A great big thank you very much to everyone that r/r/c's on my ops. No I'm still not totally back, j...
A great big thank you very much to everyone that r/r/c's on my ops. No I'm still not totally back, just had a spurt of inspiration, will carry on hovvering about in the background, where I belong, a bit longer :oP
Member since:08.10.2002
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Let me tell you of one of my favourite places. Just off the A10 in Broxbourne Herts,(near Cheshunt and not that far from Enfield North London) are fields and woodland, and nestled amongst the trees is a real treat. A small family run zoo. No it isn’t poor frustrated animals pacing about in tiny cages, these have large enclosures and a lot of environmental work is done here. I know there are some zoos that should be closed, but this isn’t one of them. It used to be called Broxbourne Zoo put they changed its name to Park, so I guess it isn’t a zoo after all.
When you first enter you drive past animals on your right and an adventure area for the kids on the left. This gets the kids attention! You are given a little map when you pay , but as it is a small park there isn’t a real need for it, but there are feeding times and show times on it which is very handy.
So after dragging the kids past the FREE rides, and the gift shop, you head off for a leisurely stroll around to see the animals.
I will try to do this in the right order , forgive me if I miss anything out….
Walk into the main entrance and there is rabbit land on your right, where there are loads of cute bunnies in there own little houses with very long runs, on the right is sometimes someone selling animal food (mainly chopped carrots and cabbage) for £1, so you can have fun feeding the animals yourself. Further on the left is an entrance to the Farmyard area where you can try to feed the goats and llamas, but you have to be quick feeding them or they will just try to nick the bag of food off you, especially one of the goats . He throws a strop if you are lacking in feeding skills and head buts the bars or stamps his foot.. And the big llama never lets the little llama get a look in :oP
Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t hungry animals, just greedy.
So after walking through the farmyard and seeing the chickens and chicks and sheep, we come to Cheetahs. Their area is quite large and sometimes you have trouble spotting (sorry!) them, as there is a lot of foliage and places for them to blend into. Feeding time is the best time to see them, that’s at 2.30 and normally there are people crowded about watching…. But if you visit them a little after, most people have lost interest and you can watch the two Cheetahs munching away on a side of meat in peace. At the far end of the Cheetah enclosure is a raised look out where you can sometimes get a better view of them without the wood, glass and metal in the way. Ideal for people with zoom cameras.
Tucked round the back of the Cheetahs are the free Donkey and Pony rides, but this is for little people, as there is a height restriction… my 8 year old is too tall for this which really annoys him, but then he is a tall little chap.
Then
it is a stroll around the perimeter of the park to look at Freddy the fox. He was bought in by someone when he was a pup and was deaf and blind, but nursed back to health since. He must be getting on a bit now as he was at the zoo when I used to take my eldest when he was a baby, so that was over 10 years ago. They have a vixen in with him now and he is almost tame, well as tame as a wild thing could be. He even goes to visit schools and was in the film 102 Dalmatians. Steven (my eldest) is sure that Freddy remembers him from when he was little!
Then we come to the wild small cats. It isn’t always easy to see them though as they have so much greenery to hide amongst they are normally well camouflaged. But when you do get to see one they are so cute :o)
At the far end they are building a new enclosure for some Snow Leopards, that they are part of a breeding programme to help them get back into the wild as these are nearly extinct. :o(
I have been totally ignoring what is on the right of our little stroll…. It is an enormous double enclosure for the tigers. I remember them building this and when they got their first tiger, she used to be taken for walks on a lead around the park. Awwwww! She is fully grown now so I don’t think they still do this! I am not actually sure how many Tigers they actually have now as they spend times in other zoos to help with the breeding programmes, but there seems to be at least 4. Two on each side of indoors housing for them….. Never walk through these if one of them has done their business in there as it totally stinks! Tiger poo is not nice on the nostrils! They have a ball on show that you can touch to show you the damage one of the tigers has done to it (yes they play with balls) The teeth marks are amazing to see and the fact that this is a large beach ball sized solid plastic ball, quite scary to think that a tiger can do that to it! There are two talks about the Tigers at 11 and 2, but we have never actually heard one! Also they get fed at 5 so you can see huge cats rip huge lumps of meat apart.
