A wonderful visit to Singapore Zoo

Whilst on a sunshine holiday, in the midst of New Zealand’s winter, we enjoyed a fantastic day-trip to Singapore Zoo, along with Chinese Grandma and Granddad, who flew in from the UK to meet us for a holiday.

The Zoo is set in a rainforest (so take an umbrella!), though there are a vast array of animals from all sorts of environments. More than 2,800 animals representing over 300 species of mammals, birds and reptiles call Singapore Zoo home.

We took along a couple of animals of our own, tee hee!

A real highlight of the Zoo is the free ranging Orang-Utan area.

‘Two free-ranging areas, an island and a boardwalk complete with tall trees and thick vegetation, have been created for visitors to view these fascinating creatures. The absence of walls and the inclusion of the raised boardwalk allow guests to have an almost entirely 360 degree view at an elevated angle.’ Singapore Zoo – Exhibits & Zones – Free Ranging Orang Utan.

We were in awe to see the orang-utan living so freely in such a beautifully natural setting, with a thriving community of young and old. The Zoo is home to Bornean and Sumatran orang-utan.

The Zoo has long been acclaimed for its environmentally friendly styled enclosures – with natural barriers, rather than cages and bars, providing a much more appealing space for the animals to be cared for.

It isn’t easy to be on your feet for long in the tropical Singapore heat (especially visiting from a temperature climate), but the Zoo has a little tram to transport people around and there are plenty of shows, throughout the day, mostly in the shade, where a chance to sit down and be ‘lizard like’ in the heat is given!

We drank a lot of water all day and were delighted with the children’s water play area (half way around the Zoo).

It was positioned at the perfect ‘half-way’ point of our Zoo visit – or an easy tram ride from any of the various stations positioned around the Zoo. Our daughters had a great time cooling down and enjoying a bite to eat.

There was also a fun obstacle course area, with a raft to cross a pond.

Sophie and Alice did well to work the ropes and pull themselves across. Fun!

In the late afternoon I enjoyed seeing the reptiles with my oldest and youngest daughters, Charlotte and Alice. Whilst I as equally fascinating about the animals we were seeing, I also loved seeing the expressions on the faces of my daughters.

At the end of a wonderful day we met up at the entrance area to the zoo, where there were a few cafes and drink bars to choose from – a great rendezvous place. We were too tired to contemplate doing the ‘Night Safari’, at least the younger members of our family group were, but we were more than content with the wonderful day we’d experienced.

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I’m linking up with the wonderful ‘Country Kids’ at Coombe Mill, in Cornwall in the UK – a place I’d love to visit one day. Though it’s been a while since our Singapore holiday, in July, I needed a fix of sunshine this week (as our newly sprouted Spring – in New Zealand – still has winter’s sting in its tail!).