Thursday, July 18, 2013

African Lion Safari - Go Wild!

Did you know Canada..  if you follow me on twitter (@diduknowcanada) you'll know we visited African Lion Safari in Hamilton Ontario this past Saturday, and it was AWESOME!

We've actually visited African Lion Safari every year since the boys were born, and let me tell you, if you haven't been yet this year, you need to go, because they have made some amazing updates!  A completely updated splash pad area, new ball pit play structure, the outdoor food area has been set up differently, we were very happy with the updates.  Along with the old favourites like the safari itself, elephants, shows and more!

The staff was very friendly from the moment we pulled up, once you go through the gates the parking lot is large and easily accessible (which I LOVE, especially with the baby).  We hopped on the first bus with it's huge windows, air conditioning and informative driver that gives you awesome facts and info about each animal in the park.  You can also drive your car through, which is nice for being able to stop as long as you want at each section.  Just be aware you may end up with a baboon sitting on top of your car!



The boys had a great time examining the map and guide book, and the animals were amazing!  The boys LOVED seeing a giraffe up close and seeing just how tall they really are.  The cheetah, zebras and lions were also big hits.  The baboons were the most exciting though, a couple jumped on top of the bus, they were on cars beside us, there was a Mama with a sweet baby, so much fun!

(do you see the Mama holding the baby baboon?  Sooooo cute!!)



After the bus ride we rode on the boat tour and hit up the splash pad, it was so much fun for the whole family.  A toddler area the little man could hang out in without getting splashed too much, the boys LOVED the new water slides and I loved how closely watched they were by staff, they organize the children in line, allow only 1 at a time on a slide and have them hop out of the way as soon as they splash down.  There's also a misty area, some fun bucket drops, and a little deeper area for the bigger kids.  This is an awesome way for everyone to cool down, including allowing mom to stick her feet in while holding everyone's stuff!


We stopped for a yummy pizza lunch in the air conditioned food area - lots of choices for everyone including the pizza we had, salads, hot dogs, chicken and more.



After lunch one of my big guys had to get his face painted as spider-boy!  The staff member applying the paint was friendly, got it done quick and easy, it was fun!



The boys were very excited to see the new play structure, they went through it countless times!



There was also lots of cool birds to see, the elephants, the petting zoo, the bird shows, the train rain, it was amazing!  A very full day, and the kiddos were tired and happy at the end of the afternoon.

If you haven't been you are missing out on an amazing experience for the whole family, I really recommend it and look forward to our visit again next year!  We are so excited to offer a giveaway from African Lion Safari, one lucky Canadian family will be heading there soon!  Enter below for your chance to win a family pass - 2 adults and 2 children, a $133 value!!!

Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

43 comments:

  1. I would love to win this, we have been discussing making a trip up there (it's 4 hrs away) later this summer! :)

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    1. Also, my first stop would be the elephant swim, how cool!

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  2. The water park! it's my sons favourite!

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  3. Definitely the water park - it's the best!

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  4. Is this open to the U.S. too? We live not far across the border. We haven't been there in a couple years but the updates look awesome! =)
    snowwolf222@yahoo.com

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  5. Definitely the elephant swim! Love it!

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  6. Love the Elephant swim, I am sure my daughter would too since it would be her first time.

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  7. We would likely go through the large Game Reserves in the Safari Tour Bus first.

    Adina H.

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  8. Bus tour first, then the water park!

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  9. Driving through large Game Reserves Chandra Christine O'Connor

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  10. Driving through large Game Reserves would have to be first my son wants to see a lion and i want to see a zebra

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  11. driving through the reserve with the kids would be first on our itinerary.

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  12. We would stop by the Elephant swim

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  13. The African Queen Boat would be our first stop.
    My rafflecopter name is Julie G.

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  14. The elephant swim sounds fantastic. I'd want to see that first.

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  15. We'd definitely first do the bus tour.

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  16. Our first stop would be the Pets’ Corner

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  17. The bus tour would be awesome.

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  18. We would stop at the Water Park first.cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  19. Elephant swim is so cool.
    (Debbie W)

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  20. We would drive through the safari first and then head to the splash pad :)

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  21. The Pets Corner sounds really cool..You get to see and pets close up...sounds incredible!

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  22. our first stop is always the large games reserve when they open at 10 because the animals are still awake.
    They didn't have the splash pad and new playground area done when we were there on May 4, so looking forward to going back and checking it out.

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  23. I think that the game reserve would be first, then the elephant swim, then the splashpad for us!

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  24. Our first stop would be to buy tickets for the bus tour of the game reserve!

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  25. Our first stop would be to drive through the game reserve, how cool is that to be able to drive through and see all the animals

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  26. Our first stop would be to see the elephants!

    sarah sar
    texan_michael AT yahoo DOT com

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  27. Definitely the bus tour before it's too hot (and the animals not as active)

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  28. The elephant swim! Or driving through to see the monkeys. They're my favourite!

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  29. probably the nature boy scenic railway :)

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  30. I think that We will first do the bus tour

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  31. I'd like to say we'd do the bus tour first but I have a feeling the boys would love to play in the water park area before we did anything else.

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  32. The Elephant Swim or Safari ride

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  33. we would drive through the safari first

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  34. Elephant swim and splash pad

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  35. We would want to go on the bus tour first

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  36. I would so have to take the Nature Boy's Scenic Railway first!

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  37. driving through the reserve would be first on my list Then on to the water area and splash pad

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  38. Taking a trip on the bus through the reserve!

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  39. First stop would def be driving through the game reserves. I think we would forget everything else on the first ride through and just hang out with the Baboons lol

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