In August they were having a special Save a Tiger month. So near to the Tiger Lodge there were some fund raising events, all the money made went to EAZA European Tiger Conservation and 21st Century Tiger. There were also educational areas where you could learn more about Tigers in the wild. My youngest loved this bit as he got to make himself a badge.
Now we come to Red Panda island. They feed these at 10.45, so by the time we normally see them they are happily fed and just sitting about in the tree or wandering about slowly. Or on hot days inside their sleeping area.
There is a free tractor ride near the Red Pandas and this is just a little ride around the park with commentary in a covered pulled wagon, pulled of course by a tractor. It doesn’t last long, but is just long enough to keep the little ones amused, but not long enough for them to get bored. Which is good in my book, as there is nothing worse than sitting next to some screaming, bored toddler :oP
On the left after the tractor ride is Monkey Island, where loads of small spider monkeys roam free and for the life of me I can’t work out why they stay in the confides of the island as there are trees with branches leading to other trees off the island all around it, but the monkeys happily stay on the island!
Next is a new bit for me, the Rainforest Experience. You walk into a heated shed (well it’s a bit more than a shed, but I am not sure how to describe it!) and inside are snakes and reptiles (luckily behind glass or I would be straight out the door!) and Humming Birds flying among the tropical plants in the centre of the walk way. These totally took me by surprise as they are free to fly where they want and one nearly flew into me! I was then fascinated by these and was busy trying to spot them while the boys looked at the scaly things, think I spotted 6 but they move so fast it was hard to tell. The monkeys also come into here as this has their sleeping area in it, but they were too busy playing on the island.
Now we pass the Alpaca’s to visit another new addition, Meerkats! They have their own little termite look hill to stand watch on. There seems to be several families of them here, as there were loads of little baby ones playing and sunbathing . They also have tunnels and tubes to play in too. There is a notice up not to pick up the Meerkats as they just in an enclosure that is surrounded by a low wall, just the right height to look over to see them . I must admit it was tempting to take one of these little cuties home, but I don’t think my cat would have been too impressed nor would the keepers! :oP There is a Meerkat talk at 10.30 and they feed them at 4.30.
Have I written this much already! Sorry! I will move quickly past the Reindeer, Camels, Zebras, Tapirs, Wallabies Ostriches and Deer then. Apart from telling you that you are allowed to feed all of these out of your little £1 bag of food. Oh and the Ostriches have a habit of being a bit greedy too and can nip your finger if you don’t let go in time.
Now we come to the Lions, one lion and one lioness. Admittedly they don’t do much, apart from at feeding time as they spend 20 hours asleep in the wild, and they seem to do the same here. But when they are asleep on there high up areas you can get a wonderful view of them from the high up look out, like with the Cheetahs. They are fed at 5 as well as the tigers so you have to pick which one you want to see.
Another new addition are the wolves. There are two, and on our last visit I spent a very enjoyable 15 minutes watching one of them trying to get a broom off one of the staff, as he was trying to clean out their pool. :o) There is a wolf talk at 12.30 and 2.45
Then there is the Toucan house, with more different breeds of Toucans than I ever knew existed. There is a Lemur house and some Raccoons, some parrots that occasionally talk to you if they feel like it, Coatis, marmosets, Tamarins and some Porcupines.
That’s it for the “zoo” part…. It may seem that when reading that there is a lot of animal for a small zoo, but it is well spaced out and everything seems to have enough space to be happy in. Also it isn’t a hard place to walk around unlike some zoo’s or parks that I have visited where it seems that it is a maze and you walk around in circles for most of the day.
Now we come to a separate part, The Birds of Paradise Section. This is tucked out of the way near the car park and is my youngest sons favourite place. They have Falcons, Buzzards, Owls, a Vulture, and various other birds of prey (not sure why they call it Paradise, but my youngest thinks it is). They have falconry displays twice a day at 11.30 and 2.30. And if you are still about near the closing time you can get to watch the birds get their dinner… not for the faint hearted as it can be a bit unsettling seeing a buzzard eat a whole dead chick! The displays are very interactive and my youngest has been in two so far, having a barn owl fly to his glove and having a falcon chase him as he ran along with a stuffed rabbit on a bit of string.
He loves the Birds of Prey so much that I have arranged a day of learning Falconry for his birthday with the Park, but I am sure that will be another op once it has happened :o)
Ignoring the child play areas for now I will tell you about the shows they put on in the Jungle Theatre.
