It was this small yet amazing post from @FunkyGibbon in the ZooChat Global Challenge thread. There was also striped skunk on there but I omitted it due to the wow factor of the following species, particularly numbers 93 and 94!
Snowleopard's Dutch Sights, Belgian Delights & German Ratites
- Thread starter snowleopard
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It was this small yet amazing post from @FunkyGibbon in the ZooChat Global Challenge thread. There was also striped skunk on there but I omitted it due to the wow factor of the following species, particularly numbers 93 and 94!
Snow leopards could become locally extinct.
I haven't posted on this thread in 24 days and so it is time for an update!
Thanks very much @KevinB for your excellent advice and I'm definitely up for meeting anyone on my big European trip. I appreciate the input that I've received on this thread, as well as from several other zoo nerds via private messages and emails. On all of my 8 USA zoo trips, as well as when I visited 14 zoos in Australia in 2007, I planned everything myself with basically zero help from anyone. This time around, on what is really my 10th zoo trip and final one for a few years, I've been grateful to read about recommendations for my journey.
[...]
I'm not going to post an updated full itinerary at this point, but the latest plan has me visiting 47 Dutch zoos, 12 Belgian zoos and at least 25 German zoos. If I have to miss a few small places due to traffic congestion then that will be no big deal and the 'butterfly-greenhouse zoos' will be the first to go.I'll be gone for 30-31 days and will visit perhaps 85 zoos in total...depending on future changes that I make to my plans. I'll depart Vancouver Airport on approximately July 15th, 2019, and leave Amsterdam Airport on approximately August 14th, 2019 to return home.
I'm glad to offer you advise and to answer your questions. If you have any further questions on Belgium or its zoos you can pose the question here and I and the other members of this site from the low countries will try to answer them as best as we can.
I will stay tuned and keep track of the updates you post and of your itinerary once you post more about it. Once there is comfirmation on the dates I will contact you to discuss the details of our meeting at Zoo Antwerpen and/or Planckendael.
I am also going to continue my gallery postings of Belgian and Dutch zoos which I believe you have been enjoying as a "preparation". If you wish to see a picture of something or information on something just ask and I'll try to be of help. If I can get to it I'm also going to write some reviews of some of the facilities I have visited this year.
As far as Planckendael goes I have heard that the Tasmanian devil feeding and the Asian elephant feeding at the pool, usually accompanied by bathing, are recommended as they allow for close viewing of the animals. This would help fill up a whole day at Planckendael, especially since I've heard you have to be at the enclosure a bit in advance to have a good spot. I have not attended these yet myself however.
As far Antwerp goes: I think the diversity of species and the rarities would make sure you could fill up a day. Also, regarding Antwerp, if you were to use the tram, it would cost you three euros for a standard ticket. And you'd have to get off the tram at station Astrid or station Diamant/Centraal Station (depending of the line) to get very close to the zoo.
Regarding the visits in the coastal region of Belgium I think it is a good thing you have a bit of wiggle room in your schedule.
To travel between the coastal towns there is a large coastal road traveling most of the length of the Belgian coast (the N34) but the Belgian coast is very busy during July an August, and this road is one of the busiest and has plenty of crossroads, various kinds of passages and busy town centers along it. You shouldn't count on theoretical driving times being actual driving times in the coastal region in summer.
Also regarding the coastal visits, I did some quick research for you on parking. In Blankenberge and Oostende you probably will have to use paid public parking lots. In Oostduinkerke there is free parking available nearby. I however do not have any English sources at the moment.
Finally, on my most recent visit (2017) to the Sea Life Center in Blankenberge (which I assume is a lot like other Sea Life Centers) I noticed that some part of it are getting pretty run-down. The North Sea Aquarium in Oostende also seems to be rather run-down (although I have not visited this facility). At least Navigo seems to be in a good state, but appears to be mostly a fishery museum with some tanks as an extra. That said, I'm sure you've seen your fair share of run-down and outdates facilities in a poor condition and state of repair, and from what I've seen in the gallery these probably wouldn't come close to some of the worst wreckage facilities you have seen.
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Thanks for the many pieces of advice that I've received over the past couple of days, although I have been chuckling away due to the suggestions from some individuals. Everyone always wants me to visit more and more zoos but in truth my 'Snowleopard Road Trips' cannot be endless journeys that never end. I originally posted a 3-week, Dutch/Belgian tour and then I had a litany of suggestions in regards to Germany. A month went by and I provided an update declaring that I'd not only added Germany as a third nation but in fact 8 full days and another 25 zoos to the already exhaustive trek. Now I'm getting suggestions to make the journey even longer...haha. My wife and 4 kids would disown me if I never came back.
