A visit to Banham Zoo

Yesterday we decided to visit the zoo in our area. It was an hours drive by car but we had a Sat Nav., a mobile phone with Google maps, a map book and a print out of the directions so we managed well. Wendy navigated and I drove. The Cherubs had their Leap Pads on so it was rather difficult to hear the man on the Sat Nav.

Picture by Wendy

We discovered that there were many places where we could see keepers in action and listen to explanations so rushed to the penguins as soon as we had bought our tickets. SA penguins brought memories of Cape Town and Durban flooding back as did the antics of the Fur seals.

We decided that we needed to have an overview of the area so took a ride on the road train much to the delight of the Cherubs. Owen and Erin enjoyed a snack while we wandered down the different lanes and listened to the driver explain what there was to see.

Picture by Wendy

On our return to the station we set off to see the different sights. The Zoo is more like a Safari Park so there was much walking. The children had endless energy but the Granny found the heat rather exhausting.

We were thrilled to see some camels and the children were fascinated by the two humps as those in Qatar only have one hump. They loved seeing the balls that were provided for the camel's enjoyment.

I loved the sign telling us that Douglas was around. He would have loved seeing all these animals.

He was so cute and even let people rub his nose.

We saw many more animals but could have done with a second visit as there were places that we never managed to get to.

After all the walking we decided to have some lunch and then went to the play area so the Cherubs could have some fun running and climbing before we returned home.

Picture by Wendy

After all the fun it was time to say good bye to the zoo. We decided to take the fast route home and managed that too thanks to Wendy's excellent navigation. Douglas would have been impressed as he always liked to travel along different routes. He trained me well.