkey and Tinsel Experience'?
A visit with the big man in red
The girls were so excited to visit Santa's grotto. With an elf near the door, and an option to walk through a “Naughty” or “Nice” entrance the whole experience was perfectly set up. Plus, the adults got antlers or elf hats and the children recieved a gift each.
Hot chocolate from Mrs Claus
The loveliest northerner you'll ever meet, Mrs Claus offered a luxury hot chocolate with cream, marshmallows and chocolate flakes sprinkled on top.
Meeting Santa's latest recruits
The seven month old reindeer babies Cinnamon and Treacle were amazing. We got up close and personal with Cinammon, meeting, stroking and finally getting a photo with him. It was an amazing experience and just look at Squidgy's excited face.
Meet and feed the animals
Lemurs
With gloves and pieces of fruit we got up close and personal with the lemurs, feeding both long-tailed and true (or brown) lemurs.
Giraffes
It has been a long time since we've fed giraffes and it's not something Squidgy remembers! It was something she loved though, and was amazing. They literally licked the pieces of carrot straight from the girls’ hands.
Festive buns and pudding too!
The turkey buns were delicious, and we followed them up with some yummy gingerbread Christmas trees!
What else did we get to see?
Christmas characters
As part of the Christmas experience a couple of members of staff dressed up as character like Olaf and the gingerbread man. It's the first time I’ve had both girls be excited, rather than terrified of people dresses up; and I love these photos.
Penguins (obviously!)
They were, after all, the whole purpose of our visit. Pickle was so eexcited. She kept saying, “Look, penguins, my favourite!” and we had to visit them more than once during the day.
Giraffes (Squidgy's favourite!)
The giraffe house was amazing, to see the herd getting together at the gate knowing it was feeding time. They are such amazing animals and just for a moment I could understand why they are Squidgy's favourite animal (although mine will always remain horses!)
The other animals
From howling arctic wolves to inquisitive spider monkeys; we were able to explore the whole of Safari Zoo. There were so many beautiful creatures to see, although a few kept themselves hidden like the tigers, lions and a few others besides. We had such a lovely time exploring as much as we could in the time we had. We missed a few, but that just means we'll have to go back!
Statues and more…
… and the girls had to have a photo at every one!
We had such a wonderful day together as a family; and I was so pleased we made the decision to go. Plus, Pickle got what she asked for in seeing the penguins and kept telling us over and over, it was the ‘best day ever’ so I think I'd call that a win!
For more posts about our family adventures, from UK staycations to days out for kids visit my Travel blog. If you have any questions about Safari Zoo, feel free to ask in the comments section below.
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It's 2023 and Belle, our Christmas elf has returned for another advent! Find her antics here.