If I do end up in the Hanover/Hannover region (spelling seems to fluctuate depending on the language of a particular website), I will almost certainly NOT be visiting Walsrode. If I'm going to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to visit zoos in Europe then a major ABC facility with 1.3 million annual visitors is going to win out over a bird park with less than 300,000 annual visitors. On a future trip then I will DEFINITELY spend a day at Walsrode but I need to draw the line somewhere. Many Euro zoo nerds do not enjoy either Hanover or Gelsenkirchen, but Allen Nyhuis (zoo book author and great friend of mine) places BOTH of those zoos in his Top 20 zoos for all of Europe! He has visited what is likely the 'best' 85+ zoos on the continent and he loves both Hanover and Gelsenkirchen while others dislike those zoos; he thinks that they are fantastic. I need to find out for myself and I'm really intrigued to see them next summer. Will I like them or not? Wait and see!
As for Walsrode, when visiting a zoo my top destinations would be the mammal-related exhibits and buildings, then the reptile/amphibian habitats, then I'd even choose an excellent aquarium over a bird house, and even a top-notch invertebrate house over an avian delight. I love the huge Scripps and Owens aviaries at San Diego Zoo, the immense Wings of Asia aviary at Zoo Miami and I've often said that penguins are "zoo superstars" but no matter how often I appreciate birds...they are still bottom of the list in terms of animals that I seek out at a zoo. A choice between touring Hanover, one of the 20 most popular zoos in all of Europe in terms of attendance, and a bird park (no matter how spectacular) that was at risk of closing down a few years ago, is not a choice at all. I know that is sacrilege to some zoo nerds but that is my stance and hopefully no one will denigrate my choices. Plus, Walsrode is almost an hour farther north and would probably take up an entire day and so I'll save it for a future trip.
What is amusing is that I had a private message yesterday saying "if you are considering going to Walsrode then Hamburg is only 1.5 hours away" and about two weeks ago I had a ZooChatter push me in the direction of Salzburg, Austria!!! I had mentioned that I was trying to see if I could add on another day for a Frankfurt/Kronberg combination and they said that I should add on 3 more days and do Stuttgart, Munich and Salzburg. If I listened to all of the advice that I have received then I'd be in Bratislava and Budapest before I could blink my eyes!
I'm concentrating on seeing just about every zoo in the Netherlands and Belgium...therefore Germany is a nice bonus on my 30-31 day trip. Glancing through Zooming in on Europe's Zoos (Sheridan, 2016), the most comprehensive book on European zoos ever published, it is a perfect overall guide for a Canadian that dreams of Euro jaunts.
In that book there is a listing of 31 German zoos and with luck on my side I'd like to visit all of the ones close to the Dutch/Belgian border on my 2019 trip: Aachen, Cologne, Dortmund, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hanover, Krefeld, Kronberg, Munster, Neuwied, Nordhorn, Osnabruck, Rheine and Wuppertal. That makes for 15 zoos.
When I eventually head back to Germany in 2022 or in later years, that would leave me these zoos to visit: Augsburg, Berlin, Berlin Tierpark, Dresden, Erfurt, Halle, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Landau, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Munich, Nuremburg, Rostock and Stuttgart. That makes for 16 zoos...plus Walsrode so that all of the bird nerds on ZooChat don't excommunicate me.
Of course the nation of Germany has a tremendous number of zoos, second in the world to the USA, and my hope is that I'll visit approximately 50% of the big German zoos in 2019 and then on the next European trip I'll visit all of the others. As things stand right now my journey is 10 months away. Possibly 30-31 days. Around 85 zoos. At some point right near the end of the trip I'll visit my 500th zoo all-time...more than likely some obscure Dutch delight with meerkats and small-clawed otters around every corner. I'll keep posting updates as time goes by because planning these big trips is a tremendous amount of fun and the whole process is something that I love to do.
