Yesterday we spent a chilly yet beautiful afternoon at the Port Lympne Wildlife Park!
It’s a great place with large areas to roam around for visitors and for many of the animals. There’s a ‘safari experience’, meaning a guided tour in an open truck & trailer, which takes you around parts of the park where animals like elands, bactrian camels, zebras, red letchwes, antelopes and wildebeasts are wandering around in more or less open fields. From the trailer you’ll also see giraffes, rhinos, ostriches, water buffalo and other lovely creatures, some of which are in more enclosed areas (depending on season, breeding etc.).
Apart from the ‘safari’, there are also many animals to see on foot, such as lions, tigers and other types of cats (big and small), apes and monkeys, meerkats, wolfs and more. They also have a large Dinosaur Forest, where you meet large models of pre-historic animals, from the oldest dinosaurs to more ‘recent’ creatures such as the mammoth, and there’s plenty of good info on signs along the forest trail, as well as a virtual reality app to make the dinosaurs ‘come alive’ which we’ll have to try out another time (if you’ve been there and tried it, please tell us about it in the comments!).
The park at Port Lympne is part of The Aspinall Foundation which is an animal conservation charity, so they have a strong focus on working with endangered species, and some of the animals bred at this park grow up to be released in the wild.
So, if you’re interested in learning more about animals and where they come from, why some animals (including the mammoth and dinosaurs) become extinct, what can be done to save threatened species, or if you just want to have a great day out, this is a good place. You could also use a visit here to learn about nature in general, trees and plants, the changing seasons etc. As home edders, we’ve always got educational and/or developmental perspectives in mind π
Something that is special about Port Lympne is that it’s set around a lovely old mansion with great gardens including water features and a maze. This is great for Penguin, and I’d say he enjoyed the gardens at least as much as the animals, on our visit yesterday. Happily running around the edges of the ponds (with us parents nervously watching, with spare clothes on hand just in case… his footing and balance is great though!), stroking the dense and well-pruned bushes (including some box bushesπ), exploring the paths, steps, maze etc. Very enjoyable!
I’ve seen a few blog posts recently about adjustments to Christmas celebrations, to make them more enjoyable and less stressful for children with autism (some also applying to adults). One aspect is to let go of your preconceptions, and accept that things won’t always be how you had envisaged them. In some ways, this applies to many areas of life, not just Christmas. And to us at the wildlife park yesterday, it meant things like only getting a quick glimpse of the massive male lion standing close up to the fence, while spending a substantial amount of time around the water features, and allowing time for examining the texture of an old brick wall. But the point is to make it an experience for everyone to enjoy, and if that means doing things a little bit differently than most, then so be it.
Also, for someone like me who’s always liked looking at textures, reflections, light and shadows etc, it’s great to have someone close who shares my fascination π
To visit a place like this off-peak is great, avoiding crowds and queues. It was also nice to see some of the lights and displays they’ve put up, giving the place a slight christmassy feel (even more so if you use their restaurants and hotel, which we didn’t). Even the meerkat enclosure had a bit of a festive feel to it on this cold day, with their infrared heat lamps βΊοΈ
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(I’ve not been sponsored to write this post and all views are my own.)
I’ve seen a couple of posts in the past about Lympne and it really does look amazing, it’s clear you and penguin had a great time exploring. Places like these are so wonderful as you can see all the animals and how they can adapt to situations. It’s great that it can be such a hands-on experience for Penguin too, it’s clear he enjoys exploring the textures and spaces of places.
Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids.
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Thank you Fiona! It’s a great place, and if you visit from further afield there are options for staying there as well (cabins as well as the hotel). You should go sometime π And yes, Penguin really does take places in with all his senses x
PS. Thank you very much for the mention for last weeks post, I’m so happy you liked it! π
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What a great place to visit, we love spending time at animals parks
#CountryKids
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Thank you Darren! If you enjoy animal parks then I’m sure you’ll love this place. They’ve also got cabins etc where you can stay for your visit, if you live further away than we do π
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I love Port Lymph but its been ages since we last visited, need to book a visit to Kent so we can go back
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Yes, it such a lovely place, isn’t it? You could even stay on site if you wish to (and have the money for it π¬) x
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This sounds like a really good day out, and great pics too! #CountryKids
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Thank you very much! x
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I love the idea of not having preconceptions of a plan. No plans is normally a way to a good stress free day! I quite like different textures and things, it’s great you and penguin have this in common. I think my son would love to hang out by water features too! A like a varied park like this. #countrykids
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Thank you! Yes, your absolutely right. I too love that the place is so varied, with the animals being just one part of a more multifacetted – and multisensory – experience πx
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I wish I live near this place. They have an amazing vision. We dont have a zoo near us so a zoo trip is scarce. But I really wanted my son to learn about animals especially the endangered ones and one can we do to help. Another amazing trip by you guys! #countrykids
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Thank you Merlinda! I’m sure you have a lot of knowledge that you can share with your son even if you can’t get to a zoo at this stage in life π―πΏx
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This is just our sort of place to explore, i love visiting out of season too when you can really enjoy the animals alone #CountryKids
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I agree, many places are best off season! We actually revisited Port Lympne again on Sunday. A little bit chilly but beautiful x
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I love how many different things you can do here. And, I often find that the best days are the ones with the vaguest of plans! #countrykids
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Thank you Sara, I agree! x
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Looks like an amazing trip. Visiting wildlife parks is my favorite activity.
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Wow, love your pics! What an amazing place to visit, our kids would love it here. Definitely adding to our bucket list! #ExplorerKids
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Thank you! That’s really lovely to hear! x
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We have been to Howletts in Canterbury but have been wanting to visit Port Lympne for ages. It looks fantastic I know the Aspinall Foundation do a great job. Sarah #ExplorerKids
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Thank you Sarah! Yes, Howletts is great too, but Port Lympne is a bit larger and somewhat more varied. (And if you don’t live too far away, it might be worth going for a joint membership for both parks, if you’d go more than once or twice in a year.) x
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This looks lovely. There’s a lot to be said for visiting zoos off season. We went to our local zoo, Paradise Wildlife Park, last weekend. It was absolutely freezing cold but we had the playground to ourselves! #ExplorerKids
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It’s great, isn’t it, when there are no crowds. Feels like quite a luxury, I think! πx
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That looks sensational! My boys love just about any place where they can learn about animals and get to see them in real life. #ExplorerKids
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Thank you! We love to do as much of our learning based on real life experiences too πx
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That looks like an amazing place to visit! I love animals! #ExplorerKids
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Thank you! If you ever get to the UK… πx
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I like visiting zoo with my children for educational reasons. It’s great to hear that they helping with the breading and releasing them into the wild. The garden and the hotel sound very grand and I expect the tour will be also a grand tour as well. Great that they are also making changes to make Christmas a little more pleasant visit for everyone. I can imagine that this place will be very crowded at Summer time too. Thank you so much for sharing with us. We’ve never been here before. But I think we will have to visit one day. Pinning this! π x #ExplorerKids
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Thank you for your lovely comment, Su! I’m sure you’re family would enjoy a visit, and they have little cabins too (‘glamping’ style) to stay in, as alternative to the hotel. xx
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