Port Lympne Wild Animal Park

Long time visitor, you must visit its sister park Howletts also, about 1/2 Hr away. Both parks are amazing and I never tire of either of them, just wished I lived closer than the 3 1/2 Hr each way journey. Port Lympne is more spread out and hilly, more tirering than Howletts. We usually do Port Lympne first day, stay over and have a leasurely stroll around Howletts next day. You should not be dissapointed.

(Written by: Oliver)

Although it would never beat seeing wild animals in their natural habitat, Port Lympne is pretty close and was a big yet pleasant surprise to me and my Family when we visited this summer. Upon entering the Park you encounter a standard Zoo environment with caged animals with various feeding and display shows throughout the day. The more you venture into the park the more open it becomes and the cages become rarer and fenced enclosures become more common. The big cats are obviously housed in cages and although you can photograph them close up the metal fencing is always in the way - the same goes for the monkeys - nevertheless there are a good selection of both and all are entertaining even when they are sleeping, especially with the big cats who always have that 'wow' factor. What really makes this Park stand out from the other animal parks is the huge 'plains' of rolling grass that a multitude of african and asian animals roam with almost utter freedom. Giraffes, Rhinos, Antelopes, Elephants and even silver back Gorillas and numerous other species provide an amazing list of targets for would be safari phoytographers to shoot until their hearts content. You have to pay a small extra fee to experiencve this at its best by climbing aboard one of numerous safari trucks taking people through the plains, the animals are everywhere and often unfased by the truck so are often very close - this includes the Girrafes and Black Rhinos. The trucks stop often and drop you off half way around at a refreshment stop where you look down on the plains and really see how huge this Park is. If you are after a more VIP experience you can book up for weekend safaris and stay in the authentic Safari lodges which close to the refreshment area look fantastic and offer landrover tours throughout the weekend. We are definately considering a weekend like this next year. Over all the Park probably needs 2 days to appreciate and see everything but we ended the day totally tuckered out and with over 300 shots on my memory card. Brilliant day out and well worth the money.