A day at the Australia Zoo

I grew up watching Steve Irwin and all his Crocodile Hunter adventures on TV. I remember when he died in that tragic accident, I couldn't believe it and was so heartbroken. Anyway, it's always been a dream of mine to visit the Australia Zoo which is owned by the Irwin family. We weren't able to visit the first time we went to Brisbane, but luckily we were able to come back a year later and this time I made sure not to miss it!

Meeting the World's Largest Crocodile! (Green Island, Australia)

Do you remember Lolong? He was captured back in 2012 in Mindanao and was declared the largest crocodile in captivity. The Guinness record was previously held by Cassius, a 5.48-meter crocodile being cared for at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island, off the coast of Cairns in Queensland, Australia. Well, after Lolong died in 2013, the record reverted back to Cassius. And we were able to meet him!

Our koala & kangaroo encounters at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

I'm a big fan of Steve Irwin and it's definitely a dream of mine to go to the Australia Zoo. However, upon checking the location, Australia Zoo is quite far from Brisbane City where our hotel was. Actually, it's like the same distance that Gold Coast was, which was about an hour away.

Another alternative was to go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which was nearer and cheaper. Only 12km from Brisbane City, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary with more than over a hundred koalas. Here you can hold a koala anytime, hand feed kangaroos, and meet a large variety of Australian wildlife in beautiful, natural settings.

Field Trip at Sta. Elena Fun Farm

Miley went on her school field trip last week to Sta. Elena Fun Farm and unfortunately, I wasn't able to go with her since I had to stay home with the baby. But she and Daddy were able to spend some quality time together and they had so much fun!

The place looks really great from the pictures that hubby took. I checked their website and found out that although the farm is open to the public, you have to make a reservation if you plan to visit. Rate is P300.00 per head (child/adult/companion) and is inclusive of the following activities:

1. Carabao-cart riding

2. Horseback-riding

3. Animal feeding (bunnies/guinea pigs)

4. Mini Fishing

5. Mini Row-boating

6. Use of rope course & obstacle course

7. Use of mini zipline

8. Use of playground

9. Use of bike trail

8. Use of sand house

7. Use of Pavilion or picnic grounds (bring your own food and drinks)

I definitely have to schedule a visit here in the future for the whole family! Anyway, sharing some photos from super fun trip they had. :)

According to hubby, Miley had so much fun playing with and feeding the guinea pigs and rabbits. They look so cute even I'm tempted to get one as a pet haha! ;p

Here's Miley doing all the other activities around the farm.

fishing (they didn't catch any fish though hehe)

carabao-cart riding

at the playground

horseback riding with Daddy

Sand House

inside the Sand House, which was another favorite of the kids

riding the tractor

what a cute swing!

zipline area

I was so proud of Miley when hubby told me that she went on the zipline - 3 times! I can't stop watching the videos that hubby took - she was so brave and she enjoyed it so much! Go Miley!!! :)

I'm sad I missed going on Miley's first field trip. But I'm so happy she and her Dad had such a great time bonding together. When they got back, Miley kept saying her Daddy was now her best friend! Haha! Well, I can't wait to visit this place myself with all the kids. It seems like such a really great place for the whole family to enjoy. :)


STA. ELENA FUN FARM

OPERATING HOURS: 9AM - 4PM

ADDRESS: Sta. Elena Properties Inc. Barrio Malitlit, Sta. Rosa, Laguna

WEBSITE: 

http://holycarabao.com

EMAIL: holycarabao@gmail.com

TO BOOK A FARM VISIT, 

CALL or TEXT: 0920-4688785 / 0918-8886588

Cintai Corito's Garden: Family Fun

What made me really enjoy our stay at Cintai Corito's Garden were all the animals and activities you could do. According to their website, "Cintai is a beautiful sanctuary to unique animals such as alpacas, spotted deer, mini horses, peacocks and a whole lot more." So don't be surprised if you see some peacocks, chickens, or geese just crossing the road or walking around the garden.

We were informed that the bird feeding happened at 7am, so we woke up bright and early to check it out...

After, we decided to check out the peacocks and deer...

can you see the baby peacocks in the cage? so cute!

Then, we arranged for a pony ride. This was probably the highlight of the trip for me since it was Miley's first time to really ride a horse (we rode a horse in Baguio but that was just for picture taking ;p). Sabe didn't want to ride though, maybe when he's a little older...

There was also a big cage with a monkey inside. Unfortunately, Sabe got a little too close to the cage and before we knew it, the monkey ran towards him and pulled his hair! I swear it all happened so fast! I was really upset with myself because I've seen those "When Animals Attack" shows so I know how unpredictable animals can be. I'm just thankful it wasn't worse (I think Sabe got more scared from our screams!) but we suggested to the staff that maybe they should put an outer barrier around the cage or at least a warning sign or something. Haay, I swear Sabe was really so accident-prone this trip hehe. ;p

I HATE YOU DAMN MONKEY!

They also had a koi pond...

You could also borrow a bike if you want to explore the resort and the different facilities. We just rode around the rotonda area though...

