It was hot today so Mr F and I went on safari as you do (oh, alright, we went here).
It's a great day out, partly because it's all in-car and so a great leveller for mobility impaired crips, but mostly because no matter how many times you go you always see the animals doing something different.
Today we got mugged by parrots in the parrot-house, I told a lion he was lovely, whereupon he rolled over on his back and put all four paws in the air, watched the bears fight the wolves for some fish (Bears - 3, Wolves - 3), watched two monkeys fight a bitter and strategic battle for some cabbage leaves, and finally, after the cabbage war was won and all was peaceful, decided to set off for home - whereupon a monkey came from out of nowhere and parked itself on the bonnet of our car, staring in directly through the windscreen.
Fresh from charming the lion, I tried out my newly found powers of persuasion. "Wave to me, Monkey", I said in a Very Commanding Voice. It seemed to pay some attention and stared straight at us, (that's a good start, thinks I), but then the cheeky devil slowly lifts one leg very high and begins a long, leisurely (rather hypermobile) scratch of the backside.
There was no doubt about it, the beast was having a good ol' laugh at the newly claimed Fangian 'way with animals'. But all was not lost. The overconfident simian was so keen on giving a good show that it leaned over a little too far onto one skinny butt cheek, and, in a most ungainly manner, toppled straight off the bonnet... !
Note to self: next Rhematologist appointment - must try commanding her to wave at me.
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I really enjoyed Whipsnade last year. Must ask Mike if we can go again (we only got there a couple of hours before it shut, due to spending hours looking for an accessible place for lunch and me not fancying the food when we found one).
Although there was no drive-thru of animals, we could drive to the enclosure, park outside, get out and look, then get back in. Or I could wander, then flop and send Mike to fetch the car.
I felt rather silly being excited about going to the zoo at my age, but I share your enjoyment!
Flash, I refuse to feel silly, even though I'm well into my thirties - why should we have to stop doing the fun stuff when we grow up?! Another great thing about being a in car is even though the place may be full of other people's children, you don't have to be cheek to cheek with them - which is literally true when you're sitting down in a wheelchair.
They do have a pet's corner where you have to go on foot. The trick to avoiding the crowds is to head straight for it as soon as the park opens. We drive through a shortcut to it at the beginning of the safari drive - most people tend to do the safari drive first, so it's relatively quiet...
(shh, don't tell anyone I told you)
;0)
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