Safari Parks are always a bit of a hoot, some of our favorites animals at many safari parks are the baboons who can be clever little devils as seen in the video above put out by the Knowsley Safari Park in the UK. Apparently the baboons have figured out how to open luggage boxes you find on top of cars to get to all the treats inside. The park is asking people who have the boxes to avoid the baboon section and staged the video above to show us all how the baboons get into the boxes. If the little rascals ever get to see any of the Planet of the Apes movies we could all be in trouble.
Posts under ‘Animals’
A view over KL
The KL tower or Menara in the Malaysian capital is a magnificent place to view the city and get a great view of the huge Pat.. Twin Towers. The tower is actually the city’s highest observation tower, the Twin Towers only offer public viewing from the skybridge linking the towers. Being the fifth highest telecommunications tower after towers in Canada, Russia, China and Iran the structure is a pretty impressive engineering feat. The tower features an antenna reaching 421 metres and viewing pod and revolving restaurant at 276 metres and offers some breath taking views. The tower open-ended in 1996 and has been one of KL’s major tourist destinations ever since. The tower now features a mini zoo with some amazing native animals including reptiles, amphibians and monkeys, a interesting themed snow park complete with cement polar bears, penguins and snow men and some magnificent rainforest including a 100 year old jelutong tree which was saved from construction of the tower.
Wall Street’s Charging Bull
The Charging Bull is one of the most recognisable pieces of art around New York Wall Street financial district. Weighing in at over 3200 kg and standing 11 feet tall and 16 feet long the huge bronze bull was sculptured by Arturo Di Modica as a symbol of Strength and Power to the American People after the 1987 stock market crash. The artwork was actually a piece of guerrilla art by the artist who had it installed under the stock exchange Christmas tree in 1989. The statue was seized by police and impounded but after public outcry was brought back and installed a little up the road at Bowling Green. The statue today is one of New York City’s most photographed and loved sculptures with thousands posing with the bull every day. Some pose beside the head and horns of the beast while just as many want to pose with the rather graphic rear end.
A donkey of a time in Tijuana
Visitors to the Mexican / USA border tourist town of Tijuana might be a bit surprised to see Zebras in the main streets. Well on closer inspection you will see that they aren’t zebras but donkeys that have been painted up to look like the stripy African critters. The idea dates back to the 1940’s when the owners came up with a solution to the problem of donkeys shiny greyish fur being washed out by the sun in black and white photographs. Today there are Tijuana Zebras on many of the major tourist intersections around Tijuana and for a few Peso and a bit of bargaining you can have your photo taken with them as a memento of your visit to the city. Tijuana is a easy day trip from southern California. Just jump on one of the red trolleys from San Diego and after a 15 minute walk through the border control you are in Tijuana. Tijuana is home to some great shopping and dining, with great value, but like everywhere people should take care with their personal belongings and keep their wits about where they are as some parts of this city are deemed unsafe. But Staying to the tourist areas you are bound to have a great experience.
Flights for pets
We have been seeing this story around a fair bit for a new US airline dedicated to pets only and we thought we would share it here. The basic story goes instead of shoving your pet in the cargo hold of the plane you can send your pet on Petairways plane where it lives it up in the normal passenger section of a plane and is cared for by a pet attendant. The airline travels across the states from LA to New York stopping at Denver, Chicago and Washington along the way. It sounds like a good idea if your worried about the stress on fluffy in the cargo hold of a plane but we recon the stress of trying to find a pet flight to match up with a human flight and then collecting the pet will stop us ponying up the 149 bucks for fluffy’s flight. We will collect our pets from baggage carousel no 5 thanks. Read the rest of this entry »
Kakadu National Park
What a Croc
Yellow Water in Australia’s remote Kakadu National Park is a huge land-locked billabong and attracts thousands of visitors every year for its unique and beautiful native flora and fauna, with many coming especially to see the salt water crocodile in its natural habitat. The park is also home to millions of migratory birds including jacana, egrets, jabiru, sea eagles, magpie geese to name a few. The best way to see the natural environment is to join one of the many boat cruises up the billabong for a close encounter with nature. Daybreak and sunset are the most spectacular times and best for seeing the wildlife. Yellow Water is close to Jabiru and is about a 3-4 hour drive east of Darwin along the Kakadu Highway. Regular tourist services operate from Darwin to the park. Read the rest of this entry »
