Out of town activities: The Granby Zoo
/by Lara
A few weeks ago we took our first overnight road trip with the kids in two years to go and check out the Granby Zoo with some friends. The zoo is literally a 5 minute drive from where I lived when I was in highschool so heading to the zoo was also an opportunity for me to catch up with old friends which very nice :)
The zoo was fabulous! Not so huge that we felt run off our feet (especially with little kids) but lots of stuff to see and do.
We started in the South Pacific where we got to touch/pet Rays (optional - I chose not to :) and see some very cool other sealife. We then headed into the Kaila show, which is a very cool sound and light show. I'd heard great things about it, but it costs extra and my three olds were more petrified than entertained so if you have nervous kids who don't like loud sounds, I don't think I'd recommend it.
We saw lions and hippos and zebras and giraffes (which apparently I didn't go much photographing of, hence this not particularly good shot of a rhino :)
The tram around the zoo was a huge hit with the kids, and so were seeing cool and different animals.
We ended the day in the water park where the kids got to enjoy the wave pool and lazy river (I forgot my bathing suit - sigh) which was the perfect way to cool down after a long day of walking in the heat.
A few tips:
If you have small kids, you can rent wagons or strollers there. If you (or your spouse) worry about your own strollers getting stolen, it might be worth paying for a rental you know nobody will steal. Also, I was grateful to be able to wear my son for part of the day, so bring carriers even for slightly older kids.
Food is, unsurprisingly, expensive. Bring food, snacks, drinks, etc. I also like to bring electronics to entertain the kids during said meals.
Don't forget your bathing suit. (sigh)
I highly recommend it as a nice trip that isn't too far away (I know people who make it a day trip.) It was a great day! I wasn't even discouraged that the twins' favourite things were the slides and the ducks :)
Disclosure: the Granby Zoo did provide free tickets for my family. All thoughts are my own (I always say that but I always also think - nobody would ever think I was fed the ridiculous things I write about as PR lines ;)
