River Safari

We were among the hundreds of visitors thronging into River Safari this morning. Long weekend, discounted entrance fee, plus free boat ride were good reasons to visit this latest attraction in town. Reaching there at about 9.30am, there were still plenty of empty slots in the car park. Queue was already formed at the ticket counters but it was moving fast. The cost was $25 for adults and $16 for children, from the usual $35 and $23 respectively. We got the 12.30pm slot for the boat ride as the earlier slots were already full.

River Safari entrance

Dubbed as Asia's first and only river-themed wildlife park, the place is divided into 2 zones: Rivers Of The World and Wild Amazonia. Rivers of the World showcases wildlife found in Mississippi, Mekong, Yangtze, Ganges, Nile, Congo and Murray River. At the end of the zone is the Giant Panda Forest, home of the red panda and giant panda Kai Kai and Jia Jia.

Visitors go into the panda enclosure in batches. Strollers, food and camera flash are not permitted. We were lucky to spot the 2 red pandas and both Kai Kai and Jia Jia.

Red pandas and giant pandas

Wild Amazonia zone consists of Amazon River Quest (the boat ride), Amazon Flooded Forest and Squirrel Monkey Forest. We saw the graceful manatee, catfish, otters and red-bellied piranhas in Amazon Flooded Forest.

The mischievous squirrel monkeys

In the end we decided not to wait for the boat ride as we're already done at 11.30am. In conclusion, River Safari is like a cross between Underwater World (the one in Sentosa or SEA Aquarium) and the zoo. I like that the walkways are mostly covered, the enclosures are well ventilated and some are equipped with air-conditioning.