My mother-in-law wanted to go fishing, so we all went just to give it a try. I wasn't really expecting them to catch anything, but I was so surprised when my sister got one after a few minutes! Everybody got so excited and competitive after haha!

fish pond with tilapia

the helpful and patient staff who baited the hooks

fresh catch!

My mother-in-law caught 2, and hubby (who at first couldn't get anything) managed to catch 6! I think they emptied the pond hehe. When we were claiming the fish during check-out, we were told that each fish we caught would cost P100. But they told my mother-in-law earlier that it was only P50. Hmmm, maybe they weren't expecting us to catch so many? But anyway, the issue was resolved quickly and we just paid P50 per fish. Just be sure to clarify with the staff, or set a limit for the number of fish you'll catch if you don't want to spend so much (si hubby kasi e, ayaw magpatalo, ang dami tuloy namin fish! but in fairness, it tasted really fresh when we cooked it for dinner that night ;p).

Right when we were about to check-out, it started to rain. So I guess we were still lucky for having good weather during our stay. :)

Click HERE for more pictures of the place and HERE to see our Garden Villa.

Cintai Corito’s Garden

 Sitio Pandayan, Malabanan Balete, Batangas | View Map
 Mobile: +63917.833.1508 / +63917.833.1728
 coritosgarden@gmail.com

Residence Inn Zoo in Tagaytay

Right after Holy Week, we went to Tagaytay for lunch and also to pass by the Pink Sisters Chapel. After, we decided to check out the zoo at Residence Inn. Entrance fee is P250 per person and free for children 3 ft below. To sum things up, we were able to go around the entire zoo in less than 30 minutes since they have a very small collection of animals. You can also have your picture taken with some animals like a python, an owl, or a pony for an additional fee. There are also several shops strewn around the place selling (overpriced) toys and souvenir items, There's also a zip line and cable car which we didn't try (but I think this might be the only appealing attraction in this place).

entrance

fishes, reptiles, amphibians section

snake on the loose! this is the photo area with the python (don't worry, his caretaker was just nearby)

funny how the rabbit cage was just beside the snakes... lunch? haha!

another snake on the loose! ;p

I think this is the show area, but there wasn't anything going on when we were there

birds

souvenir shops

photo op area with an owl and a parrot

hi Diana!

photo op area with a pony and donkey

these goats were SO noisy they ended up scaring the kids!

There were also a few tigers who were housed in small cages like this one. I don't know how they are "upgrading" but hopefully, they give these poor animals a better home :(

these were the most interesting animals they had (in my opinion)

Well, after going around the place, I have to say that the steep entrance fee is not really worth it. I mean, Manila Zoo is so much better compared to this place (and that's saying a lot!), and their entrance fee is even less than half. Instead of feeling happy, you just feel so sad and sorry for the animals in their cramped cages! Well, there are so many other great attractions in Tagaytay and sadly for me, this is not one of them.

Taronga Zoo

I wasn't really planning on going to the zoo when we were in Australia because of the hefty entrance fees, plus I figured it would just be like the other zoos I had already visited. But Vins changed my mind since he is such an animal lover (his dream when he was a kid was to become a marine biologist). Good thing there was a 15% discount coupon in one of the Sydney Guides I picked up at the airport. So from $44, the entrance fee came down to $37.40.

We went to Taronga Zoo via ferry from Circular Quay, which took about 15 minutes. The zoo was beautiful, clean, sprawling and probably one of the best zoos I have ever been to.

First animal we saw was the koala! I read online that it was better to go to Featherdale Zoo (although farther and smaller) since you can really touch and interact with the animals, unlike in Taronga where you have to pay extra for an encounter with them. But since all I wanted to see during this trip was a koala and a kangaroo, I was already thrilled just watching them from afar. =)

Here are just some of the fascinating creatures we saw in the reptile section...

Plus other animals which you don't normally see like a komodo dragon, tasmanian devil, tapir, and a big gorilla. It was extra exciting seeing these creatures, some for the first time!

Then we saw some kangaroos! The big ones were sleeping though (check out that batugan pose on the upper left). There was a part where you can walk inside this area with the smaller kangaroos but I was afraid to go near them hehe! We also saw some red tailed kangaroos (bottom right).

It was also fun and educational watching the seal show and the bird show which showed spectacular views of Sydney in the background...

The zoo was so clean I don't even recall any animal smell. And each enclosure for every animal was huge! Check out the elephant and chimpanzee enclosures below. If you remember my post about our trip to Manila Zoo, the lone elephant there was in a space (or more appropriately cage) way, waaaaay smaller than this. And he didn't even have any water. In Taronga Zoo, they really emphasize the conservation of animals and they are given ample space to live, romp and play comfortably. I just wish our zoo here in Manila could even be half as good as the ones abroad. Then you would actually appreciate and enjoy the animals rather than feel sorry for them.

So in the end, I'm so happy we went although it was bitterweet since we were missing the kids the entire time! :( We definitely have to bring the kids back here when they are a bit older. I can't wait for them to see and enjoy these animals for themselves. =)