/bɪ ə gʊd gɜ:l/ n. moniker of she who blogs here [also known as, bie]; adj. personal awesome advice to all female kiddos

meet the fam #thechennies

meet the fam #thechennies

One of the local attractions that we didn't wanna pass up was the Hamilton Zoo, especially since Heidi adores animals :) Their tagline is "the zoo with personality" hence the blog post title. If I were to sum up that "personality", it would be a cosy and intimate one.



As far as zoos go, you are really as close as possible to the animals and there is quite a good range of animals for you to encounter. There were lots of children there on school trips and looked like they were having a ball of fun; especially at the Tiger enclosure as they could use the gadgets there to zoom the overhead cameras in around the compound and spot the tigers while feeling perfectly safe behind the thick glass walls. So there were 1-2 kids manning the zoom while the rest of the group was either plastered to the glass walls or faithfully following the screens to see any signs of the elusive tigers. (They were behind some bushes, by the way, and I didn't even see them. Kids are so sharp!) Check out below snaps showing the close proximity to the animals. I guess there's a trade-off because the creatures might be disturbed by the constant stream of visitors, as opposed to our Singapore Zoo, where they get to roam freely from across the moat.






There's also a little game around the Rhino enclosure, which is sponsored by the Waikato Science Teachers Association, a professional agency which represents the Waikato Region's science teachers. There are altogether 50 'stages' of the game, where everyone begins as a newborn white rhino calf and then proceeds on their next instruction by choosing a number between 1 to 6 and matching the number to its respective 'stage'. If you were suay and chose a wrong number, then you die halfway during the game, say due to poaching by unscrupulous hunters. If you were lucky and managed to reach the end of the game alive, your survival state was in varying states of fitness. I bet kids would love playing this - if they spotted it in the first place, as it's rather inconspicuous. I only grew intrigued when I realised there were round tags on alternate posts around the enclosure and started reading further. Only then did it hit me that it was a game. Brilliant! I like :)

Start of the game

Sample 'stage' 23

If you have survived, can you breed?

Heidi all worn out and ready to take her afternoon nap...

The rhinos!

With Grandpa, Granny, Mama! Heidi has KO-ed at this point

Some other creatures in the zoo were new to me as I had never seen them before (or maybe didn't pay attention in our own Singapore Zoo), such as the Bleeding Heart Pigeon and Capuchin. Have included a sampling of some of the zoo's inhabitants below :)

The said Bleeding Heart Pigeon. Doesn't it look like it got stabbed in its chest?! Omgggggg

Brown Capuchin

Cotton-Top Tamarin. Looks fluffy enough to sleep on ;)


Other furry friends

Piggies!

We had a great time at the zoo, and wanted to grab a bite but the fare on offer looked disappointing so we decided to head to the Hamilton Gardens Restaurant (read here). There is a small shop at the entrance/exit which has cool zoological souvenirs. Was also pleasantly surprised to find merchandise in support of the Jane Goodall Institute. Jane Goodall is considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees and has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues. I bought two lovely beaded necklaces in turquoise for my sis and another multi-coloured one for myself :) It's for a good cause!


By the way, if you don't intend to bring your own baby stroller, there are a limited number of prams for hire at the reception.

WHW
Safari dress from Zara Baby, Grey polka dotted tights from Fox Baby, Pale green knit cardi

WBW
White V-neck tee from Gap, Green floral midi from Style Societal, Rose printed scarf from Downtown East, Flats from Moda Paolo

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