Hello Hive!
Almost a month ago, we surprised our daughter with a day trip to a 170-hectare zoological park, the biggest in the Philippines. Cebu Safari Adventure Park is nestled on the rolling hills of Carmen, an hour and a half drive from the city of Cebu.
In Part 1, we explored the park's history, safari tour packages, booking information, and its own breeding and research center.
This had been a long-overdue sequel. The first part of our day was spent admiring the white lions and the African Savannah Safari. From there, we walked towards the safari outpost.
Check out this short video from the previous post for an overview of how the surprise day trip was.
We will explore the canopy trail and the animal trail.
The Crocodiles and Otters
We weren't expecting that many crocodiles. Some of them were more active but much less scary than those that I have witnessed in the Crocodile Farm in Davao City who were in a feeding frenzy jumping energetically that would make anyone even an NBA player nervous in its attempt to get a piece of fresh meat.
Then there was this otter named Galen who enthusiastically demonstrated his swimming skills.
The Canopy Trail
The Outpost is an elevated restaurant offering a view where Ducks, Pelicans, Swans, Crowned Cranes, meerkats, and miniature horses were out and about.
A well-indicated trail under a canopy allowed us to appreciate them closely, while a crowned crane blocked us from taking the exit.
The crane wanted to alert us of his presence by blocking the pathway in front of the metal gate. He had these enormous and intimidating eyes. Two female visitors in front of us moved away, worried that it might feel threatened and attack. That didn't happen. We waited for him to leave calmly to which he did.
We also spotted a cassowary which is known to be the world's most dangerous bird according to the Guinness Book of Records.
"If a cassowary feels threatened, it will leap up and strike out with these dagger-like weapons, inflicting potentially lethal wounds to internal organs and causing severe bleeding. While cassowaries are certainly equipped to kill, they do not seek out trouble. Quite the contrary: like most animals, these birds would much rather avoid conflict." - Source
We walked past the Aviary Dome and we still had forty-five minutes left before the Bird Show were to begin. We seized this period to visit the Deer District and the gorgeous view from the observatory deck of the Basecamp.
Around the basecamp were Emus, Wallabies, and Kangaroos.
From there, you could also enjoy a worm's eye view of the Welcome Pavilion.
The Bird Show
We found a spot at the large auditorium where we sat at a safe distance from the rest of the spectators.
The Bird Show is a live show performed by cranes, lories, owls, Philippine Sea Eagle, macaws, and the Philippine Hawk. We went in without expectations. It reminded me of the spectacular Puy du Fou aviary show called Phantom Birds Dance or (Le Bal des Oiseaux Fantômes) in France.
Verdict- not bad.
My Favorite - The Capybaras
After the show, we walked along the Animal Trail. Anais found her favorite - Cotton-top Tamarins which were absolute cuties. The agile spider monkeys were fascinating to watch.
What attracted me the most were Capybaras.
Why? They just didn't have a care in the world. They comfortably swam in the water and when they were done, they walked next to us.
According to the information board, the capybaras are semi-aquatic rodents in South America. How can these cute creatures be rodents? I love the way they walk and their friendly demeanor. Their body language screams "kebs" an expression in our local language that means- "whatever" or "I don't care."
I love capybaras despite being the world's largest rodent.
The alpacas on the other hand were enjoying an afternoon nap
The final part of this Cebu Safari Adventure series will be about The Gardens of the World. Thank you for reading and wishing you all a lovely weekend!
To be continued...