I originally posted a 3-week, Dutch/Belgian tour and then I had a litany of suggestions in regards to Germany. A month went by and I provided an update declaring that I'd not only added Germany as a third nation but in fact 8 full days and another 25 zoos to the already exhaustive trek. Now I'm getting suggestions to make the journey even longer...haha. My wife and 4 kids would disown me if I never came back.If I do end up in the Hanover/Hannover region (spelling seems to fluctuate depending on the language of a particular website), I will almost certainly NOT be visiting Walsrode. If I'm going to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to visit zoos in Europe then a major ABC facility with 1.3 million annual visitors is going to win out over a bird park with less than 300,000 annual visitors. On a future trip then I will DEFINITELY spend a day at Walsrode but I need to draw the line somewhere. Many Euro zoo nerds do not enjoy either Hanover or Gelsenkirchen, but Allen Nyhuis (zoo book author and great friend of mine) places BOTH of those zoos in his Top 20 zoos for all of Europe! He has visited what is likely the 'best' 85+ zoos on the continent and he loves both Hanover and Gelsenkirchen while others dislike those zoos; he thinks that they are fantastic. I need to find out for myself and I'm really intrigued to see them next summer. Will I like them or not? Wait and see!
As for Walsrode, when visiting a zoo my top destinations would be the mammal-related exhibits and buildings, then the reptile/amphibian habitats, then I'd even choose an excellent aquarium over a bird house, and even a top-notch invertebrate house over an avian delight. I love the huge Scripps and Owens aviaries at San Diego Zoo, the immense Wings of Asia aviary at Zoo Miami and I've often said that penguins are "zoo superstars" but no matter how often I appreciate birds...they are still bottom of the list in terms of animals that I seek out at a zoo. A choice between touring Hanover, one of the 20 most popular zoos in all of Europe in terms of attendance, and a bird park (no matter how spectacular) that was at risk of closing down a few years ago, is not a choice at all. I know that is sacrilege to some zoo nerds but that is my stance and hopefully no one will denigrate my choices. Plus, Walsrode is almost an hour farther north and would probably take up an entire day and so I'll save it for a future trip.
What is amusing is that I had a private message yesterday saying "if you are considering going to Walsrode then Hamburg is only 1.5 hours away" and about two weeks ago I had a ZooChatter push me in the direction of Salzburg, Austria!!! I had mentioned that I was trying to see if I could add on another day for a Frankfurt/Kronberg combination and they said that I should add on 3 more days and do Stuttgart, Munich and Salzburg. If I listened to all of the advice that I have received then I'd be in Bratislava and Budapest before I could blink my eyes!
I'm concentrating on seeing just about every zoo in the Netherlands and Belgium...therefore Germany is a nice bonus on my 30-31 day trip. Glancing through Zooming in on Europe's Zoos (Sheridan, 2016), the most comprehensive book on European zoos ever published, it is a perfect overall guide for a Canadian that dreams of Euro jaunts.
In that book there is a listing of 31 German zoos and with luck on my side I'd like to visit all of the ones close to the Dutch/Belgian border on my 2019 trip: Aachen, Cologne, Dortmund, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hanover, Krefeld, Kronberg, Munster, Neuwied, Nordhorn, Osnabruck, Rheine and Wuppertal. That makes for 15 zoos.
When I eventually head back to Germany in 2022 or in later years, that would leave me these zoos to visit: Augsburg, Berlin, Berlin Tierpark, Dresden, Erfurt, Halle, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Landau, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Munich, Nuremburg, Rostock and Stuttgart. That makes for 16 zoos...plus Walsrode so that all of the bird nerds on ZooChat don't excommunicate me.
Of course the nation of Germany has a tremendous number of zoos, second in the world to the USA, and my hope is that I'll visit approximately 50% of the big German zoos in 2019 and then on the next European trip I'll visit all of the others. As things stand right now my journey is 10 months away. Possibly 30-31 days. Around 85 zoos. At some point right near the end of the trip I'll visit my 500th zoo all-time...more than likely some obscure Dutch delight with meerkats and small-clawed otters around every corner. I'll keep posting updates as time goes by because planning these big trips is a tremendous amount of fun and the whole process is something that I love to do.
The reason why so many Zoochatters suggested Walsrode is because it is completely unique on the continent, while Hannover, well-regarded as it is, simply isn't. It is however, entirely up to you which collections you visit. If you think you'll enjoy Hannover more, than you simply should visit it.
Of course nobody should denigrate you, and I very sincerely apologise if my joke was interpreted in that way. ‘Twas just a joke.
The one thing I would say is that visitation numbers are not a useful metric for deciding which zoos are ‘must sees’. There is so much else that goes into what makes for a high-visitation zoo: the size of the catchment area, price relative to local living standards, transport accessibility and so on. For example Madrid is a high visitation zoo not because it’s a good zoo - it simply isn’t - but because it’s in a massive city. It might be a zoo that a lot of people visit, but that doesn’t mean it’s in any way a ‘must see’.
