Colchester Zoo is supported by Action for the Wild, which assists conservation projects worldwide through both financial and technical assistance.
The zoo celebrated its 50th anniversary on the 2nd of June, 2013.
The family and I are Gold Pass holders for the Zoo and went there today :-)
When we first got there we were greeted with a queue of about 200 people
however we did smile as we was able to go to the front as we are Gold Pass holders.
As you go through the main entrance you are greeted with an
outdoor wooden play area, the yellow brick road and a few members of staff
one dressed up as a lion. This is an excellent way to start with my 3 year old
loving it already.
This is also where we saw their new enclosure with bears in
it, the bears looked very well looked after & the kids loved seeing them.
We then went round to a jam packed indoor play area and
decided to come back! So we then headed off to find the Elephants. However I
got hungry on the way so we sat and had our picnic at the Hot Dog Bar in Otter
Creek. Now, I do have one slight issue here and that is that you have to spend
your picnic being surrounded by geese and ducks not the sort of thing you need
with two hungry children.
We then moved on to the Giraffes of which my 3 year old
managed to feed one J
this is another great experience for children and he loved it.
Then in the same enclosure as the Giraffes you have the Rhinos, Zebras and Ostrichs these are all lovely animals that my son loved seeing.
Then opposite the Giraffes you have the Elephants which
again my son loved, you could feed the elephants but the queue had got so big
that no more were allowed to join it L
We then moved on to the Hippo’s where the Zoo have had a new
addition recently, I must admit I was surprised to see how shiny the Hippo’s
skin is.
Then onto the Lost Madagascar Train, now due to the little
one being asleep the girlfriend & eldest son went on the train on their own
so I can’t really comment on this.
Next was the long walk up the hill, not the easiest part of
the day I must admit.
We then went back into the indoor play area and let the 3
year old have a run around just to make sure he was worn out. This is very well
managed with two members of staff monitoring at all times and making sure that
the big kids don’t hurt the little kids, there is also 2 area one for under 3’s
and one for 4’s and over. My son
appeared to love it in here.
Now my overall experience of the Zoo is it is a well
maintained and very clean Zoo the only issue according to my girlfriend was the
women’s toilet where someone had clearly had a bad curry and left the toilet
with a rather nasty smell, although my girlfriend’s face as she came out was
brilliant. So I would suggest some air fresheners in their toilets lol.
Other than that the Zoo is highly recommended.
