Bringing Africa to Merseyside (Knowsley Safari Park)

Member Name: cdonkin

Product:	Knowsley Safari Park
Date:	05/03/09 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic day out for all the family

Disadvantages: Animals like to sleep

Knowsley Safari park located in the borough of Knowsley just outside of Liverpool boasts a 550 acre safari park with 5 miles of safari drive and an influx of over 500,000 visitors each year. It is the only Safari park in the North West and one of only 5 in the UK.

The park was first opened to the public by the then 18th Earl of Derby in 1971. The estate was the first safari park to be built close to a city. Knowsley is only 8 miles from Liverpool City Centre. The original route was a 3 ½ mile drive through enclosures of lions , cheetah, monkeys, zebra , giraffes, elephants and antelope however the popularity of the park was such, that in 1973, two years after opening the route was extended to the 5 mile route that is featured in today's park. Since 1971 the park has become one of Merseyside's major attractions and has won a host of tourism and animal husbandry awards.

I first became aware of Knowsley Safari park whilst at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. I saw a billboard poster for the park and it stuck in my mind. I have previously visited Chester zoo and Blue Planet Aquarium in the region and enjoyed both of them. A few days later I began to make some enquiries. I first checked out the Safari park website.

The website is incredibly informative and well lay out. It provides all the information you could need. The website outlines the opening times and pricings of the park, what you can expect to see at the park, how to find the park, the history of the park, other attractions at the Knowsley estate and so much more. I ended up spending a good hour researching the park from this website. I then visited Doo yoo and read the reviews of the park there and I was sold.

That weekend I packed my car with some snacks (my girlfriend) and set off from Manchester to the park. A great thing about the park is it is really accessible. I was there in no trouble, taking the M62 and then following the signs for the park along the M70.

You arrive and drive towards the ticket booth. It cost £12.00 for myself and £9.00 for my girlfriend who is a student. Compare this to blue planet (£14.50 and £12.50) and Chester zoo (£11.95 and £9.95) and you see that it is very comparatively priced and in my opinion good value. You can buy season tickets and family tickets however I was only intending on the one trip. They also offer an audio guide for £5 that tells you the history of the park and information as you drive around however I was not interested in this.

The first port of call was the toilet. The drive is 5 miles and takes over an hour to do (according to the park, though of course this depends on how fast or slow you drive) so I did not want to be needing a wee whilst Lions stalked my car. Luckily there are toilets placed not too far from the safari drive entrance.

As you drive through the safari park you go through one area to an other of different animals. Some roam free and some are in enclosures. The park claims to have over 400 mammals around the park so there was plenty to see and do. As you approach the first enclosure you drive through some open space that was populated by a few emus. These did not provide too much excitement but their inquisitive nature and lack of natural shyness to humans brought them very close to the car to provide some nice photos.
After this you reach the first enclosure. Located here are wild dogs of Africa. Though at the time we saw them they were anything but wild. The dogs lay lazing around while birds pecked at the joint of meat that had been left for them. I didn't dwell here for too long and took off along the road.

The next enclosure featured a solitude Tiger. There is a reason for the tiger being solitude however this is in the £5 audio guide I chose not to buy. The Tiger was hiding away asleep at the back of the enclosure so I could not really see him. We moved on to the next enclosure.

The lion pen was more interesting. As you approach there are lots of signs saying "DO NOT GET OUT OF YOUR CAR" "DO NOT OPEN YOUR WINDOWS" as well as signs saying to drive carefully as there are cubs. This got us all excited and we finally saw some action... quite literally. The first thing we saw as we entered the lion pen was the King of the Jungle mounting a lioness and planting his seed. As we drove slowly around this pen a few of the lion cubs began to playfully fight just yards from our car. This is what we came to see, Africa in the North West. The cubs were so playful and cute. A few lionesses came right up to the car actually touching the body work, completely at ease with the mounting traffic. As the lions were so lively the cars started to pile up, everyone wanting to watch and take photos. The park warden came over telling us to keep moving however after paying £12 to watch dogs and tigers sleep no one was going to move whilst this spectacle was going on.

Eventually after a good half an hour of lion watching we snaked our way out and around open enclosures with deer and buffalo and more emus roaming free. It was good to see these animals but they aren't as exciting as the lions or the fast approaching baboon enclosure.

