#CountryKids at South Lakes Safari Zoo

My parents treated us to a trip to the South Lakes Safari Zoo as an early birthday treat for my son. At the moment it is £5 per adult with children free so its great value. It was our first trip under the new management and my parents hadn't seen many of the changes from the last couple of years. The sky was almost a perfect blue for a backdrop to a Cumbrian savannah:

There was a Halloween themed trail but we didn't have a go just enjoyed the decorations:

It wasn't long before my son found the first of the animal statues that children can climb on to:

We then took a stroll through the area where the creatures come right up close and you can feed some of them. Now my son is adult height the emus are a lot less menacing when they approach you: 

You can get really close to the lemurs and have to be careful that they don't touch you:

On a cold but sunny day at least they were just mostly interested in sunbathing:

Next stop was the Amazonian aviary with plenty of feisty Macaws and other colourful birds:

This one took off so low over my son's head that he decided he didn't want to be in the aviary any longer:

After a restorative hot drink we headed to the other side of the zoo. For the first time on a visit ever we actually saw the red squirrels. All of them were out making the most of the weather to stock pile for the winter. This cheeky one came right up to the wire:

We were just in time to catch the end of feeding time for the maned wolves. It was impressive to see how they devoured rats whole:

Next up was Big Cat Country with a few different species each in their own pen. My son once adopted a wolf so he was keen to see how they were doing:

The lions had found the sunniest spot in their enclosure to absorb as much heat as possible:

The jaguar was obviously not too happy about his small territory and he was pacing up and down the outside eyeing up the photographers:

By now we had built up an appetite so headed back to the cafe to share pizza, garlic bread and chips! We then felt restored enough to finish off the visit. There are more giraffes next door to the cafe that can be hand fed:

You can hear the Siamang way before you can see them:

They are also very fun to watch as they swing around on their ropes:

It was time for a rest now so we headed over to the train station for a ride on the Leviathan:

This miniature train takes you on a short ride past some of the animals:

A little bit of fun for all ages:

We had missed tiger feeding time but we did manage to see the tigers exploring their enclosure:

My son and I braved the Haunted House which had plenty of spooky effects:

My son is old enough to know that its all fake but it is pretty effective:

We did both jump when someone dressed as the rabbit from Donnie Darko suddenly leapt up from a corner:

It was slightly more sedate in the penguin enclosure which now has more room for the penguins to roam: 

My son then found another statue to climb on to (I really need to dig out older photos of him doing the same thing!):

We then had a chance to walk through the Andean aviary, although my son didn't pause to stop! The big condors didn't take off whilst we were in there but this beauty did:

Of course no day out with a child would be complete without a trip to the play area where he could climb:

slide:

and zip:

All in all a grand day out for all. It is sad that animals are being kept captive but it has meant that they have bred successfully and hopefully this will be helping some endangered species. The zoo has made a lot of improvements under its new management and fingers crossed will carry on with its good work.