Singapore‘s Night Safari is one of the city’s top rated tourist attractions – and for good reason. Like any other zoo, there are dozens of species of animals, brought together from all over the world.
The animals range from tiny large insects
right up to Asian elephants.
The difference between the Night Safari and other zoos though, funnily enough, is that it’s only open at night and that makes it an attraction that is unique to Singapore.
All the animals that usually sleep during the day – like fruit bats – were wide awake and flying around the enclosure.
Let’s just say I was practicing my deep breathing and calming thoughts walking through there. Things that can fly around my face freak me out!
Animals that are usually found sleeping under a tree to escape the sun were up play fighting (except we seem to have missed getting a photo of it – it was the lions) or lolling around in front of the glass looking like a cat wanting a tummy rub.
We saw sugar gliders (Aaron wants one as a pet – legal in some states of Australia)
and spotted hyenas,
flocks of flamingos
and pelicans,
piles of babirusa sleeping on top of each other,
and these awesome little animals called mousedeer.
There is a tram tour that goes round the park, which we thought could have perhaps gone a little slower, or paused more often for photos
as well as four inter-connected walking paths (and a suspension bridge).
The Creatures of the Night show was well worth a visit. With otters trained to recycle,
civets that can sniff out a grape in a closed fist,
a traumatised audience member who was left alone on stage wrapped up in a huge snake, and the haunting howl of a grey wolf
the show was hilarious, gorgeous, educational and memorable.
The only real down side to our trip out to the Night Safari was the journey home. The last bus arrived as we were roughly halfway through our delicious and expensive Ben and Jerry’s ice creams so we had to throw them out, and then when we got off the bus at the MRT station, the last train had already left so we had to get a taxi back to Farrer Park where we were staying.
I would never catch a taxi at home (either NZ home or Australia home) if I could possibly help it, because they are astronomically expensive, so I was dreading the total bill for a long taxi ride around Singapore in the middle of the night with a 50% late night tariff. But it only cost about $SG17. I’ve never seen a taxi meter move so slowly!
With the unexpected taxi ride, the half eaten ice creams, dinner at the Safari (which was, of course, far more expensive than most other meals we ate in Singapore), and the park entry tickets, it was one of our more expensive activities, but it really was a lot of fun.
Bring me home a mouse deer!
I might have to stop by Singapore and pick you one up on the way home. I’m not sure how he’d cope with living out of a backpack and I think there might be some issues around border crossings as well… he is pretty cute though!
I love the mouse deer. I saw one at the Norfolk Zoo recently. So cute!
They really are cute! And so appropriately named. I’d never even heard of them before, but now I kind of want one!
Oh Jo now I want to go there to see the animals awake, I hate going to the zoos and animals are sleeping or hiding away from Australias hot sunshine…
It’s just as hot in Singapore as it is up here in Darwin during the day, but in the evenings it was a bit cooler so the animals really did wake up! And the park didn’t close until midnight so all the nocturnal animals were out and about. I’d never seen lions playfighting before – they usually just sit around under the trees and yawn. Definitely worth a visit if you head to Singapore Linda!