A safari in our own back yard

So while Africa USA [1] might be gone, there's still Lion Country Safari [2], but unlike Africa USA, where you ride around the park in a train [3], in Lion Country Safari you drive your own car through the park [4], gazing at the various animals. And for the most part, they roam around free, except for the lions and giraffes, which are fenced off and the elephants and monkeys, which are kept behind moats.

At the end of the drive, there's a small theme park in place, I guess to keep the kids occupied in case seeing wild animals wasn't enough. And like most theme parks, the food and drinks are vastly overpriced, the gift shop is overly-hawked, and the kids whine to their parents to buy said overpriced food, drink and trinkets.

[This guy just wouldn't get out of the way] [5] [6] [On the lookout for predators] [7] [8] [That's one large chicken there] [9] [10] [Animals where just everywhere] [11] [12] [For some reason they keep the cats locked up] [13] [14] [Maybe to keep the cats from eating these] [15] [16] [A water buffalo enjoying the water] [17] [18] [Those are some large horns. Wonder if he's compensating for anything?] [19] [20] [The obligatory African elephant] [21] [22] [More deer-like animals] [23] [24] [Considering their poor eyesight and large weight, yeah, I can see rhinos having the right of way] [25] [26] [What you don't see is a rhino trying to hump a Volkwagen Beetle—it was most amusing] [27] [28] [Looks like some horses escaped from a nearby jail] [29] [30] [And we can't have a theme park in Florida without pink Flamingos, can we?] [31] [32] [Obligatory giraffes] [33] [34] [Now this guy … not only did he keep saying “Hello” and ”Goodbye” but he took a fancy to me and kept trying to hog the camera.] [35] [36] [This guy, however, gave me the cold shoulder] [37] [38] [The parrots are real, however the girl was animatronic.] [39] [40] [I think they've confused alligators, which are found in our backyard, with crocodiles, which are found in Africa] [41] [42] [Still, I don't think I want to argue the point with him] [43] [44] [No comment.] [45] [46]

[1] /boston/2007/01/21.1

[2] http://www.lioncountrysafari.com/

[3] http://www.africa-usa.com/tour.htm

[4] http://www.lioncountrysafari.com/Info/History.htm

[5] /boston/2007/01/27/thumb.p1270011.jpg

[6] /boston/2007/01/27/p1270011.jpg

[7] /boston/2007/01/27/thumb.p1270014.jpg

[8] /boston/2007/01/27/p1270014.jpg

[9] /boston/2007/01/27/thumb.p1270019.jpg

[10] /boston/2007/01/27/p1270019.jpg

[11] /boston/2007/01/27/thumb.p1270024.jpg

[12] /boston/2007/01/27/p1270024.jpg