An Animal Getaway The Whole Family Will Love- Wildlife Safari Oregon

November 13, 2017 Leave a comment

When it comes to planning travel that is both exciting for the kids and the parents it isn’t always an easy task. While visiting family in southern Oregon we found that entertaining the kids under 5 was more of a challenge. What can we do that will make everyone happy? We checked out the local visitor information centers and also the local paper. That is when we discovered that just 11 days ago a baby giraffe was born at Wildlife Safari south of Roseburg. How exciting! While the family was enjoying spotting animals. The kids were ready to go.

Giraffe taking a break from lunch. (Not Kelly.)

We arrived an hour after opening at the drive through safari park and there was a long line of people eager to enjoy their day together. We pulled up and were greeted by the friendly staff and the first question was, “Are there any veterans in the vehicle?” My father-in-law, husband, and myself all are veterans so we answered yes. Surprised were we when they told us we were free today! So we paid for my son and my mother-in-law and then bee-lined it to the baby giraffe experience tickets. Our good fortune ended there. They had sold out the previous day. We could still experience many other animals but the big, kid of a husband I have was only interested in meeting Kelley. We rolled our SUV up to the entrance they stamped our hands and sent us along our way with a map of the animals they lay ahead. We first encountered the ostrich and the rhino enclosure as we traversed the Africa area of the park.

Ostrich waiting to greet us.

This hungry zebra was enjoying the warm day.

The animals were trying to escape the especially warm day, so most of them were further off the road relaxing in the shade. But there were still great opportunities for any photography lover. Plus as we approached the Americas area we could spot in the distance little Kelley poking her head out of her enclosure then darting in and out. We could even spot her mother coming out and the pair feeding. We couldn’t wait to get closer! We continued through the Americas we saw both the brown bear and the black bears. A roadblock occurred when the herd of elk took over the roadway. The male elk even paused long enough for this quick shot. Look at the beautiful velvet on his horns!!!

This Male Elk was keeping an eye on his herd.

Making our way into the Asia area we were able to see a few cats, the cheetahs and Sumatran tigers. Around the bend from there we were greeted by several giraffes, very up close experience! Plus we took our time and Kelley came back out several times! So exciting to see this baby giraffe (less than 2 weeks old).

New baby Giraffe, Kelly, with her Mom!

Next the elephants in the new elephant water hole. I had seen the water hole during its construction phase but seeing it completed really made me happy. They really put a lot of thought into the work of art. Making this a sculpture-like water system for the elephants to splash around and fit the environment was perfect.

New to Wildlife Safari is the Elephant water hole.

But the day was not over yet. Free entry to the walk through animal enclosures including a petting area. It was a great way to get up close with everything from snakes to flamingos. Plus the docents were great, they taught us so much about the cheetahs!