I question the logic in the bolded sentence not because I’m judging what you like in a zoo - I quite notoriously loved Hanover - but because, if you are going to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, then it makes no sense to me at all for you to favour a zoo that is very similar to really quite a lot of zoos you’ve already been to, while ignoring one only half an hour away that is completely unlike anything you’ve experienced before. To me that seems like an opportunity too good to miss, and I’m saying that not to imply any judgment of your tastes or plans, but simply in the hope that you will get as much out of this trip as you possibly can within the time available.
Indeed
for instance, I am reasonably certain that Healesville Sanctuary will receive rather fewer visitors than does South Lakes Wild Animal Park, but I am certain that given the opportunity to teleport himself to one or the other @snowleopard would nonetheless choose the former collection!On another note....
The prior fortunes of a collection are again not necessarily a reflection of how "must see" it is.... otherwise I imagine you would view ZSL London as less worthy of a visit than other UK collections based on the fact it came a LOT closer to closure than did Walsrode
Ok, my opinion time 
Hannover Zoo is...
definitely worth a visit. Yes it is over themed to hell but as someone who hates over theming it really only bothered me in a few areas. For the most part the theming is done pretty well and works into the animal's exhibitry more often than not. Even the African exhibit I liked overall (hippo area aside) and that's coming from someone who hates mock rock and really disliked much of SDZ's Africa Rocks because of it. I will agree that it takes away *a lot* of space that could (maybe should) otherwise be devoted to more species but it still did nothing to take away from overall my enjoyment of the place. The Asian exhibit is definitely the worst at the zoo but even then I can't say any enclosure in that exhibit is really bad. The langur enclosure could do more and the elephant enclosure isn't great by any means but it's not that bad and is actually the best elephant enclosure at any of the zoos I've done on this trip thus far. The Leopard enclosure is also ok but the tiger and Red Panda enclosures I found to be quite good. As far as other negatives go the indoor ape enclosures are pretty poor and the Australian exhibit is pretty underwhelming despite coming more or less last if you follow the zoos recommend path (even then none of the enclosures are bad). For positives Yukon Bay is absolutely fantastic and one of my favorite exhibits I've seen. Hands down the best raccoon and pinniped (watch the seal show btw!) enclosures I've personally seen, and the Polar Bear enclosure is in competition with Highland Wildlife Park as the best one I've seen (as a reference for SL, I'm told it's pretty similar to Columbus'). Both the general African and African rainforest exhibits are solid overall with the Drill/DeBrazza's Monkey enclosure being a particular highlight. I, too, received a lot of flack for choosing to visit Hannover (including from those who suggested it to me in the first place) and I visited today fully expecting to be a bit let down but honestly I liked the zoo better than both Duisburg and Krefeld and I truly do not understand why it's so disliked.
Now as far as Walsrode goes, if birds are not one's interest then this zoo is probably not a place one will enjoy and there's nothing wrong with that imo. However, let us not belittle the zoo by dismissing it as a "minor bird park". Walsrode is THE bird park. They have had outstanding success with breeding an outstanding array of extremely odd and fantastic birds. I mean 4 Twelve-Wired Bird-of-Paradise, 5 Capuchinbird, 6 Solitary Tinamou, 6 Horned Parakeet, 7 Kagu, 6 pairs of Spangled Cotinga, at least 10 Red-Billed Curassow, 15-20 Madagascar Blue Pigeon, and two dozen Blue Coua all just on-show more than speaks for itself. And aside from that, it's just a damn good zoo. It's hands down the best I've visited on this trip, one of my favorites overall, and it's quite possibly the only zoo I've ever been to where I legitimately can't think of a single enclosure that isn't good. Now I don't know what the situation was a few years ago but I can definitely say that the vogelpark, which is the larger of the two zoos in question, had significantly more visitors at it than Hannover during my visits to each. I've had this argument with SL before but geographic location and visitation numbers have little to no bearing on whether or not a zoo is good and Walsrode is by far the better zoo imo.
