Visit to the World Famous San Diego Zoo…

Most folks are well aware of the majestic San Diego Zoo. One of the world’s oldest, largest, and most copied zoos. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve visited a couple times and this time was able to spend all day, or rather most of the day here touring the compounds at my leisure. I drove from the Summit Meadows RV park where I was staying the 16 miles to the zoo in 20 odd minutes and avoided rush hour traffic by leaving around 9 am on a fine April 4th Wednesday. Traffic was fairly light. Arriving at the zoos free parking lot, I first parked way off in the boonies and after walking around a bit to get my bearings, drove over closer to the front gate so I walked into the park around 9:50. I had purchased a ticket on line and my UPC code was scanned right at the entrance turnstiles, bypassing all the people who hadn’t prepurchased their tickets and were now standing in long lines. I’d read enough about the zoo that I knew to head straight for the bus tour gate but even with my early arrival on a weekday while schools were in session, it was still crowded with lots of parents with school age and younger kids in line. After getting in line there at the bus kiosk took almost 1/2 hour to actually board the bus. The buses are double decker with the top side uncovered so I steered myself into the upstairs line for the best view. Turned out I sat on the wrong side of the bus as nearly all the good pictures would have been taken from the other side.

Heading for the buses along with some other folks that were hurrying in my direction towards the buses.

And here we are in the bus line. Surprisingly long for this early in the morning (before 10 AM) on a school day. It moved fairly fast though.

Soon we’re all funneled into the holding pens and we slowly move forward as each bus fills and leaves for the tour…

Meanwhile, you get to scan the local foliage for spiders and lizards.Jungle like here in San Diego… And finally, on board the bus. I took an upstairs seat, as I said, on the wrong side.  Crowd waiting to buy tickets was getting increasingly larger. Happy I pre-bought mine. The gondola isn’t really a thrill ride, the park is so big, it’s a convenience ride to get from one side of the park to the other. I’ll be taking that later on. The bears were still snoozing after a hard night of sleeping. The view from the top of the bus is excellent, but the time spent at each viewpoint is generally too short to take much in. You just get not much more than a glance. Not that bad though. If I go to the zoo again, I’ll take the bus again for sure. Mainly, the bus ride just shows you highlights of the zoo and you can than plan your route around the park on foot. It’s great getting a high view too. Another sleepy bear on the other side of the polar bear compound.  We passed several giant bird aviaries.  And a badger compound. One of the meanest animals on the planet. They’ll fight off a grown male lion they are so fierce. Their stock move is to rip off testicles. They’ll eat practically every bit of anything they find or kill too. Nasty buggers. And a cute cuddly koala that’ll rip your arm off during mating season if you’re in the way. Soon the bus ride was over so with my map in hand, started my walking tour.

Here’s a troop of baboons in their own compound. Got to see some baboon hijinks too.  Big healthy plant. Where you get aloe from. Imported from the middle east back in the 1500’s. The ancient Egyptians first cultivated it 7,000 years ago. Here’s a zoo map that comes in handy when you’re there…http://www.sdzsafaripark.org/visitor-info/park-map

Available for free at a kiosk right as you enter the park.

There are several elevation changes throughout the park as you’re wandering around. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying it here. There are many places to stop and rest, and there are plenty of elevators around. I did take one to get up to the gondola entrance, most of the time either took the sloped path or the stairs. Around the corner from the monkeys are the water venues. The penguins have it easy and their living space is huge.Get to see the penguins water flying. The main bridge crossing over a fairly deep ravine. And a look down at a small portion of the zoo. That particular area is a lunch spot.      Giant toad. Looks like a load of… One of those large lizards. Monitor? Got a good look at this cat. S/he sauntered off just after. Giant tortoises from the Galapagos. There were several in this compound. Lots of signs on the fences waring that they’ll bite your hand off if you’re dumb.  Decided to take a break and have a coffee…good grief, look at those prices. And no coffee. I found a coffee kiosk next door to this place though. After that, climbed a long and steep path to the bridge. There’s a cafe up there hanging over the ravine that will be pretty neat when they finish remodeling…

Another very expensive food vendor. You are allowed to bring in your own lunch and non-alcoholic beverages though. Cafe up on the walkway where they’re remodeling…so it’s closed. That’s where I had a coffee and a bit of a rest. Crowds getting thicker but still comfortable. Time to ride the gondola. It was free this particular day but you can’t always tell if it’s going to be free. They do sometimes charge but the signage is pitiful and confusing. It shows a price, but you get up there and the payment machines won’t take money and the workers just move you into your seat quickly making myself and the young girls in their 20’s behind me a bit confused. Once it takes off of course, than you wonder if your suppose to pay at the end? But nope, this was a free day to ride the gondolas. Seems they do that a lot. Off that direction is both the ocean and downtown San Diego. The savanna area includes this lion compound. No lions were in evidence when I wandered by. They have lots of space to hide in. And across the street from the lions are the elephants. That’s a big scratching post and feeder for them.  Capybaras. The friendliest rodent on earth. All the animals love the capy’s for some reason. Which is why this compound has so many different animals inside. Another monkey compound, this one also has sheep. They hang out together in the wild too.And that’s when I stopped for a late lunch and early dinner. I was tired of walking by this time, nearly 3:30, and decided to miss the evening freeway rush hour traffic so left shortly afterwards. Did cruise through and spend some time in the souvenir stalls on the way to the exit. Found my car, got on the sparsely populated freeway and in 40 minutes was back home sipping a nice adult beverage.  Used the GPS in my Android phone to navigate. Glad I had it. Pretty neat that I don’t have to plan travel so extensively these days. Saves lots of time having the GPS system.

Very nice visit to the zoo. Really enjoyed it. It’s soooo big! So many things to see. Got some good exercise wandering around. I can see where families might want to come here 2-3 days in a row in order to see everything a couple times. The online advance ticket purchase, the early arrival, and heading straight to the tour bus made it an enjoyable visit that wasn’t too crowded. And in early April it’s not too warm either.

Next time, a trip to the downtown San Diego docks to tour the USS Midway. Thanks for visiting!