| The best animal experiences of Bali
Indonesia | | |
| Natarsha Brown channels her inner man-cub
and gets up close and personal with Bali’s
creatures, great and small. | | |
| One thing Bali is not short on is an
abundance of wildlife just waiting
to make your acquaintance.
Want to sleep amidst elephants?
No problem. Want to dine next to
a lion’s den? No worries. Want to cuddle a
python, feed a pelican, meet a macaw and kiss
a komodo dragon? Well, maybe not the last
one, but for such a little island, Bali’s animal
experiences really pack a punch.
Bali Safari Marine Park
Welcome to the zoo of childhood dreams. With
the sheer amount of things to do and see with a
mere general admission ticket to Bali Safari and
Marine Park, mini Mowgli’s will never want to
return to the ‘man village’. Home to over 60
species of animals, don’t come here expecting
to see Balinese wildlife, but an assortment of
crazy critters from across the globe; ride a
camel, pet a baby Indian tiger, hold a Bali Mynah
or cuddle an orangutan. And for lovers of the
more fearsome of the world’s beasts, be sure to
stop by for the piranha or white tiger feeding
times, but keep your handsa to yourselves!
Enjoy your dinner with a side of lion – and no,
not on your plate – with a two-way observation
deck between your table and a lion’s den at
Tsavo Lion restaurant or spot exotic animals
from the confines of your air-conditioned 4WD
bus on the popular Night Safari, visiting the
wilds of Indonesia, India and Africa.
We’ve all heard the saying ‘an elephant
never forgets’, so remember to bring your
trunks, your swimming trunks that is. The water
park has a little something for all ages, a
toddler friendly playground, a whirlpool, a
merry-go-round equipped with spray guns and
an adults’ pool retreat and bar.
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Elephant Safari Park & Lodge
Celebrities, politicians and sports stars alike
have been flocking to the highlands of Taro for
years, with the resident gentle giants more
famous than their guests, who range from David
Beckham to Julia Roberts to the President of
Morocco. And the best part? The Elephant
Safari Park & Lodge’s 30 resident Sumatran
elephants are treated like animal royalty; the
park is foremost a refuge, meeting international
standards of animal care and set in two
hectares of botanical gardens and native forest.
The daily elephant show is the real marvel:
guests look on in glee as the hulking entertainers
prance, dance... and paint! Yes, you heard right,
the park is home to elephant Picassos. While it
may sound like the synopsis for the next Disney
blockbuster, it has to be seen to be believed and
it is nothing short of extraordinary.
If one day simply isn’t enough, wake up to
the sounds of stomping right outside your
window and climb aboard your 4000-kilogram
taxi for a ride to breakfast by spending the
night at one of the 25 luxury safari style rooms
available on site. If mum is in need of a break,
the Safari Wellness Spa has an extensive menu of
body, beauty and hair treatments, or get the
blood pumping on a white-water raft, kayak or
mountain bike.
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Bali Zoo
Where else on earth can you dine with lions,
take care of an elephant and pose with a
python? Bali Zoo has so many animal
experiences on offer that it’s not about deciding
if to go but for how long!
Learn how to command and care for the
largest land animal on earth with Bali Zoo’s
nine-hour Mahout for a Day programme, the only
one of its kind in Indonesia. The island’s first and
only Balinese-owned zoological park lets you get
up close and personal with these gentle giants
and their trainers, experiencing a day in the life of
these pachyderms, including an elephant bath, a
Mahout 101 course and a scenic ride through
Wos River. Looking for a cute fix? Kids aged six
to 12 can try their hands at being a zookeeper,
preparing the animals’ meals, creating
enrichment toys and getting cuddly with the
babies of the Animal Clinic & Nursery.
As twilight descends, find out what goes
bump in the night with the Night at the Zoo
programme every evening from 6pm to
9.30pm. With elephant feeding, photo sessions
with pythons, bear cats and crocodiles, a
guided night walk, a fire dance performance
and dinner under the stars – just a few metres
from a lion’s den – the kids will discover that life
really is the most spectacular show on earth.
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| Bali Bird Park
Fans of the smart-mouth beaks of Tweety and
Zazu, prepare to frolic in birdie bliss at Bali
Bird Park. Located in the Batubulan stone
carving village, the two hectares of tropical
gardens and walk-through aviaries are home to
more than 250 species. Divided into different
areas that aim to recreate the natural habits of
the birds – from Latin America to South Africa
– the park is a safe haven for a number of rare
species including the birds-of-paradise from
West Papua and the Bali starling.
Birdwatchers-
to-be can feed a pelican, hold a
macaw, talk to a friendly cockatoo, visit the
nocturnal owl house or hoof it if they encounter
a cassowary! The ‘Free Flight Bird Show’ is the
highlight and will leave the littlies in awe as
eagles, owls and macaws soar through the
skies and intermittently dive bomb the
handlers, snatching food from the palms of
their hands. If the sun has you a wee bit weary,
stop in at the air-conditioned 4D cinema.
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Monkey Forest Ubud
Step back in time at the Sacred Monkey
Forest Sanctuary, home to Ubud's 300
infamous mischief-making macaques. Also
host to 115 species of trees, three holy temples,
unravelling stone pathways and a collection of
moss-covered statues, and all intertwined
between the wild native jungle, the sanctuary
feels like the leftover set from Tomb Raider.
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