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If you thought Kent was just a county in the UK with nothing majorly animalistic to offer, think again! Port Lympne Safari Park offers those who visit Kent an educational insight into the animal kingdom. Perfect for those who don’t fancy leaving the country yet want to experience the ultimate Safari experience.
The following five tips will show how you can experience the walk on Kent’s wild side by making the most of your time with this Safari Park:
Tip 1 - Embark on a Safari Experience
a.aNow, this may seem obvious enough, but embarking on a Safari is the best way to discover the animals that are being well looked after and fed by the considerate volunteers who work here. The Safari will take you across the world’s major continents, such as Asia, South America and Africa.
You will encounter animals of a wide range of species, some of which you will have seen and some of which will be completely new to you. Your driver/animal expert will share their knowledge of the animals with you as you go around the world in around 80 minutes. You will even discover one of Kent’s charming views looking out towards the Strait of Dover on the left of your jeep.
One of the Safari's most attractive views
The prices of each Safari vary depending on the type of Safari and whether you are staying in Port Lympne overnight as a guest. For example, if you are a guest staying overnight, then your Safari ticket will include free entry to the park.
Click Here for further details about the Safaris on offer.
Tip 2 – Attend an Animal Encounter
Port Lympne Safari Park strives to ensure the safety and well-being of all animals, particularly those that are endangered and becoming close to extinction.
Animal encounters take place regularly across Port Lympne Safari Park. The beginning of these animal encounters will cover the educational aspect, where you can learn the names of the animals, their sex and any unusual facts you wouldn’t necessarily hear that often about the animals you are encountering.
If your timing is on the ball, you can also expect to help feed the animals you encounter. As you carry out this task, you will learn about the diet that these animals follow or have to follow. Elephants, for example, are satisfied with the bucketsful of chopped carrots that they receive.
Armed with carrots ready to feed the elephants
All animal encounters are available to book either via the website or on the day of your visit and can range from £15 to £150. Click Here to learn more about the encounters available.
Tip 3 – Become a Keeper for a Day with the Keeper Academy
This tip will be handy for those teens with an everlasting love for animalistic things. Becoming a Keeper for a day will entail beginning your work at 9 am to become cultivated into the Dos and Don’ts of being a Keeper (Including Health & Safety aspects). You can then expect a VIP tour of the whole Safari Park, including your chance to observe the endangered species as they go about their morning business.
The nutritional diets of the animals will also be covered as you learn about what they eat and what they avoid. Aspiring keepers can also feed the animals themselves in the hope of forming a connection with them.
The Bengal Tiger can be one of the animals aspiring keepers can feed
You can also access the sleeping quarters of the animals and make their beds for them (Unfortunately they will not pay you to do the work, however your payment comes in the form of appreciation from the Safari Park staff). As the day comes to an end, you will be thanked for your hard work, and no doubt you will go away from this experience having formed animal connections and friends with other aspiring keepers.
Want to experience all of this? Then sign up for the Keeper Academy.
Tip 4 – Travel Back in Time to the Pre-Historic Range
In many cases, dinosaurs are a kid’s best friend. To bring their Jurassic imagination to life, they have the opportunity to journey through the period of the dinosaurs with the Dinosaur Forest.
The largest in the UK, this forest features the dinosaurs that kids adore the most, including the Velociraptor, Stegosaurus and the T-rex and Stegosaurus.
Before visiting this Dino-domain, kids can use the Safari Park website to find their Dinosaur name using the Dinosaur Name Generator. Once their name is discovered, the dinosaurs had better watch out for the new boy/girl in town!
The Safari Park regularly releases new dinosaurs to add to the arsenal of prehistoric predators that roamed the Earth millions of years ago. This fact will certainly make the kids hungry for more!
Tip 5 – Stay Overnight
What better way is there to get the most out of your experience at Port Lympne than staying overnight in either the onsite hotel, one of the lodges or a glamping pod? This Safari Park is equipped with many accommodation options, all of which will offer you a warm feeling and staggering views.
The accommodation options include the Treehouse Hotel, a wide range of Lodges (all of which are dedicated to the animals on the Safari Park), a Giraffe Cottage, the Hog Deer Creek and cosy romantic Bubbles (The ideal place to stargaze).
One of the many bear lodges at Port Lympne
Not only are you going to enjoy your stimulating stay at this Safari Park, but you will also be helping the welfare of the animals in the park, as well as supporting the Aspinall Foundation in their work to release further animals back into the wild.
The cost of each accommodation option will vary depending on the season, and it will be advisable to check the prices of each option to find out what suits your individual needs. Click Here to read more.
And there we have it! Five tips that will help you with Walking on Kent’s Wild Side. Go book your adventure at Port Lympne Safari Park and remember the wise words from the Disney Pixar film ‘Up’ “The wilderness must be explored!”.