All that said, my opinion doesn't really matter here. To me Walsrode is one of the best zoos around and the fact that it's a specialized collection takes nothing away from that. However, I don't think SL would like it and he doesn't either so really why should he visit it? I really liked Hannover but I still think choosing it over Walsrode is silly, but if someone doesn't like birds or specialized collections then the choice is easy. Making him go is only going get us a review of the place as awful as his Bronx one
~Thylo
Hannover Zoo is...definitely worth a visit. Yes it is over themed to hell but as someone who hates over theming it really only bothered me in a few areas. For the most part the theming is done pretty well and works into the animal's exhibitry more often than not. Even the African exhibit I liked overall (hippo area aside) and that's coming from someone who hates mock rock and really disliked much of SDZ's Africa Rocks because of it. I will agree that it takes away *a lot* of space that could (maybe should) otherwise be devoted to more species but it still did nothing to take away from overall my enjoyment of the place. The Asian exhibit is definitely the worst at the zoo but even then I can't say any enclosure in that exhibit is really bad. The langur enclosure could do more and the elephant enclosure isn't great by any means but it's not that bad and is actually the best elephant enclosure at any of the zoos I've done on this trip thus far. The Leopard enclosure is also ok but the tiger and Red Panda enclosures I found to be quite good. As far as other negatives go the indoor ape enclosures are pretty poor and the Australian exhibit is pretty underwhelming despite coming more or less last if you follow the zoos recommend path (even then none of the enclosures are bad). For positives Yukon Bay is absolutely fantastic and one of my favorite exhibits I've seen. Hands down the best raccoon and pinniped (watch the seal show btw!) enclosures I've personally seen, and the Polar Bear enclosure is in competition with Highland Wildlife Park as the best one I've seen (as a reference for SL, I'm told it's pretty similar to Columbus'). Both the general African and African rainforest exhibits are solid overall with the Drill/DeBrazza's Monkey enclosure being a particular highlight. I, too, received a lot of flack for choosing to visit Hannover (including from those who suggested it to me in the first place) and I visited today fully expecting to be a bit let down but honestly I liked the zoo better than both Duisburg and Krefeld and I truly do not understand why it's so disliked.
Now as far as Walsrode goes, if birds are not one's interest then this zoo is probably not a place one will enjoy and there's nothing wrong with that imo. However, let us not belittle the zoo by dismissing it as a "minor bird park". Walsrode is THE bird park. They have had outstanding success with breeding an outstanding array of extremely odd and fantastic birds. I mean 4 Twelve-Wired Bird-of-Paradise, 5 Capuchinbird, 6 Solitary Tinamou, 6 Horned Parakeet, 7 Kagu, 6 pairs of Spangled Cotinga, at least 10 Red-Billed Curassow, 15-20 Madagascar Blue Pigeon, and two dozen Blue Coua all just on-show more than speaks for itself. And aside from that, it's just a damn good zoo. It's hands down the best I've visited on this trip, one of my favorites overall, and it's quite possibly the only zoo I've ever been to where I legitimately can't think of a single enclosure that isn't good. Now I don't know what the situation was a few years ago but I can definitely say that the vogelpark, which is the larger of the two zoos in question, had significantly more visitors at it than Hannover during my visits to each. I've had this argument with SL before but geographic location and visitation numbers have little to no bearing on whether or not a zoo is good and Walsrode is by far the better zoo imo.
All that said, my opinion doesn't really matter here. To me Walsrode is one of the best zoos around and the fact that it's a specialized collection takes nothing away from that. However, I don't think SL would like it and he doesn't either so really why should he visit it? I really liked Hannover but I still think choosing it over Walsrode is silly, but if someone doesn't like birds or specialized collections then the choice is easy. Making him go is only going get us a review of the place as awful as his Bronx one
~Thylo
Why stop at Germany? Some airlines sell round the world tickets. They are good for a year and allow unlimited travel in one direction (meaning you can't return to a place you already flew out of). Just tell your school it's an educational sabbatical and get them to fund it. Then tell your wife "absence makes the heart grow fonder"!
Hi Snowleopard,
I would definitely visit Walsrode. Maybe others did not specify it clearly, but Walsrode is an unique bird park, with multiple species you are unlikely to see anywhere in your life. Hannover is a good zoo, but has hardly anything one cannot see in 20 zoos in the USA. Maybe a boat ride.
I also wonder if you plan see some sights in between zoos. Museums and old houses are not everybodys thing. But I would definitely include:
- old center of Amsterdam,
- canal boat tour in Amsterdam,
- a row of windmills,
- colorful bulbflower fields of Friesland
- giant shorebird roosts in Waddensea.
- driving under a ship going in a canal high over you,
- An old city center or two in Belgium.