Reptile Mania is on three times a day at 11 and 1.30 and 5.30. In this you get to learn about the reptiles and have the chance to actually hold them, after they split the audience in two and make you answer questions. This is great fun for kids (and adults too).
Pollywood Stunt Parrots is on 3 times too, at 11.30, 2 and 4. Here you get to see Parrots doing tricks such as riding bikes, doing impressions of films! And generally being very clever.. One of them can even do sums that the audience has to call out. Another fun show for kids and adults alike.
DJ Jazzy’s Amazing Animal Show is on at 12 and 3, but I have never seen this.
That’s it for the animals… now on with the bit the kids are chomping at the bit for…. Free rides! Although this isn’t to funfair standards for the average toddler to 10 year old these are great. There is a helter-skelter, a small merry-go-round, go karts (foot powered) and a large jungle gym area. There is also a small railway that charges 50p to take you round a bit of woodland that they have placed large full sized dinosaurs in… this is a bit naff for older kids, but little ones love it, especially the first time when they see a T-Rex in the trees.
There is also a the largest inflatable paddling pool for them to splash about in when it’s hot, but this again is for little ones and my 7 year old is most annoyed that he is too tall to be able to use it.
There is a lot for the under fives to do, but saying that even my 13 year old enjoyed it.
There are two play areas that are more for the younger children, but that doesn’t stop my youngest having a bash at playing there.
Picnic tables are dotted about everywhere, as are small booths selling hot and cold food and drinks, and the prices aren’t that bad. There are also several toilets about and they are all clean. There is an indoor fast-food type restaurant with a bar but that is always shut apart from when they have functions there (they were setting up for a wedding reception when we were leaving last time) so you don’t have to eat outdoors.
The gift shop isn’t that expensive either unless you want to buy expensive stuff that is, as there is a wide range of things from pencils to ornaments and even clothing.
There is plenty of parking spaces available and for those using public transport they offer a free mini bus service that will pick you up from the local train station (Broxbourne) and take you back again.
Overall I think this is a brilliant place to visit, especially with younger children as so much is laid on for them, like the shows and attractions. For teens it may be a bit boring, unless they are animal lovers and don’t mind being too big for some of the rides. The entertainment I have seen seems to have something for everyone and gets everyone involved. It is a fun place to visit!
The prices are quite reasonable too
Adult £9 Child (2-15) £7 Under 2’s Free OAP £7
Family (2 adults, 2 children) £30 Family (1adult, 1 child) £15
Groups of 10-19 adults £8.50 each Groups of 10-19 children or OAPs £6.50 each Groups of 20 or more £6 each And the is one free adult with every group of 20 children
Special Needs £5 Carers £5
The food is reasonably priced too.
They are open 365 days a year, from 9.30 to 6 in the summer and 10 ‘til dusk from November to February
More info can be found at www.pwpark.com, this goes more into the conservation side and tells of any forth coming special events.
Tomorrow I will be taking my son to the Falconry Experience day (just hope the weather is nice) so think of me trotting about in muddy fields, while he has all the fun! :oP
Have fun Sarah :o)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
It sounds like an enjoyable day out. I have seen signposts to this on the way to my boyfriends...
bagoproverbial 11.12.2004 12:28
Nice review, was thinking of going there.
idlem 22.08.2004 22:10
Very detailed and informative review I suspect just a bit out of date. Paradise Park have now started charging for pretty much everything apart from helter skelter and merry-go-round.
Staff fairly miserable and too keen to shut everything down (especially the few things that are still free) at the first chance of rain.
Zoo OK if you don't expect too much.
Ok day out but wouldn't do it again - and don't travel too far.
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Advantages: Fantastic day out, Family Friendly, Good value for money and enjoyable for everyone! Disadvantages: Near a very fast road with no proper crossing facilities when parked in the overflow carpark
Advantages: Not many but good for say £8 per head, not £13 Disadvantages: outdated facilities, poor layout, small and limited access to animal enclosures
scottscottscott 05.05.2008 (05.05.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Paradise Wildlife Park
Advantages: Not many but good for say £8 per head, not £13 Disadvantages: outdated facilities, poor layout, small and limited access to animal enclosures
scottscottscott 05.05.2008 (05.05.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Paradise Wildlife Park
Nov 5th, 2003
very helpful by (96%):
helpful by (2%):
somewhat helpful by (2%):