There are two routes through the baboon enclosure. One that takes you around the enclosure and one that takes you through the enclosure. The one that takes you around the enclosure lets you see the devastation wrought to peoples cars from safety. The route through the enclosure lets you experience it. As it was my car we were in I was sceptical about taking it through the enclosure. Cars were exiting without windscreen wipers or radio aerials however I got talked into it. About 20 meters into the enclosure I spotted a big baboon come running across the grass and with a THUD he landed on my bonnet and climbed on my windscreen. I know he was a he because these baboons are not afraid to show of their private parts... or rub them all over your car!

I drove slowly through the enclosure fast gathering a collection of baboons on my car, watching them anticipating the imminent carnage. Monkeys leaped from my car to other cars and visa versa. Soon I had a baby and mother sat on my bonnet enjoying the ride, whilst a young male paid special attention to my wing mirrors. A Fiesta drove past us, three baboons sat on its roof, the read windscreen wiper hanging loose like a tail on the car...
We wound through the enclosure losing our monkeys as we went through, as we approached the exit there was one monkey blocking my car from freedom. The warden stepped out of his shed, a large stick in his hand ready to chase the monkey off if it got on my car so close to the exit. Luckily the monkey targeted the BMW M3 behind me instead.

The rest of the drive is much like the start. Vast open fields will all sorts of beasts of Africa you would expect to see roaming free. The only animals of interest I saw were the White Rhino. There were plenty types of buffalo and antelope that approached the car but these don't have the same appeal as a monkey or lion. Still I was grateful they were here and grateful of the opportunity of seeing them.

At the end of the drive is the Elephants located in a large enclosure however they were all cooped up in their shed. After these are the Giraffes, but these like the elephants had chosen to stay in their shed. Maybe it was feeding time. I would have liked to have seen these roaming free in the open like the buffalo however for obvious safety reasons they are in their own enclosures.

The drive took us about an hour and twenty minutes to complete and was well worth the modest entry fee. However that is not all the park has to offer. There is a large selection of amusement rides, a woodland walk, sea lion show, bug house, model railway, gift shop and restaurant to explore.
The amusement rides were geared towards the younger members of the parks visitors and so weren't really the sort of thing two young adults were interested in. However it is a good idea to have them here to give the children something extra to do (at an extra cost to the parent) and make the visit a truly spectacular family day out.

Hungry, we ventured to the restaurant. The restaurant, like a lot of tourist place restaurants is not of the highest quality and is quite high priced. A Burger chips and drinks meal set me back over £5 and the burger seemed to contain very little meat. It was very large but very disappointing in taste, I've ate much better at a Mc Donald's which I hate. The chips were all right but they aren't exactly the hardest food to get right.

It was cold and I didn't feel up to the woodland walk or the model railway so I cannot comment on them. Instead we wandered around the smaller pens of otters, peacocks, marmosets, wild boars and meerkats. We then ventured into the bug house which is well stocked with all forms of creepy crawlies and reptiles and then went to check out the sea lion show. Unfortunately the next show was not for another hour and a half so we went around the safari drive again. The brilliant thing about the attractions being living is that every drive is different. This time the dogs were more active and we saw more of the "boring" animals. Second time round took less time (45 minutes) but was still enjoyable.

The sea lion show was spectacular. The staffs really know their stuff and the sea lions put on a great show. We saw Max the only Sea Lion in the UK to be able to balance a rugby ball on his nose (apparently very hard to do) whilst rolling over. The auditorium was very loud however with screaming children; however this is to be expected at a tourist place geared towards family adventure. As I was watching though I couldn't help but think how unnatural the show was and indeed how unnatural the whole park is.
The day was ended with a visit to the shop which contains all sorts of overpriced Knowsley branded merchandise and teddies. I bought a lion teddy for my girlfriend and an "I survived the Baboons" sticker for my car and got little change from £20. Still I guess it's my fault for buying the stuff.
As we drove away we both felt very happy with the day. The park really is terrific value for money and I wish I bought a season ticket ( £27) as I can see myself going back in the summer. There is so much to see and do and the park is very family friendly and orientated towards all ages. Every time you visit there will be a new and different experience. Yes it's unnatural but the awareness of these amazing beasts that the park is giving to young eyes, and the exposure to the need for conservation and protection can only be a good thing.

Summary: 10/10 excellant fun, great value for money, will go again and again