First trip to The Wilds

Eric and I had heard and read about the Wilds for years and never had a great time to try it out.  But while we had some time to take--we decided to go for it. 

After packing our car with enough snacks, drinks, toys, blankets and DVDs for a party of 10, we headed down to Zanesville for our excursion.  The girls had a decent ride in the car--just a few uncomfortable spots, but they made it.

We boarded the shuttle school bus up to the main gate, got our passes, and then onto our safari bus.  Amara was excited to see other kids there and Cora loved that it was open with no windows and she could meander up and down the aisle ways.

First out, we saw some wild horses and donkeys--Amara especially loved seeing the baby animals, and there were quite a few!

The camels were also really close to our vehicle and didn't seem to mind us at all.  It was getting warm, so they were content to just sit for a bit.  Amara took control of the binoculars--I have no idea if she could see, but she looked the part.

The giraffes were just majestic--right next to us and so tall!  I mean we were up off of the ground and they still towered over the bus!

At our 2nd stop of the trip, we watched a beautiful cheetah and then headed inside for a quick snack and water.  Eric had his hands full with his ice-cream sticky girls, but we were really having fun.

After the break, we got to see some wonderful rhinos, pretty close too, and some ostriches. Cora had about all she could take and she finally conked out and took a little nap, while I held her on the bus.  Amara and Eric continued to spot as many animals as they could, running from one side of the bus to the other, snapping photos and shooting video.

Some smaller giraffes were in a different section of the park too, and seemed very interested in our group!

We saw the zebras on a few different hills as we crossed the plain, but we couldn't get a good shot of them.  They were so cool to watch though!  I'm sure we'll be back soon and maybe we'll have a better chance then.

We had about a 2 or 2 1/2 hour tour through the park and it was a tad long for the girls, but we are already planning our next trip--maybe Amara can bring a buddy with her to play with on the bus, or maybe try during a different season.  It's so great to see the animals in their environment!