Longleat Safari Park, United Kingdom- Travel #29

Dear Steemit friends, let me take you for a walk on the wild side, to the vast plains of the African savannah......or just England. That's right, jolly ole England. Now I am almost certain that the word Safari would be one of the last things you would associate with the small island country. There are many reasons that England and the rest of the United Kingdom should be on your travel hit list. It has some of the oldest architecture on the planet including many castles and Royal Estates. Not only that but England is home to stunning scenery and a rich culture unmatched in today's modern society. The reason I bring you to England with this blog is to explore Longleat Safari Park with you.

As many of you know, I am a huge animal lover, animal rescuer and animal rights advocate. We share this beautiful planet of ours and I want all animals to be here for generations to come. Unfortunately due to habitat destruction, hunting, capturing, monetary gain, greed and straight out abuse, we are rapidly losing some of the most magnificent animals on earth. In 2018, we lost the West African Black Rhino and the Northern White Rhino to extinction. A devastating loss, so unnecessary, cruel and selfish. It absolutely breaks my heart that new estimates claim that within my lifetime and even before I have children, animals such as the Elephant, Giraffe, Gorilla, Tiger, Leopard, Lion, Orangutan, Hippo and the last of the Rhinos will be extinct. Gone from this earth forever. The disgusting truth is that black market items such as Ivory, Gorilla fingers and animal skins will exponentially increase in value once these animals become extinct. Unfortunately this is all these poachers care about, money. What does this mean for Africa? What does this mean for our planet? Imagine a world where children only read about these incredible creatures in a book, a distant memory for those of us that were lucky enough to see them alive. It is a world I hate to imagine that unfortunately will become reality unless we stand up for these defenceless animals. It has always baffled me that the few control the many. Governments control entire nations, a handful of poachers can control an entire country. Stand up, fight back, we are losing our planet, the sooner we realise this, the better.

This brings me to Longleat Safari Park, not to be confused with a zoo or animal containment facility. Longleat rehabilitate injured, sick and orphaned animals with hope to reintroduce them into the wild giving them a fighting chance. This can only be done with minimal contact with humans and the ability to allow the animals to continue to develop their natural instincts. In saying that, a lot of Longleat's animals have been critically injured by hunters and would be dead if it wasn't for the efforts of the park. If the animal is unable to reintegrate into the wild safely, Longleat becomes it's rescue home and what an incredible home filled with dedicated wildlife professionals it is.

To find me, look for my chihuahua's face

England

Longleat Safari Park

Longleat Safari Park is located in Wiltshire, England and occupies about 10,000 acres of land. It was established in 1966 as the first drive-through safari park outside of Africa. The park is situated within the grounds of Longleat House, a stately English home of the 7th Marquess of Bath and Lord Longleat. Longleat Safari Park is home to over 500 animals. In the 60's, shooting safaris became increasingly popular. That's right, people would pay money just to travel to Africa and shoot to kill exotic animals. It was supposed to be a sign of masculinity and power. Personally, I cannot think of anything that actually makes you less of a man than killing an innocent animal. These shooting safaris are much to blame for Africa's rapidly decreasing native wildlife population. Lord Longleat had the idea of creating an alternative shooting safari for a play on words, shooting with a camera rather than a gun. He had the land, the time and the money to transport some of the injured animals from Africa to England. These animals were being shot in the hundreds daily just for fun, the ones that didn't die immediately either starved to death or died days later from their wounds. Wild animals should not be kept in captivity, this is the problem with many zoos. However, if we leave them in the wild completely, they would all die out. Not because of natural selection but because of humans. So what can we do? Let them all die out? I believe in genuine rehabilitation, rescue and reintroduction into protected wildlife reserves and sanctuaries. It is a shameful fact that no animal is safe from the greed of man in the wild. The next best thing is to create protection for them whilst keeping them as wild and free as possible giving them the best chance of survival. We owe it to the animals to attempt to give back what we have taken from them. Rescuing them from certain death is a start. Below is the one of the first photographs of Longleat's rescued lions.

Where it all began

The idea of a drive through safari is brilliant, this means no cages or pokey enclosures. The animals are free to roam as they like throughout the 10,000 acres. These animals are not cheap to look after and so charging cars to drive through the park at their own risk is a great way to fund the sanctuary. One of the most admirable aspects of Longleat is its affordability. It would be very easy to charge through the roof for such a visit but this would serve as a contradiction, exploiting the animals for profit. Longleat is run mostly by volunteers with a few permanent paid positions such as wildlife veterinarians. It is very clear to see this wildlife park is here for the best interest of the animals and their fight against extinction. You may be thinking about the vast climate differences between the plains of Africa and the fields of England and how the animals cope. You would be amazed at what the will to survive can do and the amazing adaptability these animals have. These animals are thriving here at Longleat because they know they are loved. I firmly believe that love is the answer to nearly every issue we have in this world today.

