Diddley Dudley

P.S ignore any dates on the photos, the cameras never been right since it was dropped !

My Daughter recently went as a Zoo keeper for the day at Dudley Zoo - it's not a zoo we've been to before although I used to stay at a hotel quite often that was next to the castle so somewhere I've been near to but not had the chance to go to.

It perhaps didn't help it was a cold miserable day as well but after the Sat Nav (I decided not to use motorways and wanted to see if it would take us on a more direct route) decided to take us towards South Wales and was promptly turned off we arrived ready for the day.

She was greeted by two keepers as there was another girl her age also being keeper for a day.

Basically for your money they spend the entire day (minus 1 hr lunch) going through a variety of animals and tasks.
A quick bit of housekeeping to start with, cleaning out the animals in the childrens farm, getting close to the animals and feeding them with plenty of hands on - this takes most of the morning then its up to the restaurant for some dinner (nice home made soup by the way) and then it's off for the afternoon surprises.

While she was cleaning the animals out in the morning and having a general good time we explored, although the Zoo is showing it's age you can see they are making steps to improve and change it, the small monkeys now roam free in a large walk through enclosure which is brilliant, plenty of small monkeys running around and generally making a racket.

The Lemurs are in a large open compound as well although we ran off at high speed when the entire pack (what's the collective for lemurs?) started growling/howling and baring their teeth - I can only presume they didn't like my brothers Camera.

Anyway after a quick explore of the castle as well we have dinner and in the afternoon parents etc can go around with the zoo keepers (although you can't go in the animal enclosures).
A trip to the Tapir was next where they took part in some grooming and hands on then off to the Giraffes, most people were asking how they can get in and feed them so lots of jealous kids around that day. The keepers take you to a special platform where you hand feed the Giraffes and get some serious hands on.

A quick wander through the scary Lemur wood now where they start howling again (damn those cameras) and we find ourselves at the Penguins.
The keepers all go down to the water and during a presentation speech they actually get to feed the penguins as well.

If this wasn't enough it's then into the discovery center for some private hands on.
Out comes a tame rat first, followed by a bearded lizard, a grumpy but friendly enough Chinchilla, a corn snake and then the room clears as the tarantula comes out.

Now as reviews go that doesn't sound a lot for your money and anyone prone to reading my blog (yes I'm talking to you .. the one person who actually does) I can in some areas be rather negative, although when praise is due I will dish it out in large chocolate coated pieces.

First the negatives.
Yes the Zoo is a little old and in some areas looks worse for wear, you can see old viewing platforms now crumbling although it would be great if they were fixed and back in service.
The cable car to the top of the hill is closed but they do put a land train on.
It's not a massive Zoo.

Now the positives.
The setting is unlike any zoo you have been in, you can explore the zoo and the castle together so it makes for a great day out.
The Land train is worth making use of, the hill is a steep one for the less fit amongst us.
The Lemur wood and Monkey attraction are great, your right up next to the animals even if they do have the odd temper fit etc.
Food is good and decent, if you eat in the take away then a burger is about £2.00, we ate in the main restaurant where the coffee and food was fine, no problems there and we made good use of it.

When being keeper for a day you get one adult entrance included in the price, the child gets a goody bag and the bag/contents are top notch.
Mine got a brilliant backpack (printed with "i've been a zoo keeper at Dudley Zoo" on it), a baseball cap (with the same printing), a drinking cup with long swirly straw (also printed), a notepad and pen (yup you guessed it, also printed).
I would say all in all perhaps £20 of stuff and none of it crap.

Take the adult entry as well and you get a fair chunk of the admission on these two items alone.

Add to that they spend from 10:00am until approx 16:00pm (we actually finised at 16:30pm) and your child gets a full day out as a keeper.
The dedication of the staff accommpanying them is beyond question, they love their job and are totally commited to animals.
Taking the children (and us) in for the hands on at the end of the day was unexpected and something that most children would consider a treat on it's own.
Include the Penguin feeding, hands on Giraffe feeding and going into the Tapir enclosure etc then by daughter was buzzing when she left.

If your looking for something unusual for a birthday gift then this gets our total seal of approval, when the zoo and staff are this dedicated and commited then you can't help but support the work they do.

The gift shop stayed open a few minutes to allow us to run down the hill and spend some more money, the prices in there were more than reasonable so again no complaints there.

For the money this has to be the best present our daughter has had, she has already asked to go back again next year and has said she would like the other girl who was there to come back as well. The zoo kindly said if they do book they can arrange the same date.

Top marks to Dudley Zoo, you may not be the biggest or the shiniest zoo but it's the people that count and we left feeling you had given our daughter a perfect birthday present.
We will be going back without question and I know someone who's counting the days until she can.

http://www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/home.htm