A birthday trip out on safari

I decided that as it was my birthday we were off to do something different for the day rather than visit the theme parks.  My something different......was to feed giraffes and go out on safari.  Got in contact with the  Giraffe Ranch and booked us on a safari for the morning.  Now the children were a bit skeptical, another one of mum's ideas taking photos etc....... we shall have to see how it all turned out.  Popped the details in the sat nav and off we went.  It was about an hours drive from Orlando but a pleasant one into the countryside. We arrived with about 20 mins to spare so were able to have a look around at some of the animals there.

These were the first creatures we met on arrival and have to say they were all very well behaved and enjoyed a rub on their nose.  No spitting at all!

  

The next one was this tortoise who came to investigate what was going on.  A friendly creature who I was allowed to pick up and boy was he heavy!

 

This little fella was adopted by a duck as he didn't know how to feed himself and had to be taught by his "adopted mum".

  

Many of these animals had been rescued from other places.  The owner of the Giraffe Ranch had been the headkeeper of Tampa Zoo for many years and has now set up this establishment.

Soon we were off on our vehicle, which I forgot to take a photo of, out to meet the giraffes and all the other animals.  We had a little cutie highland terrier breed of dog along with us - he too had been rescued from the side of main interstate road.

 

This cute little giraffe was born on the 21st July and was happy with his mum, he was still feeding and hadn't quite learned how to spread his legs so his head could reach the floor.  He was adorable to watch but mum was never far from him and was watching us all the time we were there.  We were able to feed some of the other giraffes whilst we were there.

Off we went again to see the variety of other animals on the ranch.

 

Now these ostriches were very cheeky and kept attacking people or their belongings on the vehicle.  One of the women had her bag attacked!  Saying that she did leave it on the seat and she was fairly annoying!

 

Looks a tough lad but he was very friendly with his keeper and enjoyed a bit of a scratch on his face.  Shame that they are threatened just because of their  horns.   

A little of a mixed up chap.

 

The patterns are fantastic to see up close.

 

These are smaller than the average cow, originally from Ireland but apparently produce very good quality beef.

 

This camel was very friendly and just wanted a bit of attention when he came up to look in the vehicle.  He was apparently bottle fed and is very friendly.

 

A little scratch and a few kind words was all he wanted.  

And these were just wandering around in the field. 

I really loved the different patterns that you see in wild life and thought how much better they look on the animals.

We spent around about two and a half hours here looking around and talking to the owners.  They really know what they are talking about and care for their ranch.  They have a great relationship for the animals living there.  When we left the children were talking about all they had seen whilst there, talking about the different species we had been told about.  The general consensus when we left was that they had really enjoyed getting up close to the animals and it was certainly worth going there for the day.

We came back home, a quick trip to Walmart to pick up some bits and pieces and then chillax time until we headed out to Epcot for a birthday meal.  We had a lovely meal at Chef de France but sadly had to make the decision not to stay for Illuminations as there was a thunder storm approaching.  By the time we got home we had managed to get away from the storm so put the pool lights on and off we went for a quick dip in the pool.  We had to evacuate when the storm caught up with us as the storm was pretty harsh this evening but it does clear the air.

Another very successful day out with the animals - and my family.