The stokedtraveler and his family was treated by a generous cousin to a free trip to Zoobic Safari. Last time he visited the place was about 3 years back. He still recalls the vastness of the area and how tiring it was to walk through the various attractions.
Zoobic Safari is situated in a 25-hectare forest land that was converted into a tourist attraction. It claims to offer a safari experience where guests can see "exotic" animals in a simulated living environment. The published attractions are Zoobic Park, Savannah, Serpentarium, Rodent World, Animal MuZOOeum, Close Encounter, Tiger Safari, Bird Walk, Aeta's Trail, Croco Loco, Zoobic Cave and Forbidden Cave. They also host animal shows and animal parades during the weekends and holidays.
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| Big men upstaged by a native Aeta |
However, some of the park attractions are not part of the 2.5 hour tour because they no longer exist. Those that were missed are: Zoobic Park, Rodent World and Bird Walk. According to the tour guide, these were lost during the last "Habagat" and could no longer be rehabilitated. In an effort to continue to pull in guests, they have also introduced "Sky Safari". Sky Safari is a zipline where one can zoom through 380m of the park while strapped in mid-air. Additional payment is required to use this park feature.
The tour began with a quick overview led by the assigned tour guide. The first stop was the serpentarium which showcased a lot of pythons and a few other serpents. For the stokedtraveler, it were those king snakes that caught his attention because of the vivid color on their scales.
Right after passing through the serpentarium, the group was led to an open auditorium where an animal show was to be held. The show was unexpectedly entertaining especially the introduction with lots of animals parading and running about.
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| Guests/Audience can volunteer to partake in the show which makes for a good photo |
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| Volunteers will never now what role they will play on the show. This girl was lucky to only interact with a bird |
After the show, the guests have the option to use their own vehicles or pay an additional fee to board the park shuttle and drive through the 25-hectare park. Lucky for the stokedtraveler that his group's passes covered all amenities including the park ride.
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| Stokedtraveler with his little critter of a nephew while waiting for their ride |
The drive through ride will take guests to other park attractions. There were quite a number of attractions dedicated to preserved animals (stuffed, skin, bones etc) which really isn't something guests might want to see in a "safari" adventure. Unfortunately, the preserved animals don't even look well preserved and the skins/fur/feathers would seem to be loose and deteriorating.
The main feature of the park is of course the tiger safari where tigers roam in the wild while the guests are safely caged inside modified military jeeps.
The road which the jeeps navigate through inside the tiger safari is uneven and very dusty. The jeeps were literally lining up for their turn to feed the seemingly lazy tigers. Nowadays they would only release two tigers at a time (a maximum of three). This makes the experience less exciting because there are more jeeps inside the premises than tigers. From the stokedtraveler's recall, there used to be atleast 4 or 5 tigers out in the area when he last visited.
The stokedtraveler and his group had to bare with the road, dust and heat just to get their turn to feed the tiger with one whole chicken (P200/chicken on top of the admission fee). At the end of this part of the tour, everyone in the group was already dizzy and almost dehydrated. The park has also opened an additional attraction within the area -- Lion Safari. It is pretty much the same but instead of tigers, guests get to feed lions. It is of a different cost and assumed to be more expensive than the tiger safari.
The Savannah. In here guests pass through while riding the park shuttle (or their own vehicle). They get to see some ostriches, a few camels, some goats, some horses and lots of boars roaming the area. They are mostly concentrated at the entrance and naturally their droppings/manure are just all over the field and anyone who drove with their own vehicle would regret not paying the extra shuttle fee. For a savannah, this area is dry with no green grass and lots of dry wood.
At the close encounter attraction, guests would enter a facility where different breeds of tigers are caged. The stench of the tiger urine was really over powering. The tour guide warned the guests to be cautious of the tigers response and avoid getting pissed at because the tiger's urine can cling to humans for atleast 3 days.
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| There are lots of these interesting facts placed all around the park |
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| Exhausted and Tired |
In this attraction, the guests are seated encircling the Aeta's platform while "quick" dances distinct to Aeta culture are performed. Donations to Aeta's can be offered but are not required.
Further into the trail, Aeta's sell souvenirs (one of many spots where souvenirs are sold). They also sell bows and arrows. It would've been great to try to shoot a real arrow in one of their target areas but it was already getting dark and everyone was already in a hurry to end the tour.
The Aeta's trail leads to the final stop of the tour -- Croco Loco. In here, guests are welcomed into an elevated pathway above maybe hundreds of freshwater crocodiles. They can purchase chicken parts for P50.00 and feed the crocs or tease them and watch them jump at each other for the free meal. It was a really hot day and most of the crocodiles that are not in the water were very dry and seemed to be like stones if one didn't know that they are crocodiles.
According to the guide, they have atleast 37 tigers in the park but most of them remain caged and are not free to roam their designated area. It is good that the park is capable of taking care of the tigers and even breeding them. However, they might need to rehabilitate the entire complex and add in more of the "safari-feel" to pool in more returning visitors.
Sensing disappointment with the stokedtraveler's group, the tour guide advised them to try the night safari so they can experience nocturnal animals and cultural shows with a different perspective. Kudos to the tour guide for his zest and professionalism. If he was employed elsewhere he would've done great too.
Overall, there's just no reason to get stoked and return to Zoobic Safari anytime soon. They may even need to take time to get their animal features back in good shape to be worthy of a third visit from the stokedtraveler. Anyway, he can't complain much because the tour was free so it was still a very welcome sidetrip before heading home from their stay in Camayan Beach Resort.
Travel Tip:
When travelling to Zoobic Safari, bring lots of water and have your meal taken outside. Food/drinks inside the park can be quite expensive with the exception of those small stores located outside croco loco and tiger safari area.
Zoobic Safari Website:
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