Monkeying Around at Banham Zoo

We rarely get to see my cousin and his family as he works in the RAF but as he has recently returned from a four month tour and was staying locally my Aunt treated us all to a day at Banham Zoo. Charlie was very excited as he absolutely idolises S.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. I didn't get to take many photos though as I spent time helping out with S & L's boys (A, 5 and O, 3) so that they could have a bit of a break.

I'm not a lover of zoos especially when we've spent a lot of money in the past to see a number of empty cages and animals that didn't look well cared for but that's not the case with Banham Zoo. It's well set out and all of the animals looked fit and healthy.

Sam, the bald eagle.

I could have spent hours watching the giraffes. They're my favourite animal. Someone was lucky enough to be up close feeding them while we were there. We fed giraffes and elephants at Colchester Zoo some years ago and they're wonderful creatures to be so close to.

After visiting the Giraffe House we had a brief wait for the start of the Birds of Prey show. The staff hosting the show were very knowledgeable. The children loved the crazy and noisy galahs. 

The sun was shining right in my eyes during the show so I was really impressed that I managed to get this shot of the owl in flight! 

The African Harrier-Hawk was huge but very graceful in flight.

Seeing Sam in flight across the arena was an amazing sight.  

There were a number of beautiful blossom trees around the park (my current obsession!) We sat by this one with our picnic lunch-the first of the year.

I loved the vibrant Scarlet Ibis. Such a stunning colour.

Harry explained to little O that we were heading towards the tiger enclosure and they started chasing each other as roaring tigers. It was so funny to watch.

Each of the children took part in the stamp trail with the promise of an animal themed medal at the end. It was a good incentive for the youngest ones when their legs started aching.

Harry won't go anywhere near dogs but he was more than happy to go up to the magnificent Suffolk Punch.

Molly's nickname is Molly Meerkat (from her Year 5 teacher) and it stuck so the highlight of the visit was seeing the meerkat enclosure, especially the adorable baby ones.

During the train ride we spotted the last two stamp stations so we made our way to those, the last being the penguins. We were able to wander through the enclosure and get fairly close to them. The boys loved watching them waddle along, hiding in the tunnels under the walkways.

After that we went to the play area and sat there while the children played happily until we heard the announcement that the zoo was closing! It was so lovely to see the children playing together and my three looked after A & O amazingly well. They were so protective of them and I was very proud of them.

Harry's favourite animals were the monkeys and red kangaroos, Charlie loved the camels and tamarins and Molly was over the moon to see the meerkats. I left very impressed with the facilities for the animals and the clear love you could see that the staff had for the animals. 

My pedometer registered over 5 miles by the end of the day and O had managed to walk/run most of it with my gang. All of the children slept well that night! 

It was a perfect family day out.

This post is linked up with Coombe Mill's CountryKids link up. Click the button below to see more posts about children enjoying the great outdoors.