I am sure Dutch members can point you to specifics about windmills, canals and bulb fields. Shorebirds you can see anywhere between Alkmaar and Germany border, if you visit at high tide (check a tide chart online). These are in my opinion unmissable things to see in the Netherlands, and all are open outside zoo hours, close to zoos and most are free and do not require much time.
I would definitely visit Walsrode. Maybe others did not specify it clearly, but Walsrode is an unique bird park, with multiple species you are unlikely to see anywhere in your life. Hannover is a good zoo, but has hardly anything one cannot see in 20 zoos in the USA. Maybe a boat ride.
I also wonder if you plan see some sights in between zoos. Museums and old houses are not everybodys thing. But I would definitely include:
- old center of Amsterdam,
- canal boat tour in Amsterdam,
- a row of windmills,
- colorful bulbflower fields of Friesland
- giant shorebird roosts in Waddensea.
- driving under a ship going in a canal high over you,
- An old city center or two in Belgium.
I am sure Dutch members can point you to specifics about windmills, canals and bulb fields. Shorebirds you can see anywhere between Alkmaar and Germany border, if you visit at high tide (check a tide chart online). These are in my opinion unmissable things to see in the Netherlands, and all are open outside zoo hours, close to zoos and most are free and do not require much time.
People do not understand - Snowleopard is more interested in zoos overall (theming, display, etc) than any specific animals and especially not birds. Honestly if I were going I would choose Hannover above Walsrode myself.
I'm a pretty big bird person myself and I can definitely appreciate and get excited about their colorful plumage. I also really enjoy seeing rarer avian species as well as the more common ones. That said, I still understand Snowleopard's position.
Personally if I were to be given the opportunity to travel to another continent and to tour its zoological facilities, I think I would also preference to getting an overview of the zoological world on that continent and to visit the top, major and notable facilities on that continent over chosing collections based on their collections of species or the presence of certain rare or strange species (even if seeing those admittedly will always remain a nice bonus).
To keep with the slight avian theme, you've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette. There's always choices and trade-offs to be made. And even as bird person I can understand Snowleopard's reasoning behind this decision. And even if I didn't, it's still his choice to make and one we ought to respect.
@snowleopard Are you currently still planning on visiting the Avifauna bird park in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands? I visited that collection last Sunday (and I will try to report on it in the future) and it has red pandas, some monkeys and some lemurs besides birds, as well as an impressive bird show with quite a variety of species used. They also did a whole carcass feeding of vultures during my visit. I'd say it's an interesting part of the Netherlands' little zoological world worth a visit, even if you're not a bird person.
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@Walsrode / Hannover discussion I agree with all said above. Walsrode is the better zoo / nicer visit but if I were in Snowleopards position I would definately go to Hannover, it's much more a "have to have seen it at least once" kinda thing and it's setting a standard and being an inspirition in the zoo world.
I'm currently in Sri Lanka but when I get back home (somewhere this week) i'll see if I can add some more input for the northern part of the Netherlands as well.
I'm currently in Sri Lanka but when I get back home (somewhere this week) i'll see if I can add some more input for the northern part of the Netherlands as well.
Have a decent zoo tour. As for Germany's current number of zoos: Zoo-infos.de currently lists 889 institutions (of which some, however, no longer exist).
? Zoo-Infos.de ? - die Zoo-Datenbank
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Doesn't this
contradict a little bit that?
Granted, both Apenheul and Walsrode are specialized institutions in their very own ways. Yet if one prefers primates over birds, so be it...*shrugs*
It has been 6 months since I've posted anything on this thread and it is time for an update. My Snowleopard Road Trip for 2019 has taken shape and I already booked my flights on Boxing Day (December 26th), I booked my car rental, I let my credit card company know of my travel plans and I altered my cellphone plan for the month-long jaunt to the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. My itinerary has been tweaked on a number of occasions and I even found a spot for Weltvogelpark Walsrode. Bird nerds can rejoice and breathe a sigh of relief and I'll wander around that zoo and see if I can spot a Fire-tufted Barbet, or a White-throated Kingfisher, or even a Black-faced Spoonbill. Life is great and I can scarcely believe that my wife is okay with me leaving her alone with the 4 kids while I go from zoo to zoo in Europe. (She does have numerous small trips throughout the year that allow her some time to herself)
All of these 9 zoos will get a full-day visit from me:
Artis Royal Zoo (Amsterdam)
Diergaarde Blijdorp (Rotterdam)
Safaripark Beekse Bergen
Burgers' Zoo (Arnhem)
Zoo Antwerp
Planckendael Zoo
Pairi Daiza
Kolner Zoo (Cologne)
Weltvogelpark Walsrode
Plus many mid-sized zoos will have 4-5 hours set aside for visits, and of course I'll be visiting a ton of small, privately-owned zoos throughout the trio of nations on my itinerary. I'm honestly looking forward to the days when I tour 5 ultra-small places just as much as the days when I'll see a world-class facility. The whole thing is going to be 33 days from start to finish and include at least 90 zoos, and within that total will be approximately 15 aquariums, 5 reptile zoos, 3-4 bird zoos and 7-8 butterfly pavilions/insect zoos.