Welcome

Being the animal loving family that we are, I decided to take my family on a day trip out to Longleat. At Longleat you can opt for a guided tour in a Longleat VIP tour vehicle or can drive your own vehicle through the park. We opted to drive our own vehicle and of course I was the designated driver. I must warn you, it is at your own risk. These are wild animals and there is no guarantee they wont think of your car as a new shiny play thing. I cannot express how amazing it is to get so close to these incredible animals and there be no bars or glass separating you. It is a humbling, heart warming experience. Upon entry to the park you are given a map to follow. The park itself is made up of the drive-through safari, cafes, Longleat House, rehabilitation centre and children's zone. There really is something for everyone to enjoy.

A friendly hello from a local

I am driving on the wild side

Wayne riding shotgun

Scott and Mum in the back

Here at Longleat, we experienced one of the most hilarious moments of our lives. When you drive through the park, there are multiple signboards warning against getting out of your vehicle and winding down your windows for obvious reasons, these are wild animals. However, there is a separated section of the drive-through safari that is where the wild monkeys live. The signboard that you meet before you enter the monkey jungle is

BEWARE, WILD MONKEYS AHEAD, YOUR CAR WILL BE DAMAGED

Now that is quite the statement, will be damaged, but they are just monkeys and I know that monkeys can be cheeky but not destructive, surely. Oh how wrong I was. The funniest thing about the whole situation was that it wasn't even my car, it was a hire car, sorry Europcar. As I drove through the gates into Monkey Jungle, we noticed that the car ahead of us had its radio antenna broken off by one of the monkeys. A minor amount of damage. As soon as the gate shut behind us, we noticed a group of monkeys playing by a tree, one in particular was playing with a large jagged rock. The monkey locked eyes with us and started running towards our car. We all screamed. He climbed up onto the bonnet and showed us his rock before he proceeded to bash the rock up and down on the bonnet. We were hysterical, the combination of crying and laughing in disbelief. After having a good go at the bonnet, he climbed onto the roof and dragged the rock across the roof scratching it to shreds before finishing up at the back, breaking off the windscreen wipers and showing it to us. As we drove out the other side of Monkey Jungle the gate attendant looked at our car in disbelief. We were all still laughing. Once we got out of the Safari and parked for high tea, we could assess the extent of the damage. We lost all 3 windscreen wipers, the radio anthenna, the bonnet and roof was scratched beyond measure and we had a giant poop right in the centre of the roof to top it all off. What an absolute experience that was, my advise, take a car that you don't mind getting destroyed, not a brand new Volkswagen Golf Sport.

Monkeys

Warning signs

After our Monkey Jungle experience, we continued our drive around the rest of the safari. It is amazing how much open land the animals have and how they all live together in harmony, predator and prey. You can drive at your own pace and even stop along the way to get the perfect photograph. Why would anyone want to race through it, take your time and soak it all in. These animals are truly magnificent. The first animal we came across after Monkey Jungle was the majestic Tiger, to think these beautiful creatures are almost gone from this earth. Slaughtered for their beauty. It was so humbling to be this close to them.

Majestic Tiger

Longleat is not short on big cats. The very first animal that Lord Longleat rescued back in the 60's was the Lion. The King of the Savannah, proudly wanders around the park with his Pride. The Lion is a symbol of strength, power and loyalty. It is amazing to watch them interact with each other and play. Exactly like a domestic house cat just much bigger. I always find it fascinating to study these animals that are considered "dangerous". Leave them alone, they will leave you alone. They hunt for food unlike humans that hunt for pleasure, what a sick kind of pleasure. To me, the Lion will always be King.

King of the Savannah

Catching some rays

My favourite animal is the Elephant. I was given a pink toy elephant when I was born, that I still have named "Boy". Maybe this is where my love for Elephants began. I see a lot of myself in Elephants, they are very family orientated, they are protective, loving, deeply emotional and of course are a female dominated species. Girl Power.... I just love everything about Elephants, I did an extensive study article on Elephants and their rapid decline in the wild back when I was in school. One day I will volunteer in Africa protecting these incredible animals. True gentle giants that desperately need our help. I want my children and grandchildren to see these beautiful animals in the wild and not just read about them in a book. How can one species, humans, be so destructive, I am ashamed of what we have done. Being here and seeing these animals up close and personal, to look into their eyes and see them for who they are, is truly a life altering experience. Are we so different?