Penguins come to Melbourne
majestic king penguins at Melbourne Aquarium
Melbourne Australia is known for it’s Philip Island fairy penguins but now penguins from the Antarctic are finding their home in this great city. A magnificent new exhibit costing $28 million dollars has just opened at the Melbourne Aquarium featuring five king penguins and 13 very inquisitive gentoo penguins. Bred in captivity these majestic birds have been the biggest attraction these school holidays with thousands of families visiting the aquarium to enjoy these amazing creatures. The enclosure is kept at Antarctic temperatures and is covered in shaved ice and snow there is also a huge pond where the penguins can dive and play. Visitors can view the penguins both on the snow and from a huge glass pane window on the pond. The Melbourne Aquarium is the only place you can see either King or Gentoo penguins in Australia. The aquarium also features a very interesting Antarctic exhibition so visitors can not only see and learn about the penguins but learn a bit about this cold and mysterious southern continent. Read the rest of this entry »
AQUATICA- Raising the bar for Waterparks everwhere
This is ANYTHING but your typical waterpark! Who could create a waterpark better than SeaWorld? SeaWorld has created its first waterpark with Aquatica in Orlando, Florida. It really is something to see! At Aquatica, SeaWorld has taken their sea-life theme to a whole new level. Aquatica is located right across the street from SeaWorld on International Drive, only 15 minutes from the Orlando International Airport.
Loaded with some of the wildest slides, animals, and waterpark attractions you have ever seen, you will not want to miss it. They have everything from high speed lazy rivers to one of the biggest child play areas in the country. Kata’s Kookaburra Cove and Walkabout Waters give children a world they can call all their own. Filled with water spouts, fun kiddie rides, and a 60-foot water fortress, the child play area provides over 15,000 square feet of play space for young imaginations to run wild with! For those looking for adventure, they haven’t forgotten about you! The Taumata Racer allows for a high-speed competitive race to the finish. Eight slides at this attraction allow you to zip to the bottom, head-first, and race your closest friends and family members. Other perfect family attractions are those of the exhilarating family tube rides, the giant wave pool, and the relaxing lazy river, which takes you through a huge grotto filled with tropical fish. This isn’t the only spot where you can get up-close and personal with wildlife. The Dolphin Plunge at Aquatica is the most unique water ride in the country! The Dolphin Plunge shoots you out into a tube slide and then through the actual dolphin pool of the Commerson’s Dolphins. The beautiful Commerson’s Dolphins are tiny black and white dolphins that are known for their playful nature and quick speeds. As you shoot through their tank, don’t be surprised if they swim right along side you. It is an experience you will never forget!
Soviet statues and a zoo you can eat
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet control of much of Eastern Europe many of the huge monuments to the rule were removed and in many cases destroyed. But many in Lithuania were later retrieved and restored and are now on display at Grtas park, near Druskininkai in Southern Lithuania which opened in 2001. The park has become a family amusement park, and has a very odd list of attractions, there are over 80 of huge statues of just about every leader to rule the East, including Lenin and Stalin. There’s a few wooden huts with over a million pieces of memorabilia from this period and even a zoo, well a pretty crappy one in more ways than one. Don’t expect any exotic animals unless you are counting the chickens, pigs and the odd ostrich or pheasant- if you like the look of them, head down to the restaurant, they have a few of their zoo exhibits on the menu.. tasty. There’s plenty of market stalls where you can buy your very own Soviet era treasure or even some dodgy beer brewed on the premises. It may not be Disneyland but you will certainly be amazed, although in different ways. if you know what we mean.
Pandas for the Olympics
The horrific earthquake that shook China on May 12 this year not only killed and destroyed the homes of thousands of people it did extensive damage to wildlife, in particular the Chinese’s most prized animal the giant panda. The Wolong Giant Panda Reserve was only 32km from the epicenter and it was badly damaged, five of the staff members were killed in the carnage, but fortunately 58 of the 60 panda’s have been found and are all safe, the other two it is hoped they have just escaped and will be found. The pandas have been moved to Beijing and they are going to go on display at the Beijing Zoo and will be on display until November. There were plans to move the panda’s to Beijing before the earthquake but now the need is more crucial. It is expected over 6 million people will visit the zoo for a look at the fury black and white bears during their stay. It is believed under 1600 pandas now live in the wild.
