Howletts or Port Lympne?

taun said:
Thanks, Seems I will be doing Howletts first and check out were it all began. (its still months off but am like a child am getting very excited about visiting them, I have wanted to visit them since hearing about the Gorillas held there :D)
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WOW you live so close and have never visited Howletts. Its a funny thing about the English and there perception of a "long" trip.

As an Australian "we" travel, l have visited Howlettes a few times and found it life changing! From my first visit at 18. It would be great if you would write a review from the perception of a first visit.
 
zooman said:
WOW you live so close and have never visited Howletts. Its a funny thing about the English and there perception of a "long" trip.

As an Australian "we" travel, l have visited Howlettes a few times and found it life changing! From my first visit at 18. It would be great if you would write a review from the perception of a first visit.
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We english are world famous for moaning!!! :p

Will think about a review :cool:
 
I too am also amazed at the talk of road trips and ventures farther afield to see zoos in the United Kingdom. For my past road trips my wife and I have driven 8-9 hours to see a zoo, then afterwards driven 7 more hours to a zoo, then another 8 hours to a zoo, etc. Canada and the U.S.A. are so enormous (#2 and #3 in the world) that major zoos in the western half of the continent can be a day of driving apart from each other! In Britain there are hundreds of zoos just a few minutes apart, and if I lived there I'd probably never stop visiting major collections...haha. I have a 5 hour round-trip just to see my "local" zoo in Seattle, and it's a 2 hour round-trip to the Vancouver Aquarium. Beyond that it is a 6 hour round-trip to the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and a 10 hour round-trip to the Oregon Zoo in Portland. Those are the closest major zoos...incredible!
 
snowleopard said:
In Britain there are hundreds of zoos just a few minutes apart, and if I lived there I'd probably never stop visiting major collections...haha.
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Not quite,and we also have Horrendous roads choked with traffic a lot of the time, but agreed most UK zoos ae far far closer than in the US or Oz. Bu travelling huge distances is not a UK habit like in USA or Oz. Its all down to what you are used to...
 
its anoying, port lympne maps around the park say there are wild dogs in the two enclosures where the tiger and lion are

they even say they still have asian elephant!!
 
oh yer, if you want to see clouded leopard go to howletts, no public veiwing areas at port lympne
 
Cat-Man said:
its anoying, port lympne maps around the park say there are wild dogs in the two enclosures where the tiger and lion are

they even say they still have asian elephant!!
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There are many mistakes on those maps at both parks, due to them not being changed when animals have been moved.
 
gentle lemur said:
I gave my advice before you mentioned the other circumstances - so I agree Howletts is your better bet. I think there's a little bit more for kids at Howletts too.
In the past, I have done both in a day like Pertinax - it's possible, but it's a real test of stamina and you don't get the chance to watch the animals as much as you'd like. I think I'm too old for it now.
Last year I combined Howletts with RSCC, I didn't add Winghams as Bele did because I didn't know it was there until I drove past it en route.

Alan
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I had not planned on Wingham , just Howletts and RSCC . I saw the signs for Wingham , which I was only very vaguely aware of , on the road and could not resist stopping off for a quick look around ! Another collection to add to my list .

I also agree with others that it is nice to spend a full day at a collection really taking it in . However , given the chance , I would rather a quick visit than nothing .
 
Bele said:
I also agree with others that it is nice to spend a full day at a collection really taking it in . However , given the chance , I would rather a quick visit than nothing .
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I just have a quick visit if I know the place well, first visits are usually a full day so I can appriecte the place fully.
 
Pertinax said:
Well, go to Howletts and just put the Drills out of mind... you can see Malay Tapirs at Twycross or London. At Port Lympne they can sometimes be invisible.
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I've tickled a tapirs ears at Port Lympne. She also let me stroke her back. But it's true that they can be invisible, you'd think a large black-and-white animal would stand out like a sore thumb, but it's amazing how they disappear into the vegetation of the paddocks.
I agree with the above comments: stick to Howletts, it'll be easier to get round with kids in tow, and you'll see enough to make it a special day. We once saw Clouded Leopard cubs, but they weren't easy to photograph! The honey badgers always do us proud for photos.
 
Bele said:
I had not planned on Wingham , just Howletts and RSCC . .
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Had not heard of RSCC. Will have to check it out.

Found the web site. 1.5 acres!
Charging
BE A ZOOKEEPER FOR A DAY £195
BEHIND THE SCENES £125
MEET A RARE SPECIES £150

Sounds like a little money making machine!
 
zooman said:
Had not heard of RSCC. Will have to check it out.

Found the web site. 1.5 acres!
Charging
BE A ZOOKEEPER FOR A DAY £195
BEHIND THE SCENES £125
MEET A RARE SPECIES £150

Sounds like a little money making machine!
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£7 for adult entry is quite reasonable though

most keeper for a day schemes are roughly that price at the zoos i've looked at and I reckon if other zoos provided the other services then they would come out to those prices. Doesn't seem extraordinarily expensive to me...
 
CZJimmy said:
£7 for adult entry is quite reasonable though

most keeper for a day schemes are roughly that price at the zoos i've looked at and I reckon if other zoos provided the other services then they would come out to those prices. Doesn't seem extraordinarily expensive to me...
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I agree the entry price is reasonable. The experiance prices are comparable.

The Zoo is on 1.5 acres! That is the "little money machine". I don't know of a smaller zoo? Central Park is bigger.
 
zooman said:
I agree the entry price is reasonable. The experiance prices are comparable.

The Zoo is on 1.5 acres! That is the "little money machine". I don't know of a smaller zoo? Central Park is bigger.
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Shaldon is smaller and even when they have finished extending the zoo it will still be smaller than the RSCC.
 
Howletts is easy to get round, they'll get to see baby gorillas and elephants, but Port Lypmne is truly amazing, it will take your breath away. You don't have to do the whole route in one visit, there is a shorter route that misses out some of the lower areas of the park, plus the african safari takes you round on a truck.

Can you not still see clouded leopards in the old cage at Port Lympne, near the monkeys?
 
I'd heard of the RSCC but had no idea that it was situated on only 1.5 acres. Wow the pricing is steep, as the admission is about $15 Canadian and for 1.5 acres that is an amazingly high rate. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is massive, one of the top 5 zoos in North America, and it only costs about $11 to visit for the entire day. The Central Park Zoo in New York City is the smallest that I've ever visited, and I've heard that it is 6 acres in size. But it's quality over quantity, right everyone? Haha
 
Bwassa said:
I've tickled a tapirs ears at Port Lympne. But it's true that they can be invisible.
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I believe there are 6-8 Malay Tapirs there- I've never seen more than one or two, more often none...

Clouded Leopard- in my experience another very difficult species to see being nocturnal, but possibly some of theirs were handraised, making them more confident of showing themselves in the daytime. I had very good views of one at Howletts on my last visit.
 
johnstoni said:
Howletts is easy to get round, they'll get to see baby gorillas and elephants, but Port Lypmne is truly amazing, it will take your breath away. You don't have to do the whole route in one visit, there is a shorter route that misses out some of the lower areas of the park, plus the african safari takes you round on a truck.

Can you not still see clouded leopards in the old cage at Port Lympne, near the monkeys?
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sorry, no you cant
 
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