San Diego Zoo Safari Park What to see at San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Does anyone know about 8mportant things to see and do at the Safari Park?

 

This is a time travelling thread?

 

Just changed the title LOL. New Years really messes up with writing down year numbers.

 

Well, everything really. It would be a shame to miss much of anything the safari park has to offer. The new Australian exhibit, the baby elephants and just about anything else the park has to offer. For a meal, might I recommend the excellent cafe by the shoebills. Have a nice visit!

 

Everything!

 

I have two pieces of advice.
The first is the same for every zoo. Get yourself a zoo map and plan out
your day. Nothing is worse than spending a day at a zoo (or anywhere)
and finding out you skipped a section. Most zoos kind of expand willy nilly so
sometimes that's so easy to do, if you're not paying attention.
The second is specific to the safari park. There really aren't a of critters you can see there that you can't also see at the Balboa zoo. Its really a matter of how they are displayed (which is why I go to zoos -mostly). But my advice is to pay attention to the botanical display -which quite frankly is even greater than the animals. In particular the World of Gardens part is a bit out of the way
and worse you have to hike in and then back out (no outlet) but its really worth doing even though in likelyhood it might be at the end of the day.
Anyway enjoy.

 

I agree with everything everyone has said so far, and offer this:
Presuming you are focusing on animals, you should and (easily can) choose to see everything. As Daktari says, a zoo map is vital, and particularly vital at the Safari Park, as it is currently split, and the 2 portions of the park do not connect. A map will save you frustration, as you will need to do some level of backtracking.

The Safari Park is a fairly large place, but you should have no trouble seeing their entire animal collection. Personally speaking, I have a condition that makes walking difficult, and I often go with family and kids (aka, slow people). I have always seen the entire park on every visit, and we have never once arrived at opening, so don't sweat it, but make sure to give yourself plenty of time to see everything.

As I presume this is your first visit, be sure to arrive at opening just in case, if for no other reason than getting good parking. Be sure to do the Africa Tram, as it truly is the highlight. People have varying opinions on when is the best time to do the Africa Tram, personally I always go around 4, an hour before closing (in general), but have gone at really all times of day except for early morning, and unless it's a particularly hot day, animal activity is about the same, meaning you shouldn't fret about rushing to the back of the park for it.

Finally, have fun. The Safari Park is an impressive place, and a favorite of many zoochatters. I say with no hesitation that you will enjoy yourself.

 

Does sdzsp still have black footed cats in Nairobi village? If so, be sure to check those out!

 

I'd suggest riding the African Tram twice, it's pretty easy to miss a lot of the animals the first time around especially since the guides often do not point everything out. On my visit the guide mostly focused on the animals in the enclosures to the right of the car, but there are also enclosures to the left that they will pass by without saying anything. This makes it particularly easy to miss the Goliath Heron and Barbary Red Deer. Try to keep an eye out in all directions and definitely make time for a second ride later in the day for missed species and photo opportunities.

I'd also suggest walking all the way to the end of Tiger Trails and trying to look out into the off-exhibit Asian section. Bring binoculars maybe? I'm not sure if it's visible from there but if you can spot the Transcaspian Urial yard look for the single male deer there, he's a Mandarin Sika Deer.

~Thylo

 

Yes they do, they arrived in 2017.

 

Thanks, it’s a relief too, because otherwise I’d be unable to see one!

 

Just got back home from San Diego yesterday. Will post pictures from both the Zoo and Safari Park later.

 

Goliath heron is no longer kept.

 

Agreed.

That's a shame. What happened and when did they leave?

~Thylo

 

I'm guessing died out? The last bird was over 20 years old.

 

I'm glad I saw it last January then!

~Thylo

 

I'll be going this upcoming Tuesday. I've read all the comments already written but is there any new information since January that I should note? I figured rather than starting a new thread I'd just parasite off of an already existing one. Sorry @TheGerenuk

 

Is this your first visit to the Safari Park? I have no new information as I visited the Safari Park just under 2 years ago, but I can give you some advice.

Be prepared to spend a full day at the Safari Park. I'm assuming you're staying in San Diego so with the drive there and back along with the 5 or so hours you're going to spend at the zoo, it's definitely a full day endeavor. You should also ride the Africa Tram more than once preferably three times as there it so much to see that you'll likely miss things on each drive-through.

The nairobi Village area is really cool, although it's got a slightly confusing layout. Make sure not to miss the Shoebills in their vegetated island, or the Bat house which is pretty cool. There are also exhibits near the entrance that are hard to see, I remember viewing Pudu in one of them. The park also has demonstrations around the park with cool animals lie tortoises and Parrots.

Anyways, have a great time! The Safari Park is amazing so take it all in.

 

If you're willing to spent the money I'd clearly recommend to make the Caravan Safari (it's about 130$ p.P.) - we've done it in June and it was really amazing and worth every penny.

If you do it - I'd propose to make the 'sunset' trip as this not only has the best light but last 1 hour longer than the official park opening hours...