Take a Safari Close to Home
by Helen Fitzpatrick

Have you ever dreamed of going on an African safari? Well, you can come close to it right not far from Roanoke at the drive-through zoo, Virginia Safari Park.

The park is reached from Roanoke via 1-81. Just after you pass the Natural Bridge exit, turn off at Exit 180, cross U.S. 11 and followed the Safari Park signs.

When my family and I went, we found ourselves in beautiful rolling countryside, sprinkled with deep forests. Even from the entry spot, we could see lots of exotic animals. The fare for admittance is $8 for adults 65+, $9 for other adults and $7 for children 3-12.

The ticket taker asked if we would like a bucket of food for the animals, and we bought one for $3. We were advised to watch out for the zebras that might bite and were told that ostriches cannot see well, so they could peck you if you don’t keep your bucket low in your lap.

Just inside a tall fence that encloses the park, we encountered four zebras who snorted and stuck their noses into our bucket of food. (The driver had her window down, of course.)

Zebra are beautiful creatures, and we learned that their skin is black and white, as well as their hair. We eased through this bunch and headed uphill to meet some camels. There are two kinds. The Bactrian camels have two humps, and are very large and tall. The Dromedary camels are from Asia and have only one hump.

The Bactrian was the first one we came to. We were speaking nicely to him when he stuck his big snoot through the window of the car, bit the bucket strongly enough to lift it outside, turned it upside down, threw his head back, and gulped the entire contents.

It was so funny and so unexpected that we got a good laugh, but felt sorry for all the other creatures we would see who wouldn’t get any food from us.

From that moment on, we slowly moved on a road that winds through 180 acres of land, lush and green. Pot-bellied pigs meandered about, ignoring the traffic and wandering close to the big splayed feet of the ostriches. We found the latter unusually curious to check us out. Ostriches are quite tall, about 8 feet, and can they run!. The black ones are male; the females are a soft, gray color. There were lots of young ones around too, which was fun to watch. All of them have a haughty look about them, as if to say they think they are pretty special!

There are handsome buffalo and bison in the park. They are shaggy and lethargic, sitting beside the road apparently unconcerned about the sightseers. Llamas are all over the place, grazing happily. There is one gorgeous giraffe in an enclosed area. He leans over the fence and lets you rub his pretty face.

It is impossible to describe all the animals we saw. There are supposed to be 400 of them, and we did see quite a variety. As we drove slowly up a big hill, we spotted emus, who are about 5 feet tall with black feathers. Close to them were rheas, also tall with gray feathers.

On top of a hill, there were dense forests housing huge elk, with magnificent racks. Many deer were there, and Indian antelope with white “socks” on their ankles. The Axis deer were impressive with spotted white throats. Perhaps the most wondrous creatures for me were the Watusi cattle, almost maroon in color, with huge horns.

It took about an hour to drive the five-mile-an-hour road, which was twisty and bumpy at times, but very pleasant. We saw some of the park employees working in the woods near the end of our ride and asked if they ever had any trouble when “on foot” in the area.

“Oh yeah”, they said, “The ostriches don’t care for us, and we have to run from them most every day!”

The park is a grand adventure for the entire family. It’s safe and a different experience, and can be enjoyed all the year. Try it soon. Hours until September are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the last admissions at 5 p.m. The park’s website is www.virginiasafaripark.com.

Helen Fitzpatrick is a Roanoke-based freelance writer.