August 19th, 2023 and we returned to Chester Zoo only 6 days after our first visit of the year.
The zoo is really big (128 Acres), and to do it justice, you really need more than a day. (It turned out we need more than 2 days.) The weather looked fine, if a little windy, and we had free entry, so we filled up with fuel and hit the road. Probably the fastest we had ever left the house as a family. (I expect the neighbours thought it was a fire drill!) The M56 made life a little dreary and the drive in took longer than usual. There were a lot of plain crazy drivers out and the number of near misses we saw helped to keep me awake. Very, very awake. Hats off to the driver of the little red car who just stopped on the inside lane because they forgot to get in lane to leave the motorway. Eventually, we made it into the zoo and parked, once again toward the rear of zone C, somewhere near the far spiral arm of Andromeda. (Even when we get out early…)
The vans can be hired for the secret life of the zoo tours.
We are looking forward to 2025, when the zoo plans to open their new Heart of Africa experience, a savannah experience which seems to be covering a vast area of the site. (Although it may look like Dwayne is using a log to try to batter his way in early, it’s just a perspective trick. I promise.)
The meerkats are always a delight. They are photogenic, and even if you are a photographic gump like me you can get a decent picture.
The Rhinos have a good size compound to wander round in and plenty of shady areas to take a nap. There were several Eastern Black Rhinos out and about. This was the closest we could get to one.
We have never been very lucky with the tigers at the zoo. There’s a nice raised area, and I think they like to snooze behind that on sunny days. There are, we were told by staff, cubs in there too, but they were playing in the fairly dense bamboo. The animals have lots of good cover. My advice would be, plan your visits around the talk times and feeding times, if you have particular interests. The talks and shows are displayed near the entrance, and if you send a list of interests to the zoo, they will email you an itinerary.
The giant anteater was a nice surprise. Out and about in the compound shared with the capybara, he seemed to be enjoying the weather. The capybara were gathered at the other end of the compound. (I don’t know if they had disagreed about something, or there was just something on TV the anteater didn’t like.)
There is so much to see and do at the zoo. Even the pathways around are lovely, with a massive array of different flowers, shrubs and trees. The park is beautifully clean and tidy with plenty of waste bins around, which seem to be emptied regularly enough to deal with the massive crowds that visit.
The family decide to take a breather on the back of some visayan warty pigs.. carved from wood. The real ones were rooting around in their home happily.
There are a variety of talks and staff are very friendly. There is a boat tour which will take you around the island exhibits in a leisurely manner. All around the park are scattered small cafes selling snacks and larger areas selling hot food. We didn’t have time for the playgrounds yesterday, and that had been one of our plans for the day. Next time!
Another brilliant day at the zoo. See you all again soon.
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