My favourite animal

Oh hey

As we continue to drive through the safari, we come to a family of Gorillas, Silverback and all. Gorillas have a very sophisticated family and hierarchy system. They stick together and protect one another. They are incrediably similar to us, in fact we share 98% of the same DNA. It isn't hard to see the similarities. Gorillas are crtically endangered due to poachers killing them to sell their fingers on the black market as lucky charms. Most of the time, these beautiful gorillas are left to die slowly after having all their fingers cut off. Some of the gorillas here at Longleat are rescued from this trade and so you will be able to see that they are thriving here without any fingers. One of the people I most admire in the world is Dr Jane Goodall. She has dedicated her life to gorillas, to protecting them, researching them and being apart of a gorilla family. Without her efforts these creatures would already be extinct. One of her famous quotes rings so true,

"We could change the world tomorrow if all the millions of people around the world acted the way they BELIEVE"~ Dr Jane Goodall

Gorillas

Grandpa silverback watching over his family

Hippos

The safari is home to not only rescued African animals but farm animals as well. It is a wonderful experience and it definitely is a treat when they come up to the window to say hello. I will be opening an animal rescue sanctuary soon in the United Kingdom and I am very excited to do my part to make a difference in the lives of as many animals as I can.

Donkey

Buffalo

Hi Mr llama

Driving into Wolf country

Hyena

After a few hours of driving through the safari park, we had built up quite the appetite and in true traditional English fashion, we headed to high tea. Even though I was born and raised in Singapore, I have a lot of English traits. High tea is a tradition handed down from my mother and grandmother. The Winchester women do love their proper British traditions. Longleat house puts on a scrumptious and decadent high tea. Dietary requirements will be met upon request. Delicious tiny sandwiches, cakes, tarts and pies laid out on the finest china served with an endless supply of hot tea. Nothing satisfies quite like tradition enjoyed with family.

Time to head to Longleat house for high tea before exploring more of the park

Longleat House

High Tea

After enjoying high tea with my family at Longleat House, it was time to explore the rest of the park. My younger brother Scott is wheelchair bound however, this has never hindered his travels. He is a huge inspiration to me, he literally has travelled the world in a wheelchair. Longleat Park all in all is completely wheelchair accessible so there is not a concern there if walking for long periods of time is challenging. The park itself hires out wheelchairs or alternatively offers a hop on hop off tram to make getting around easy.

England, the motherland, rich and diverse in history has many stories to tell. Professional actors roam around the park re-enacting pivotal scenes in history. As the history buff that I am, this is very interesting to watch and you might learn a thing or two. Lord Longleat being a Lord has a Royal blood line of course and with that comes the protection of the Royal British Guard. Just as Buckingham Palace has the changing of the guard ceremony, Lord Longleat has the guards put on a display of changing of the guard along with a performance parade from the military band. The British are well known for being proud of their military dominance, proudly displaying their red coats which we all know has gotten them into a pickle or two.

Historical re-enactments

Lord Longleat's ceremonial guards and military band

Postman Pat is a British classic

Conservation and rehabilitation program

As I have mentioned that Longleat rescues injured animals from Africa, they also have an extensive conservation and rehabilitation centre. The animals at Longleat are free to mate and reproduce as they like which is fantastic as it is naturally growing the population of these animals. Unless babies are born, these animals will die out, it isn't rocket science. There is a team of dedicated veterinarians, scientists and volunteers on site that dedicate their whole lives to conservation. More and more babies are born each year and the eventual goal is when there are enough animals that are still wild enough, they can be transported to a protected wildlife preserve in Africa and set free. Repopulating what once was the bustling plains of Africa. Those unable to be reintroduced into the wild will live out their lives as free as possible here at Longleat.

Pelicans

Meerkat

What an absolutely wonderful experience here at Longleat Safari Park, It is a great family day out and you can learn so much from these magnificent animals. Longleat puts on a lot of special events all year round, they are open all year and offer special events like Halloween, Christmas, New Year, Easter, Chinese New Year and many more. You may be thinking that Chinese New Year is an odd event to celebrate. Lord Longleat's wife is Chinese and he honours her every year with a big party that everyone is invited to. Longleat also puts on an incredible festival of light every year with thousands of lanterns and larger than life light displays that will take your breath away. I will be doing a separate blog on the Festival of light.

I would like to extend a huge Thank You to Longleat Safari Park for communicating with me and providing additional information and photographs.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog on Longleat Safari Park, United Kingdom, thank you for reading and I look forward to sharing more adventures with you, until next time, Vegoutt Everybody!