23/04/2022
Hey There!
It's been a few weeks since the last post, after a hectic term of study I was finally on break for a bit, I got a chance to catch up on certain things... such as rest haha. Seriously though, it was nice to have a break as I know that I'm going into my final term of my Diploma course, and it's going to get intense.
Before going back for my final term, I had the chance to go somewhere I haven't been for years, Monarto Zoo (or "Monarto Safari Park" as it's now called). I've always loved animals, I visit Adelaide Zoo at least once a year. Monarto is a rarer experience which I think makes me appreciate it more than the Adelaide Zoo. I just love the openness of the place, and as someone who loves to hike and go on Adventures, Monarto is perfect as I can go for long walks to the different areas. This was the best experience I've had at Monarto, as the last time I went I was younger, and mostly stuck with my family. This time I was able to be there the whole day, and go on my own, and take my time.
I won't give you the whole days story, but I definitely need to talk about some highlights. Since the last time I visited there has been massive changes, one big change in particular is that the entry has been moved to the other side of the place. so smaller animals that I thought I'd see immediately such as the Meerkat, were now the furthest away... so I didn't see any, definitely happy with the animals I saw though.
Not long after arriving I went to find the walking track, and I had a funny experience where I followed the signs, went through a gate and I found myself in this huge open area, the same area tour busses drive around... No joke, for a solid few minutes I thought I took a wrong turn into an animal enclosure, as there was nobody else in sight... Turns out I was fine, I just wasn't ready for the wide open walking track.
Over the day I saw the big cats, the lions in particular I got to see climb a cage that people were standing in, I got some cool shots, my favourite shot from the day was the Cheetah I saw.
Growing up my 2 Favourite Animals were the Giraffe and Rhino, I had a great experience with both. I had been on a long walk, and I'll admit I did get lost for a sec (in my defence, the place is Huge! I walked for like 5kms just to see the Giraffes) There were so many giraffes, both old and young, and I got there at the perfect time to get photos of them all together. The experience I had with the Rhino was probably the highlight of my day. Normally when you get to any animal, especially the popular ones, there's always so many people. When I got to the Rhino I was all alone, and there was only 20 metres (max) between us, I got to hang out with the Rhino one on one for at least 10 minutes. I'll never forget that.
The other highlight from the day was the random things I saw on my long walks, there were a couple of old car wrecks along the paths and some old ruins, which made the long long walk totally worth it as I never would have seen any of this if I'd gone on the bus tour like most people.
So yeah, that was my day at Monarto Zoo / Safari Park. That was a great day, I was exhausted by the end but it was definitely worth it, can't wait to go again.
Note to self, go into the lion cage next time... Oh yeah, while I'm on that, one last thing...
Remember when I said I thought I ended up in an animal enclose when I reached the walking track, well that wasn't the only time it happened haha. After seeing the Lions, I had gone onto another walking track, this time in search of the old ruins as I was keen to get some pics. Anyway I was walking along this dirt track, it was dead silent, suddenly I heard a Lion roar, the sound was coming from behind a bush that was maybe 5 metres away from me. I quickly realized that it must have been a speaker making the lion sounds, as the fence for their enclosure was near by... Doesn't change the fact that my whole body froze the second I heard the roar.
Storytime over... next time, a photography related blog haha.
Jordan. 🙂📷
