Which zoos have great safari tours?

[nanoboy]

We recently returned from a trip to Adelaide where we visited the open-range Monarto Zoo.

Included in the entry fee, you get to hop on a bus that drives through the animal enclosures (giraffes, buffalo, elands, lions, painted dogs etc). I didn't like the fact that they used standard buses with tinted windows that could not open. (See pic.) However, I liked the idea of being able to drive through the carnivore enclosures. I did not get the impression that there was an open vehicle type tour that you could do at Monarto.

At my local open-range zoo, Werribee Zoo, the buses are quite different. Indeed, the windows on one type of bus open so you can get good photos; the new vehicle has no windows at all; and the off-road tour has no windows and gets up close to the animals. (See attached pics pulled from their website.)

Which zoos around the world have similar safari-type tours? Which zoos do it really well? Do you have a pic or two to post, especially of the vehicles used?

 

[DavidBrown]

The Kilimanjaro Safari ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom is one of the best safari tours in a U.S. zoo from what I've experienced. They use a custom built safari vehicle. There is a picture of it on their website: Kilimanjaro Safaris | Walt Disney World Resort
Part of the tour is through open enclosures with giraffes, zebra, crowned cranes, many antelope species. You pass by large enclosures with hippos, Nile crocodiles, savanna elephants, lions, and cheetahs.

The San Diego Safari park takes people out in their large African field enclosures in large trucks: http://101thingstodosw.com/san-diego/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/san-diego-zoo-safari-park1.jpg
They charge large sums to do this. The standard safari tour which does not go into the enclosures takes people around in a tram: Africa Tram Safari at the San Diego Safari Park in Escondido - Reviews of Africa Tram Safari at the San Diego Safari Park, Activities in San Diego, CA

Safari West in Northern California takes people around in modified jeeps and drives through large enclosures with several antelope species, plains zebra, and cape buffalo. Giraffes, white rhinos, and cheetahs are in large enclosures.http://www.posix.com/SafariWest/images/Trucks.jpg

 

[jbnbsn99]

Hmmm, should I answer or not

 

[DavidBrown]

Hmmm, should I answer or not

Yes, you should. I was going to include Dallas Zoo in my write-up, but you are one of the world's experts so you should do it.

 

[nanoboy]

The Kilimanjaro Safari ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom is one of the best safari tours in a U.S. zoo from what I've experienced. They use a custom built safari vehicle. There is a picture of it on their website: Kilimanjaro Safaris | Walt Disney World Resort
Part of the tour is through open enclosures with giraffes, zebra, crowned cranes, many antelope species. You pass by large enclosures with hippos, Nile crocodiles, savanna elephants, lions, and cheetahs.

The San Diego Safari park takes people out in their large African field enclosures in large trucks: http://101thingstodosw.com/san-diego/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/san-diego-zoo-safari-park1.jpg
They charge large sums to do this. The standard safari tour which does not go into the enclosures takes people around in a tram: Africa Tram Safari at the San Diego Safari Park in Escondido - Reviews of Africa Tram Safari at the San Diego Safari Park, Activities in San Diego, CA

Safari West in Northern California takes people around in modified jeeps and drives through large enclosures with several antelope species, plains zebra, and cape buffalo. Giraffes, white rhinos, and cheetahs are in large enclosures.http://www.posix.com/SafariWest/images/Trucks.jpg

Hey David, thanks for replying.

I quite like all the vehicles and apparent layouts, except for the tram ride at San Diego. It seems like it's just a lazy man's tour for people who don't want to walk, as it does not go into the actual enclosures.

The safari jeeps at Safari West are individual jeeps (each requiring a driver), or are they connected so that just the one at the front is the prime mover and the others are "carriages"?

 

[DavidBrown]

Hey David, thanks for replying.

I quite like all the vehicles and apparent layouts, except for the tram ride at San Diego. It seems like it's just a lazy man's tour for people who don't want to walk, as it does not go into the actual enclosures.

The safari jeeps at Safari West are individual jeeps (each requiring a driver), or are they connected so that just the one at the front is the prime mover and the others are "carriages"?

The jeeps are individually driven, they are just lined up in the picture.

The San Diego tram is actually the only way to see much of the facility as many of the enclosures are not accessible by walking. The tram replaced a monorail ride that used to last almost an hour and take in large Asian animal exhibits as well as the African ones. There has been talk of an Asian tram or walking tour being added at some point to make that part of the park accessible, but there is no indication of when or if that will happen.

 

[jusko88]

The Wilds: Advancing Conservation through Science, Education & Personal Experience - Home

This is in central Ohio and runned by Columbus Zoo.

 

[jusko88]

African Safari Wildlife Park | Home

This another one from northern ohio right outside toledo.

 

[jbnbsn99]

Yes, you should. I was going to include Dallas Zoo in my write-up, but you are one of the world's experts so you should do it.

Haha! Yeah, we have a safari via monorail (aka, the Monorail Safari). I've been told it's good. It goes to Africa and back in 20 minutes.

 

[nanoboy]

Hey folks, I forgot about this thread as it very quickly ended up at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for all your suggestions, and keep them rolling in please.

 

[DavidBrown]

There are some other AZA-accredited zoo safari experiences in U.S. zoos and theme parks that I have not experienced, but perhaps others who have can comment on them. There are also pictures of them in the gallery through which you can contact people who have experienced them:

Rhino Rally and the Serengeti tour at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida
Lion Country Safari in Florida
Wildlife Safari in Oregon
I think that the Fort Wayne Zoo in Indiana has some kind of safari ride?