Last weekend we’ve been to Knowsley Safari Park for our December visit. We did not book for the evening because, if there are any places left, for the Santa event, I think it would be better to leave those for families with children. We had a drive-through the safari and it was incredible. I shared the pictures as we took them around the safari, with the last two sets of pictures being the best ones.
We booked in advance a time slot and got an online ticket. We showed our membership cards and we were on our way to see the animals. It’s easy and fast each month, almost just as easy as turning up before the pandemic. They only accept online bookings now as they need to manage the flow of people in the safari.
All the Rhinos were in their enclosures. I am wondering if this guy (a male, the female is in the back, watching him in the process of destroying the wooden post) is scratching or just making art by shaving the post like that. He seemed very keen on it.
We’ve avoided the monkey enclosure as my husband did not take down the window scrappers. The monkeys did not seem too keen on the cars though, many of them being indoors.
The Bisons were so cute, they looked like they were curious about us and willing to interact. It’s strange as they never did that previously. We had to leave as it was getting busy though.
Moose had his lunch close to the road so we can see him. He is not afraid of cars but not sociable either, just ignores us as he always does.
The lion’s enclosure was amazing. All the lions were walking about, on the road, between the cars. They got very close to the cars, almost brushing themselves. It’s so incredible to see them so close.
As a Great Ape… I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with so many lions around the car. It did raise a bit my blood pressure, but it is amazing at the same time. They are so quiet, just walking around, powerful, calm, and, of course, a bit scary.
Look how close she is! It was fantastic!
After seeing the lions we thought nothing else can beat having lions around the car… how wrong we were.
This guy was curious about us. It’s not the first time a camel sticks his head in our car, as a few years ago it happened once.
Well… this camel was very keen on us. He was sniffing my husband, sniffed my hands, and grabbed them with his lips. If you have children make sure you don’t allow them to get that close to a camel’s mouth, as they might bite. I have experience with animals, so I knew how to keep my hands safe. He was very good though, never opened his mouth, just slobbered them nicely and that was it.
He was clearly very friendly and curious and wanted to spend time with us. That was such a wonderful experience.
These are INCREDIBLE! I love how the camel stuck his head in! That’s so cute! I’m amazed by the lions but I think I’d be scared! The MOOSE IS HUGGGGGEE!!!
Hi Anca,
You managed to take some amazing pictures, especially of the camel. I have never manged to get that close to one, although on a school trip to Tunisia, my eldest niece got to ride one and because she is a natural blonde, the camel handler offered her tutor 50 camels for her!!
I am also only a couple of miles away from Longleat, which looks very similar to Knowsley, which I haven’t ever visited. The mix of animals is probably slightly different and our best experience at Longleat, was being inside the wolf pack enclosure at feeding time. It really was a feeding frenzy and pretty scary to watch whole sheep carcases being ripped to shreds!
We are both regular animal park visitors, with our other favourite places being “Marwell Zoo”, “Monkey World” and “Cotswold Wildlife Park”.
Thanks for sharing, we have missed all these days out this year, but hopefully sometime in 2021? 🙂 🙂
Yvonne Xx
Wow, what a cool thing to do! I’m amazed at how close all the animals are to the cars!
Ive not been here for years but I can’t wait to go back soon with the baby when he’s old enough, I love safari’s and zoos!
Corinne x
I, too, have been hoping and waiting for this post following your teaser on Instagram! I’ve always heard camels are bad about spitting, so having one’s face that near to mine would make me leery. I can also imagine your feelings as the lions meandered through the cars. So close and so powerful. Wonderful photos, as always…. and I love the shot of the bison lined up watching you.
Yes, camels are known to spit, but only if they are annoyed, so I was very comfortable with him/her so near. The lions were scary. It happened before to have one or two around the car, with a whole pride it felt differently somehow. 🙂
I would have loved to be able to get out of the car and pet the bison, they all looked so relaxed and calm. They are not always like that though.
I loved your photos over on Instagram so I was hoping you’d blog about your visit. Knowsley looks just like Longleat, which is down the road from us. It’s such an amazing experience to get up close to the animals and for us to be confined instead of them. Glad you had a wonderful time and thank you for sharing more photos!
Thank you Lisa. I would love to visit Longleat, but never managed to go there so far. I watched a series about Longleat and I am curious about it.