Singapore Night Safari : A Fiery Experience - TheWackyDuo.com - Singapore Wacky Digital Underground Outpost

Singapore Night Safari : A Fiery Experience

Fly into Singapore Night Safari
"Let's go to a Safari!"
That was the battlecry of Daddy on a lazy Friday night. Since it was one of those rare Friday evenings where we do not need to attend any enrichment classes, it was a perfect excuse to go on an adventure.



The Singapore Night Safari was one of the Zoo's attraction that we had not visited as a family. We have been to the main zoo almost annually but have yet to explore the world's first night safari together. It is a bonus too that this is a dedicated night attraction since it was already dark when Daddy surprised us.

Bongo Burgers
Go tribal with Bongo Burgers
Before we head into the safari, we need to fuel up on food. The night Safari offers several food options. However we decided to have a tribal dinner at Bongo Burgers as it was close to a 'fiery' show that was scheduled for later in the night.

Bongo Burgers
As it was a Friday evening, the crowd was quite ok. There were huge groups of tourists, but the restaurant itself was not crowed. We managed to find a good spot the moment we stepped in.
Bongo Burgers provide both adults and kids menu. Prices are relatively decent starting from $12.90 for a main course and $6.90 for child meal. Drinks are a little on the high side (at least $5 per can) unless you opt for bottled water ($2)
Spring chicken
The family had the Spring chicken ($14.90), the famed Bongo Burger ($14.90) and Nuggets/Fries ($12.90) for dinner.

Bongo burger
Do get a seat close to the stage next to Bongo Burger as you will get to see a special show . We reckon table 61 is as good as it gets. Bongo opens to hungry mouths from 530pm to 12 midnight.
Table 61
Flame on!
At the strike of 8, the special show started.
Light my fire!
Amidst the ohhs and ahhs from the crowd, there was a squeaking little voice protesting that we were too close to the fire. You could literally feel the heat from the flames but we were perfectly safe where we were. Someone just need to tell that to Little Lou who protested on being locked down at table 61.
Thumbuakar Warriors
The thumbuakar warriors entertained us with their fire spitting skills as well as fire eating abilities. Mom did warn us not to try this at home if we still want to keep our youthful looks.
Fire eater
We were expecting more warriors for the night, but there was only 2. Still it was a fiery 20 minutes long experience. We do recommend watching it up close for the wow effect. Show times are at 645 pm, 8pm, 9 pm and 10pm. Since the show is held outdoors , it is free for non ticketed holders. Do note it is a non shelter event so there will not be any performances during bad weather.
Move over dragon
Besides Bongo Burgers, you could also satisfy your hunger pangs at Ulu Ulu restaurant that serve local food in a village settings. Buffet and a la carte options are available.

Ulu Ulu Safrai
The main show
The highlight of the evening would probably be the tram ride. Once inside the night safari, you will face scores of human traffic queuing up of the tram ride.
Tram station
The lines seem pretty long, but it takes less than 10 minutes for us to get on a ride. Given each tram is 3 sections long and estimated to seat 40-50 pax per tram, the queue is quite manageable. So don't be scared off by the snaking queues.
Long tram
Each tram ride is about 40 minutes long and takes us to different geographical zones around the world.Definitely faster than around the worlds in 80 days.

It is almost impossible to get a good shot of the animals on the camera. Even though the tram is slow moving, the combination of low light and movement makes every pictures a blurry yet somewhat artistic photo like the one below.
Blurred vision
After 10 minutes into the ride, Daddy decided that he was getting a headache from blurry images and stop shooting. He did managed to catch some lions in action when the tram stop.
Sleeping lions
Actually the lions were sleeping.
Anyway mom prepared some questions for me during the tram ride and I was all determined to complete the answers. Except that it was difficult when it was almost pitch black on the tram...

Pop quiz
At the end of the ride, we had travelled through the Himalayan foothills, Indian Subcontinent, Equatorial Africa, Indo- Malayan region, Asia Riverine forest, Nepalese River Valley and Burmese Hillside. Along the way we had close encounters with bharals, bears, hippos, zebras, Giffares ( Zhang Ji Lo - as Little Lou excitedly exclaimed) , elephants, lions, tigers, barbirusa, rhinoceros, cranes , tapirs and lots more!
Gentle giants
After the ride, we decided to explore the safari on food. There are 4 walking trails, but given it is already 930am and there are 2 wild beasts who are getting tired, we decided to venture to the newest trail at the safari- the Wallaby Trail ( it does help that it is the shortest one as well)
Wallaby Trail

The new Wallaby trail
Since we had just returned from Sydney, we were quite excited to see wallabies again.
Wallaby Trail @ night safari
The trail started at the Ranger Station where you will see a stuffed kangaroo and ostrich.

We spotted some shy possums on the way to the Naracoorte cave.
Cave
Here under the glowing lights , you will find snakes, roof rats and scorpions.
Glow
Don't worry , they are all held behind glass panels. We heard bats are also invited to make this caves their own. However we did not encounter any of them.
Cave residents
I did enjoyed the cave exploration even though the zzzz monster awaits
Stepping stones
Last but not least, we spotted some wallabies roaming freely in the wallabies enclosure.
Wallaby
There are 3 other trails that you could explore, namely the fishing cat trail, leopard trail and the east lodge trail. We reckoned it could take at least 2 hours to complete the whole walkabouts.

We would love to come back to complete the rest of the trails, however at a cost of $35 per adult and $23 per child, this attraction seem pricey for a family ( for a family of 4 , entrance is already at $116) We do wish the zoo to consider discounts for residents and their families to make it more family friendly for Singaporeans. It is a practise that is widely implemented in other countries and something worth considering in Singapore.

Admission charges @ Night Safari
In addition, we do wish the zoo would introduced a all parks annual family pass instead of individual park annual family pass. To get 4 different annual passes for the different parks would set a family back by at least $1000 per year. This no small change by any standard. If that is the case, we would be more than willing to take up membership, in what we think is a great place to bring a child to in Singapore.
We do not think we are the only family who is clamoring for the change. We do wish Wildlife Reserve Singapore to reprice their packages to encourage more families to head to the parks. After all it is a Singapore venture and thus it is only natural to encourage more residents to visit rather than just package it as a tourist playground instead.

Ok end of a rant... The final verdict. Would we revisit the night safari?

It will be a resounding yes from us... now we just need Daddy to strike 4D.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, is the tram ride included in the entrance fee or separately charged?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It should be included. Prices have since increase from the last time we were there

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