About two hours from our home is Lion Country Safari. We've passed the entrance road to it many times on our way to West Palm Beach and have heard of it from friends, most especially that they have a campground adjacent to the park and you can hear the animals while you sleep.


Ian's scout troop decided to explore there this summer, staying at the campground, and I immediately said the entire family would be going. Never mind that they decided to go at the end of June, when it's really hot and buggy and in the middle of rainy season (rainy season: from early June through summer it rains hard almost every afternoon).

zebra traffic jam in the rear view mirror

Oh my gosh, what fun!


The drive through portion of the park takes about an hour or so. At one point three zebras were chasing each other through the grounds, weaving in and out of cars, and appearing as if they were going to run straight into the car.






There is also an amusement park portion with petting zoo, mini golf, carnival rides, etc., with most everything included in the admission price.  After getting nice and hot there we decided to cool off in the car going through the drive through portion of the park again.


It was later in the afternoon and the sky was overcast, getting ready for rain. The animals were much more active, especially the lions. The first time through they'd just been hanging in the shade, this time they were playing and interacting with each other much more.



The camping ... well, it rained. For hours. The kids couldn't have cared less, and the campground had a large pavilion so the adults didn't mind either. River found a downspout to play with and the other kids played tag and manhunt until well after dark. Everyone made it back to the tent soaked and happy ... until morning when they realized they had to put their dripping wet sneakers back on.


And we DID hear the lions at night. Once the rain stopped we could hear lions, birds, and other unidentified animals. As morning came the animals became more active and River and I laid in the tent talking about the various animal sounds. (side note: I spoke with someone who camped there during ostrich mating season ... and that's all I have to say about that)

rhino roadblock

On the way home we stopped at a park along Lake Okeechobee and watched what appeared to be a cricket match. That was random.