What we did at Safari Zoo Run

On 29 Feb, we ran our first Family Run at the Singapore Zoological Gardens. While we imagined that we would be slow jogging for the entire 2.5 km, we were proven quite wrong. There were many participants and since this was a family fun run, strollers were allowed and we ended up strolling even from the start of the run. However, as the animals came into sight, many started to stop along the way and we eventually had a good and fun distracting slow run. While Master 9 was irritated at first by not being able to run as fast as he liked, the crowd tapered in and he was able to run, dash, walk and then took turns to push the empty stroller.

This run’s biggest draw is certainly being able to jog by and say hi to giraffes, lions, zebras and many more. There are so many runs in a year, I am beginning to appreciate the unique theme of each run. I must say Safari Zoo Run is attractive to kids because of the animals. Each participant who signed up for this run would be entitled to enter the Zoo and River Safari on that day at no added cost, plus 50% off Night Safari entry. That also explains the more costly run fees. But if you do your sums well, it covers the cost of entry together with the run and then it doesn’t seem so expensive after all.

We started the run to funky music at 9am and funny jokes from the host.

We pass by the white tigers which we made a second visit after the run again.

For the first time, the kids got to experience a water station point in the 2.5km run. Obviously, they loved the 100plus served in small cups.

The stroller was a saviour. The toddler wanted to be pushed along in the stroller from the start of the run. Although, he left the stroller and ran half the journey, it could be a good 1.2km of carrying him if we did not bring one along. I was glad the organizers specifically stated “Strollers allowed”.

As the run was not a competitive one, everyone took their time to walk-a-jog the entire route. Without realizing, we actually reached the finishing line without sweating much.

After the run, we collected our cute medals, 100 plus and bananas and went to watch the animal show.

What was different about this run was that we did not go home immediately. We went back to the Zoo again and this time round, took our time to visit the animals.

Singapore Zoological Gardens

We saw the newborn giraffe!

There were many more zones that we had visited and I did not include the photos here. The Singapore Zoo is one that we must visit at least once every year. We simply love our Zoo to bits with its fantastic landscaping to let visitors get close up to the animals which seemed like you could touch them, and yet get to view the animals safely. The Zoo has many interactive displays and activity booths and many interesting events hosted throughout the year. No wonder so many of us have Friends of the Zoo annual membership.

Finally, before we left the zoo… What is a Zoo trip without going to the Rainforest Kidzworld? We had our favourite fast food at KFC for lunch.

River Safari

Next, we hopped over to the River Safari. This was the first time we visited River Safari in the day time. The first time we came here was for Safari Boo during Halloween period and it was in the night. And we were going to visit the 2 Pandas!

Fun facts on Indian Gharial!

The kids got to touch the seastar. Amazingly, while I thought it would be soft, it was actually hard to the touch.

We finally got to visit the pandas Jia Jia and Kai Kai from China as well as the Red Panda! We didn’t get a chance to see them the last time we were there as they had retired for the night. The kids were especially excited after hearing so much about them. Over here, all visitors have to keep their volume down so as not to frighten the pandas.

I like the Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari. They have so many interactive and informative displays for the visitors, like this one. When overseas friends ask me where I would recommend them to go if they come to Singapore, my first answer will always be the Singapore Zoo!

Amazon River Quest

We did many firsts in that day. Another first was we took our virgin ride on the Amazon River Quest! It was a pity that the toddler was short of a few centimetres to take this ride. So, Kel went with the 2 elder kids and they totally enjoyed the 10 minutes ride to experience the Amazon wilderness and wildlife species from rainforest habitats of the world.

So, we ended our day with this Amazon River Quest and had another good day of family bonding 🙂

Disclaimer: We were invited to participate in the Safari Zoo Run to review the experience. We are loving runs nowadays and stay tune for more runs coming our way!