African Lion Safari

We were looking for something to do on the weekend, and we thought why don’t we go somewhere we haven’t gone before.  My wife remembered that they sell discount tickets to African Lion Safari at Costco. We were looking for an excuse to go to Costco, so off we went.

The park opens at 9 am, but the drive thru safari opens at 10 am. We arrived shortly after 10 and went straight to the boat cruise, as there was no line up, and then we went to the train ride.

In the same area that these attractions are located you will also find a waterpark and a playground. While you are walking towards the path to the train ride gate, that’s where the owls are located.  The elephant swim was at 12:30 so we went to find a good spot before it got crowded.  After the elephant swim we headed over to jungle junction to buy bus ride tickets and grab some slices of pizza for lunch. When you purchase the tickets you can select from any scheduled time on the board. We had our car there with a cooler in the back, so we popped up the rear door and ate there.

You are allowed to bring in your food, and there are many places to sit down.

 It was time to board the buses so we headed to the bus loading area located behind the jungle junction building.  No food or drinks are allowed on the bus except for water.  The driver narrates the bus ride, and the driver is very informative. The bus ride lasted about an hour, and is air-conditioned. The reasons we took the bus instead of our car were to prevent damage to vehicle, and to get a better view. The road is double laned, so being higher with bigger window helps to see over the cars and get better views and pictures.

 We headed of to the waterpark to finish off our visit, the water park is included in the admission. There are nice spots for adults to relax and get food and drinks while kids run around the waterpark. There is a funnel cake place, hot dogs wings burgers and a licensed alcohol area for parents. There is also a playground across from water park.  Washrooms are very clean compared to other places with this many people. Only down side is no change rooms and people change in washroom stalls.

African Lion Safari

http://www.lionsafari.com

1386 Cooper Road

Hamilton, ON

kids toys have changed over the years

Growing up we had hot wheels, matchbox cars,

G.I. Joe, Lego, Transformers, a broomstick for a horse, and a rolled up newspaper for a sword. We also spent a lot more time playing outdoor games, but now when we take a drive down the street we don’t see many kids playing outside.  Childhood obesity is on the rise, but have a look at the local parks and you’ll see why. Technology has given us many great tools and devices, but it has also created a lazy society.

 Now kids are more electronic based with Ipads, Ipods, ps4, ps3, Wii and Xbox gaming systems. They also have access to the internet where they watch YouTube videos.

 In my experience with my sons, I have times where I limit their video game time and tablet time and encourage them to go play with their toys, build something and use their imagination, since the use of imagination inspires creativity.

 Toys like Meccano and Lego let children build whatever they can think off we just have to remove the mentality to only build what it says on the box or the books inside. Its a good start so they see how things work when there are mechanical aspects to the toys but then we must help them understand that once they do that they can make anything they want. This is why I also like the science experiment toys it teaches children how things work in the word around them its one thing to read about them in books or watch videos but to learn hands on an invaluable experience.

  Here are some links to toys that I recommend for your children

 written by : Lou Oliva

article appears courtesy of www.luson.ca