I've spent a great deal of time looking over my itinerary, and since I've had so many summer zoo trips over the years I've become accustomed to tracking all of the costs associated with such things. This will be my 9th Snowleopard Road Trip that I'll have 'blogged about' on ZooChat and so I'm a veteran of planning immense zoo trips. However, because I'm a little out of my element due to the trip being overseas, these numbers are estimates. The dollar figures should still be fairly accurate, and everything is in CANADIAN DOLLARS which is important to remember as the Euro is worth a lot more than my nation's currency. One Euro is the equivalent of approximately $1.50 Canadian.
2019 Zoo Trip Costs:
$1,500 car rental
$1,500 fuel
$1,500 food
$1,200 entrance fees
$800 flights
$400 cellphone plan
$300 parking
$300 souvenirs
TOTAL: $7,500 CAD for the entire 33 days (or $5,000 Euros or $5,600 US)
I booked my flights and got a very good deal and so that was a major bonus. The car rental includes all types of insurance and that is also booked and ready to go. If you put a gun to my head I'd still not be too thrilled about public transportation and there is no way I'm sitting at train stations waiting for rides...plus a rental car is crucial in order to get to 90+ zoos all over the countryside in 3 nations. Fuel and food are estimates based on what I've spent in the past although I'm hoping that the cost of fuel isn't as expensive as I think that it might be. Entrance fees includes me getting a membership at Artis Amsterdam that will give me discounts elsewhere. Parking and souvenirs are pretty good estimates because many zoos list parking costs on their websites, and the cellphone plan allows me unlimited texting, calling and everything else that I normally have back home in Canada. All done, done and done.
What's missing? Oh yeah...accommodation. My trip planning has gone smoothly but this has been the biggest obstacle to me putting the finishing touches on an amazing zoo-themed vacation. Everything is set to go but where should I sleep each night? I used to sleep in cheap motels for many years, but my last couple of summer zoo trips (California in 2017, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2018) I'd often pay $10 CAD for a shower at a truck stop and then sleep on a full-sized mattress in the back of my minivan. Now that I'll be in Europe, I am thinking of doing the same thing except without the mattress! I could locate some kind of truck stop facility each night that has showers, then wash up and go sleep in the rental car by lowering the passenger seat as far back as it will go. It's not ideal but I'm already paying a fortune for this trip and it's one way to save huge amounts of money. I do not want to ever sleep in a hostel and half-decent European motels cost a fortune in Canadian dollars. I could quite easily spend a minimum of $75 CAD per night and then that would add up to $2,500 for the entire trip. Ouch! My budget would balloon from the current $7,500 CAD for everything to a whopping $10,000 CAD and that's far too much to spend. I'm conscious of the fact that my wife will be back home dealing with all of the household chores, looking after 4 very young kids that are of course exhausting to deal with...while I'm gallivanting around from zoo to zoo and spending thousands of dollars in the process. I could bring her back a really terrific souvenir like a Red Panda (her favourite animal)...I'd be allowed to take one of those through customs, right? Canadians can get away with anything.
I'll visit all of these zoos/aquariums and somewhere right near the end of the trip I'll tour my 500th different zoo/aquarium all-time. That will then surely be it for two years as I'll take the next summer off from zoos to save up and plot my next jaunt. It costs a lot of money to hit the magical 500-mark...
Just over 4 months to go before takeoff...
All of these 9 zoos will get a full-day visit from me:
Artis Royal Zoo (Amsterdam)
Diergaarde Blijdorp (Rotterdam)
Safaripark Beekse Bergen
Burgers' Zoo (Arnhem)
Zoo Antwerp
Planckendael Zoo
Pairi Daiza
Kolner Zoo (Cologne)
Weltvogelpark Walsrode
Plus many mid-sized zoos will have 4-5 hours set aside for visits, and of course I'll be visiting a ton of small, privately-owned zoos throughout the trio of nations on my itinerary. I'm honestly looking forward to the days when I tour 5 ultra-small places just as much as the days when I'll see a world-class facility. The whole thing is going to be 33 days from start to finish and include at least 90 zoos, and within that total will be approximately 15 aquariums, 5 reptile zoos, 3-4 bird zoos and 7-8 butterfly pavilions/insect zoos.
