Sweet dreams … zzzz … I mean Safari dreams … roar!

This blog has taken me a while to write, as each time I went to approach it, I was still too excited! The Zoofari stay at Western Plains Zoo was ‘simply the best’ … yep, singing here … ‘better than all the rest’ …

Firstly, it was Gem that this experience was most aimed at, as she is such an animal lover and always wants to visit farms, zoos and roadside paddocks, and pat dogs at cafes … any animal she can get to! I didn’t realise that the experience would be so amazing for us all …

Here’s some info about the Zoofari stay from me. but also click here to go to the website.

The Zoofari Lodge Stay includes:

Zoo entry for two days 

Bike hire (including ones with kiddie trailers)

Amazing African-inspired dinner and breakfast, as well as local wine tasting and cheese platter

Pool 🏊🏻‍♂️

Stunning safari-inspired luxurious tent-style accommodation (think 5 star tent)

Behind-the-scenes night safari (I have fallen in love with rhinos) and morning animal feeding and behind-the-scenes visit (we all love giraffes) .

The build-up: I had told Harps that we were doing a safari, but kept it a surprise from Gemmy ’til we were mostly through our first day’s zoo visit. It was such a great surprise!

Once we got to the Safari lodge, we became ‘Team Rhino’ (you get referred to by your room name, you see), which the girls loved. I really did feel like the luckiest mumma in the world to share this experience with them!

Dubbo is totally worthy of a family holiday and if you’re up for a once-in-a-lifetime experience (or twice, as I already want to go back), check out the Animal Lodges Zoofari Packages.

Some photos are my own but I must give some photo credit to Dubbo Zoofari stays … and some of the guests too. Sharing is caring!

Here’s some tips:

I suggest taking a ‘ride’ on the wild side, as in get on your bike and pedal past some predators.

I am so glad we took the bike option (you can drive, walk, buggy or bike). It’s just so much fun and a chance to get some good exercise!

The Western Plains Zoo is our new favourite! Going for two days is a must in my opinion, and the girls could have gone again, but we had to hit the road as we had people to see 🙂

The zookeeper talks are great – we listened to the one on cheetahs and watched them get fed. They made the cutest noises and Gem was very keen to help!

But my favourite thing of all was the baby elephant drinking from its mumma – the most adorable thing I have seen ❤️

The girls, especially Harper have learnt a lot about the poaching and protection of animals and the breeding programs at Taronga Zoo, and this has made for interesting conversations. 😆

Taronga Western Plains Zoo – we love you!

White rhinos 🦏 are now my favourite animal for a few reasons (strong females and daughters), but the fact that we learned that they actually shape their horns individually to express their identity etc just won me over! The mumma that we met on our night safari had the funkiest horn you have ever seen! I love 🦏 🦏 🦏

This experience has also got me thinking about visiting Africa … we’ll start by rewatching Out of Africa today 🦒