Amasing Jurong Bird Park

Finally, after more than a year of delays we got to go and visit the Jurong Bird Park the past weekend. This world famous Bird Zoo is a landscaped park built on the Western slope of Jurong Hill and has an area of 50 acres, housing some 5000 birds of 380 species including 29 threatened species.

We got there early and kicked off with a scrumptious breakfast at the park owned Bongo Burger restaurant. The area leading to the entrance is truly beautiful and lure you into this amazing world. From the moment you enter the sights and sounds give you a genuine feeling of being in an actual jungle. This is a full day trip and certainly a great excursion with family and friends.

I am not going to try and describe how magnificent this place is but rather share some of the weird and wonderful things we saw during our visit. One thing  I was seriously looking forward to and to my disappointment found out had been phased out in April 2012 (Damn) was a ride on the 1.7 kilometre Panorail. There is a four station Tram ride in it's place but certainly not the same as the up in the trees original ride.

First stop for us was a visit to the awesome African Waterfall Aviary, the biggest in the world with the worlds tallest man made waterfall at 30 meters. You honestly do not feel like you are in an aviary and there are some 1500 free flying birds with walkways, bridges and some wonderful lookout points to sit and admire the birds. A little bit of "Home" heaven seeing all the South African Birds and even some I had never seen back home.

We mange to watch one of the shows, Birds N Buddies in the amphitheatre which was great entertainment. One of my highlights certainly was the visit to the Lory Loft, a nine storey high enclosure with 360 degree views and a change to feed and interact with some awesome and naughty birds. One big red parrot kept taking the little feeding bowls from unsuspecting children. Funny.

At my age there are not many things that still amaze but during this visit I was blown away. Strolling down one of the path ways I saw what I thought was a statue of a strange bird. This statue looked very real with the feather's gently blowing in the wind and then to my astonishment it moved. They are in an open enclosure and I was about one meter away when this happened. Without a doubt the most amazing bird thing I have ever seen and my wife had to drag me away. I could watch them forever. The Shoebill from West Africa, that can stand motionless for up to twenty minutes waiting for its pray.

A very strange looking, over sized "Angry Bird" with a weird walk. Awesome. Check out my video of this funny creature.

 

The park offer many other exciting things to do and see like Kings of the Skies, Birdz of Play for the kids, Bird Discovery Center, World of Darkness and many more. Definitely a great place to visit and revisit.

Here are some of my other favourite pics from the day.

A Top 5 attraction visit in Singapore.