I've spent a great deal of time looking over my itinerary, and since I've had so many summer zoo trips over the years I've become accustomed to tracking all of the costs associated with such things. This will be my 9th Snowleopard Road Trip that I'll have 'blogged about' on ZooChat and so I'm a veteran of planning immense zoo trips. However, because I'm a little out of my element due to the trip being overseas, these numbers are estimates. The dollar figures should still be fairly accurate, and everything is in CANADIAN DOLLARS which is important to remember as the Euro is worth a lot more than my nation's currency. One Euro is the equivalent of approximately $1.50 Canadian.
2019 Zoo Trip Costs:
$1,500 car rental
$1,500 fuel
$1,500 food
$1,200 entrance fees
$800 flights
$400 cellphone plan
$300 parking
$300 souvenirs
TOTAL: $7,500 CAD for the entire 33 days (or $5,000 Euros or $5,600 US)
I booked my flights and got a very good deal and so that was a major bonus. The car rental includes all types of insurance and that is also booked and ready to go. If you put a gun to my head I'd still not be too thrilled about public transportation and there is no way I'm sitting at train stations waiting for rides...plus a rental car is crucial in order to get to 90+ zoos all over the countryside in 3 nations. Fuel and food are estimates based on what I've spent in the past although I'm hoping that the cost of fuel isn't as expensive as I think that it might be. Entrance fees includes me getting a membership at Artis Amsterdam that will give me discounts elsewhere. Parking and souvenirs are pretty good estimates because many zoos list parking costs on their websites, and the cellphone plan allows me unlimited texting, calling and everything else that I normally have back home in Canada. All done, done and done.
What's missing? Oh yeah...accommodation. My trip planning has gone smoothly but this has been the biggest obstacle to me putting the finishing touches on an amazing zoo-themed vacation. Everything is set to go but where should I sleep each night? I used to sleep in cheap motels for many years, but my last couple of summer zoo trips (California in 2017, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2018) I'd often pay $10 CAD for a shower at a truck stop and then sleep on a full-sized mattress in the back of my minivan. Now that I'll be in Europe, I am thinking of doing the same thing except without the mattress! I could locate some kind of truck stop facility each night that has showers, then wash up and go sleep in the rental car by lowering the passenger seat as far back as it will go. It's not ideal but I'm already paying a fortune for this trip and it's one way to save huge amounts of money. I do not want to ever sleep in a hostel and half-decent European motels cost a fortune in Canadian dollars. I could quite easily spend a minimum of $75 CAD per night and then that would add up to $2,500 for the entire trip. Ouch! My budget would balloon from the current $7,500 CAD for everything to a whopping $10,000 CAD and that's far too much to spend. I'm conscious of the fact that my wife will be back home dealing with all of the household chores, looking after 4 very young kids that are of course exhausting to deal with...while I'm gallivanting around from zoo to zoo and spending thousands of dollars in the process. I could bring her back a really terrific souvenir like a Red Panda (her favourite animal)...I'd be allowed to take one of those through customs, right? Canadians can get away with anything.
I'll visit all of these zoos/aquariums and somewhere right near the end of the trip I'll tour my 500th different zoo/aquarium all-time. That will then surely be it for two years as I'll take the next summer off from zoos to save up and plot my next jaunt. It costs a lot of money to hit the magical 500-mark...
Just over 4 months to go before takeoff...
You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.
Hi snowleopard. Impresive numbers and impresive costs ! Do you already have exact dates when you are going to visit surtain collections because I would like to meet you at some of the collections - if you are intrested.
Esp. the dates for your visits to Diergaarde Blijdorp, Safaripark Beekse Bergen and Zoo Antwerp would be of intrest,
Esp. the dates for your visits to Diergaarde Blijdorp, Safaripark Beekse Bergen and Zoo Antwerp would be of intrest,
Hello Snowleopard.
Weltvogelpark Walsrode had been close this winter (october to march). I am not sure if of it will be open next winter during your visit?!
Weltvogelpark Walsrode had been close this winter (october to march). I am not sure if of it will be open next winter during your visit?!
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