biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
This is a relatively new (2021) safari park in Hartwell, Georgia, about 20 minutes from the South Carolina state line. It’s not a place I would’ve gone out of my way for, but I found myself somewhat nearby and had a few hours to kill, and it was a perfectly serviceable way to do so.
The facility consists of a fairly small safari loop (it probably took me 45 minutes to circle around, without stopping to feed) split into two sections, and a small walkabout section mostly consisting of too-small wood and wire enclosures. Unsurprisingly, there are no rarities to be found here - it you’re reading this, you’ve certainly seen everything they have many times over, and the safari loop is bloated with the usual suspects of domestics, ratites, and fallow deer. It's definitely not a place to go out of your way for, but if you’re in the area with an hour or two to kill, there's certainly worse ways to do it. I enjoyed it for what it was.
Admission was surprisingly cheap at $10 as a single adult, but since they charge by head instead of by car, that could easily compound if you're coming with a larger group. Feed cost $5 a bag and the budgie walkthrough was an additional $2 a head (I did neither). The restroom on site was a slight step up from a porta-potty - roughly the same size and no AC, but it did contain a proper toilet and sink with plumbing, so props to them for that.
Safari species are listed in the order in which I saw them.
Walkabout Section
The facility consists of a fairly small safari loop (it probably took me 45 minutes to circle around, without stopping to feed) split into two sections, and a small walkabout section mostly consisting of too-small wood and wire enclosures. Unsurprisingly, there are no rarities to be found here - it you’re reading this, you’ve certainly seen everything they have many times over, and the safari loop is bloated with the usual suspects of domestics, ratites, and fallow deer. It's definitely not a place to go out of your way for, but if you’re in the area with an hour or two to kill, there's certainly worse ways to do it. I enjoyed it for what it was.
Admission was surprisingly cheap at $10 as a single adult, but since they charge by head instead of by car, that could easily compound if you're coming with a larger group. Feed cost $5 a bag and the budgie walkthrough was an additional $2 a head (I did neither). The restroom on site was a slight step up from a porta-potty - roughly the same size and no AC, but it did contain a proper toilet and sink with plumbing, so props to them for that.
Safari species are listed in the order in which I saw them.
Walkabout Section
- Gray-crowned crane
- Walkthrough aviary: Budgerigar, unsigned pigeon sp.
- African spurred tortoise, greater rhea
- African spurred tortoise
- Raccoon
- Black-and-white ruffed lemur, Geoffroy's spider monkey
- White-nosed coati
- White-nosed coati
- Petting pen: Nilgai, dromedary, yak, goat, sheep, pig, miniature donkey, miniature zebu, greater rhea, crested guineafowl
- Fennec fox
- Ring-tailed lemur
- Ring-tailed lemur, black-and-white ruffed lemur (juveniles)
- Tufted capuchin
- Salmon-crested cockatoo
- Laughing kookaburra, African gray parrot
- White cockatoo
- Red-crested turaco
- Blue-and-gold macaw, green-winged macaw
- Scarlet macaw
- Scarlet macaw
- Common ostrich
- Emu
- Plains zebra
- Horse
- Scimitar-horned oryx
- Cattle - taurine, zebu, and Watusi
- Common fallow deer
- Llama
- Aoudad
- Enclosure: Capybara
- Enclosure: Capybara, Patagonian mara, white-tailed deer
- Elk (wapiti)
- Alpaca
- Blackbuck
- Common eland
- Blue wildebeest
- Enclosure: Dromedary, horse, blue wildebeest, nilgai
- Enclosure: Red-necked wallaby, red kangaroo
- Nilgai
- Plains bison
- Water buffalo
- Indian peafowl
- Common fallow deer
- Yak
- Greylag goose
- Muscovy duck
Nilgai, Blue Wildebeest and Aoudad are a mild surprise, but that's about it.