Venturing out of Lancaster County...about 4+ hours drive over state lines (MD, WV & VA) and through the gorgeous Shenandoah Valley, our family found ourselves back for our 2nd annual feeding frenzy at the "drive-thru zoo" in Natural Bridge, VA. Aka the Virginia Safari Park. At the risk of sounding like an info-mercial, it's a 180 acre park that is home to over 1,000 exotic animals from 6 different continents.
The park consists of two experiences in one. First, a fun walkable petting zoo where there are miniature goats, potbelly pigs (this year w/lots of babies) and llamas to feed. Snakes and other scaly creatures to look at, as well as sloths, deer, tigers, kangaroos, exotic birds, monkeys and even giraffes that eat out of our hands!
Yes, this is a little slimy. But kids love it & parents fight
for the perfect photo opp.
The park is well-maintained, and well-staffed with frequent hand sanitizer stations. The staff are very knowledgeable about all of their animals and love to answer questions for all of us with "inquiring minds".
Once the walking tour is over, we hop back in our car where the real fun begins! Upon entry to the park we had purchased 4 buckets of food for $10. Since I'd read many online comments prior to our first trip, we ask for additional buckets (camels like to steal your buckets) and I bring along an extra plastic bag to dump all the food in to - then divvy it into smaller amounts so when you lose your buckets (and you will), you don't lose all your food at once.
Here's a shot of the beginning of our 3 mile drive-thru zoo.
Where the deer & the antelope play...
As we continue, various exotic (and a few not-so-exotic) animals come to be fed.
A nosy Watusi (one of the few we're not supposed to feed) thankfully doesn't tip us over!
The ostrich don't mess around and their hard pecks are a little intimidating.
Llamas are another fav; though they stalk cars and can sneak up on you!
Oh yeah, sometimes they bat those long lashes at you
and then spit food on you. It's not pretty.
This is what a hungry camel looks like:
And this is what a camel that steals your food bucket looks like!
But then they blow you kisses...
And look all cute for those special Kodak moments...
Can you say you've pet a zebra?
Okay...in actuality, that's a park no no,
but we had serious lack of impulse control when they got in our face!
By the end of the 3 mile drive, we ran out of food.
Luckily we didn't make this guy mad.
Though he did give us the stink eye.
Notice how quickly my husband rolled up his window!
Though the purpose of this blog was to highlight LanCo...this is such an
awesome experience, it just had to be shared.
Here's their link:
and here are my last bits of wisdom for this outing:
Drive your husband's car - it gets messy.
Don't wear white - llama spit, bison drool...need I say more?
Ask for more buckets - we lose on average 3 each trip.
Drive your husband's car. I cannot stress this enough.
Buy 4 buckets of food - it's worth it.
Take your camera.
