Like this Blog? 
• Monday, April 18th, 2011
No Snoozin’! We’re Zoo Cruzin’ !
|
|
| My friends April and Noel Williams (@AprilMWilliams and @NoelFWilliams on Twitter) were in Honolulu recently to escape the weather in Chi Town and we decided to do some Zoo Crusin’! In 1876, King David Kalākaua made royal lands near the slopes of Diamond Head available for the establishment of a public park for the people. The King kept his collection of exotic birds and horses here and in 1877 the marshes, ponds and lagoons in the area were beautified by the subscriber based Kapiʻolani Park Association who opened up the area as Queen Kapiʻolani Park.
|
|
| I haven’t been to the Honolulu Zoo since 1996, and a lot has changed. Gone are most of the old style cages and in place are newer free-range enclosures for the animals and birds. A new entrance has been added as well as an expanded gift shop. Comfort stations and snack bars are located strategically around the 42 acres so it is a more enjoyable experience with rest stops than it was formerly.
|
 Here's looking at you, Kid! |
| I have to admit I favor the celebrity animals like the tigers and lions and cute little monkeys over the reptiles and the chimpanzees, who seemed to need anger management classes. I wondered why there were so many tigers and was told they had a litter of tiger kittens last year and they were supposed to go to zoos in Japan this year. Unfortunately, the recent Japan Earthquake and Tsunami has put those plans on hold, so Honolulu has lots of big kitties for you to visit! | |
 We have our Picnic, do you? |
One of the nice things about the Honolulu Zoo is it also functions as a park area, so you can bring in outside food and drink to have a picnic on the grounds. Most other Zoo’s I’ve been to don’t allow that. The grounds are beautifully maintained and there is plenty of open space away from the animal exhibits to enjoy. We had a perfect day, overcast with some showers so it wasn’t too hot. Lots of places to duck out of the rain and wait for it to pass. Still, it is Hawaii so dress for the heat, wear sunscreen and carry a bottle of water with you. And bring a camera! I took a lot of fun zoo pics here!
|
| Typically in the heat of midday many of the residents will be out of sight and napping. They are probably saying to themselves “What are those silly humans doing standing around in this weather?” But I swear while looking at the tops of the Lion ears peeking over their little hill in the enclosure I heard them singing this song…
Aloha,
|
|
Category: Entertainment, Fun Stuff
| | Leave a Comment