To satisfy my child Ethan's creature cravings, we decided to drive up to nearby Werribee at Melbourne to check out their famous Werribee Open Range Zoo. Modelled after an African-styled savanna grassland, it offered a different wildlife experience for those keen to see more animals in a natural habitat beyond your usual marsupial suspects.
Look out for hippos up ahead!
Entrance to the Werribee Zoo beckons visitors to walk in. Definitely a lot simpler than our own Singapore Zoo.
A throng of primary school kids having fun at the playground.
Quirky signages like this "snake" add to the charm of walking in the well manicured landscape.
Just like these thematic warning notices. Actually, one needn't be afraid of the lions and hippos as they were safely enclosed. Instead, the real danger came from...
...This free ranging, vicious, man-eating rooster! Believe it or not, it followed us for at least 100 metres pecking furiously.
A map of the reserve tells us where the different animal highlights are.
Yet another funny sign.
We were supposed to take this safari bus for our tour originally, but somehow one of the windows were broken. Gulp.... don't tell me the animals are that wild?
Fortunately, our fears were unfounded. Here's a hippopotamus happily grazing. Do you know that they are more deadly than lions in Africa? Those huge jaws can do real harm.
Handsome herd of Mongolian wild horses standing serenely.
A one-humped Dromedary camel having its lunch. In case you do not already know, that hump is actually full of fat and not water.
A family of rhinoceruses striking a pose.
Not to be outdone is this young giraffee enjoying the cool morning weather.
Of course, them pesky humans also need to get into the act. Say Cheeseee!Labels: attractions, lifestyle, melbourne, personal, Werribee Zoo