Christmas outdoor adventure – A trip to Woburn Safari Park

Bubby D has a bit of a thing for monkeys and dinosaurs at the moment – a lot of her time is spent growling or ‘ooo-ooo-ooo’-ing at various intervals in an excitable manner. The days between Christmas and New Year were mainly filled with pottering around the house, but we thought a family day out might be fun – and one that involved monkeys or dinosaurs would be even better!

Taking her to see (real live) dinosaurs presented some obvious difficulties, but monkeys – well, that was more of a realistic goal.

Which is why last Sunday we got in the car, travelled up the M1 a bit, and arrived at Woburn Safari Park.

I’d never been to a Safari Park before and wasn’t sure what to expect – although I’d heard tales of naughty nibbly monkeys so we made sure we removed Bubby D’s window sock from the car before we went in…

Whilst queuing for entry, the Wee Man and Bubby D were already very excited, noses pressed to windows as they spotted a Zebra and some deer. (Part of the excitement was due to the fact we let them out of their car seats and they came to sit in the front, a very unusual treat).

Then our safari began.

Rhinos, tigers, lions and a big brown bear drew gasps of delight from the Wee Man, who declared ‘they’re only bitey if you get out of the car’. Admittedly, this was a very good reason to stay inside the car, but aside from that we got a great view whilst relaxing in a warm, comfortable environment – not something you get when you’re pushing around two kids on a chilly day at the average zoo.

Next up, the highlight of our trip for Bubby D – the monkey bypass. Driving in, the Other Half saw a car covered in monkeys ahead, stopped suddenly to avoid squashing one, and stalled the car. Sensing a stationary target, two monkeys immediately ran towards our car and jumped on the bonnet, before one jumped on the roof no doubt intent on investigating our aerial.

Bubby D was enthralled! The bonnet monkey sat and groomed himself, only inches away from where she sat watching. The Wee Man was beside himself with glee, jumping up and down looking fairly like a stereotypical monkey himself. Just as monkey wee began running down our windscreen (amazing, if you’re a three year old) another monkey leapt on the car in front and bent their aerial in half, before settling down to have a good chew. Variations of this entertainment continued for some time and although there were several cars driving around, we never felt pressured to move on or proceed faster than we would have liked.

Eventually, having finally seen the monkey despatched from the car in front by a park worker waving a stick around, it was time to see what else was on offer and carry on around the track to the car park for the on-foot attractions.

First stop – the play ark. It looked a bit desolate from the outside, and it seemed the promised soft play and restaurant might not actually exist. However, getting to the door, we were greeted by a cacaphony of happy sound that proved otherwise – and the Wee Man was off to discard his shoes faster than if he was being chased by a bitey tiger.

I was very impressed with the soft play, which featured parent friendly steps to each level as well as more exciting poles, soft ramps and nets for smaller more energetic people to scale. Much, much nicer for me and my unhappy joints to be able to assist the Wee Man without having to clamber around on hands and knees myself! There was a smaller area with ball pond, slide and various steps and ramps for littler ones as well, which Bubby D enjoyed exploring. The four person ‘sack slide’ was a big hit, with all of us enjoying a few races down it.

Sadly, although the stated soft play was in existence, the restaurant was a bit more disappointing – it was serving only drinks with no hot or cold food available (apparently, they’d sold out!). Luckily I had planned ahead for the kids, and brought along a lunchbox with yoghurts and snacks which they munched on happily, but the Other Half and I were left a bit peckish as we didn’t have time to investigate other food options before the show at SeaLion Cove was due to start (and which we had to pay an additional £2 fee each to see).

By this point, the Wee Man was getting a bit antsy (and was also a bit miffed to be dragged away from the curly blue slide, giant freefall slide and sack slide he was still very much enjoying). However, as soon as the Sealions came out all eyes were on them and he and Bubby D were both captivated by their antics – the Wee Man particularly liked their shark impression…

Randomly, after the sea lions had finished, a screen was lowered over their pool and a 3D film was shown. Bubby D was more interested in eating her glasses than wearing them, and the Wee Man discarded his after a couple of minutes when a spider came out of the screen, but he did enjoy watching the rest of it in blurry 2D.

With the afternoon rapidly drawing to an end, we just had time for a quick visit to the marmosets, tortoises and penguins (one of which delighted Bubby D by waving hello) and then it was back to the car, via the basic but clean toilet facilities.

Two minutes later, we had two sleeping children and two relaxed adults driving home. All in all, a great day out!

 

We were provided with a complimentary pass by Moneysupermarket – who have great vouchers for family days out – for the purposes of this review, but all words are my own honest opinion.