River Games, On!

[Media Invite]

River Safari

We had been to River Safari a couple of times now and the kiddos are already pretty familiar with the place as well as the animals and fishes there. However we went back recently during this June holidays, as there are also 7 fun River Games stations scattered around the park for the little ones or the young at heart. It is happening on weekend from now till 28 June only. Grab a "Champion Extrava-Game-Za!" game card and get it stamped at game stations upon completion of the activities and redeem the stamps for prizes at the Champion's Circle just outside the souvenir shop when you exit the park.

The first station where one would need to guide a remote-controlled gharial to find its mate.

A game of matching using a pair of special magnetic gloves.

Looks cute doesn't it?

Rolling the dice as the kiddos race their respective crocodiles to the finishing pebble!

This station requires the kiddos to throw and knock down targets depicting  illegal poaching devices. 

Leroy going all out to knock them all down!

Happy Leroy with his ring that just went round and round and round.

Almost there! Just one more station to go!

Looking for the balls with golden pheasants!

The last station where the kiddos had to rescue the baby otters (ping pong balls)

The tag team finishing the game as many others queue up for their chance at a go.

And finally, we completed our "Champion Extrava-Game-Za!" game card!

The kiddos were very enthusiastic about collecting ALL the stamps, which they did ultimately, and we ended up staying at the park from 9am - 4pm! Of course we did more than just playing the games and going through the exhibits. The first thing we did actually, was attending an education talk on the Giant Pandas. The kiddos learnt about the different types of bamboos that they eat and also got to play with the panda poo! Yes, you heard that right, shit! Luckily for us, their poo are not foul-smelling like those of carnivores. 

The pretty friendly presenter for the day! Pretty and friendly. I didn't even notice that smile and wave until now! Or wait, maybe it wasn't at me. Probably at the kiddos.

Steffi volunteered to test out how tough the bamboos were.

It was a small class this time round.

Leroy was very serious with his panda education.

Did I catch Steffi giving the stick a sniff after using it to break the poo apart???

Well, she found the smell a little yucky.

This is how panda poo looks like after we open it up to see the content. Their digestive tract is very short and little food gets digested actually, meaning they need to eat a lot continuously.

This trip also marked the first time we tried the two different cruises, namely the River Safari Cruise (along Mandai River) and the Amazon River Quest as well. The River Safari Cruise is a slow moving cruise along the perimeter of the park where one would be able to spot the herons along the river bank or make out the giraffes from afar. Unfortunately the kids probably expected much more than that, for they exclaimed "huh, that's all ah?" when the short cruise ended. Take it as a normal short river cruise (to nowhere), go without any expectations and any animal sighting would have be a bonus.

First time trying out the cruise.

The boats were waiting for us at the docks!

The boat is spacious and very stable.

The kiddos with their grandfather, my dad.

Leroy spotted the giraffes from afar.

The kiddos got to play captains after the boat ride. 

Next up was the Amazon River Quest, which required hydraulics to lift the entire boat up before the trip started. That really upped the excitement level for Steffi for it reminded her of her USS boat rides. The boat moves at quite a fast speed and that might prove a little frustrating for rider who wishes to view more of the animals. You should spot the signs or listen to the narrations stating the animals coming up next and then try to look for them! The few drops along the way provided the little fun factor with splashes of water. Leroy wasn't able to get on the ride because he was below 1.06m, which is the minimum height required. Any shorter, one wouldn't be able to spot anything too anyway. 

Look at the grinning Steffi who was able to get onto the boat ride while Leroy had to stay behind for being too short!

The beginning of the boat ride! Much like a ride in the theme parks!

Signboards tell you what to expect in a few moments.

Or sometimes when it is too late. Lol.

The Scarlet Ibis were roaming just beside the "river". You can easily catch one but I wouldn't recommend that.

We managed to see the adult Jaguar walking around during the ride.

The highlight our recent trip would have to be the us getting to chance to take part in the FIRST-EVER behind-the-scenes session with baby binturongs and the resident beavers! I know that Steffi has no problems with handling animals, probably taking after me. But Leroy was doing great as well and they all had fun feeding the binturongs. We would have given these cuties hugs but for safety reasons we were not allowed to handle them because they had sharp claws.

Next up, we were led into the beaver's den to begin our close encounter of the rodent kind. The beavers are the second largest rodents after the capybaras and their incisors are incredibly strong. Justin and Selena were really quite shy and we tried to entice them with food for a long time without avail. They didn't fall for it, and they were probably not hungry too I guess. Some things, are just not within one's control but we all had a wonderful time still! If you wish to take part in this awesome experience, check this out to find out you can win tickets for this session too! Another way to get these exclusive passes would be to take part in the twice-daily (weekends) game shows right outside the panda enclosures where the game show winners can get to experience what our family enjoyed too!

What a treat for the family! We got exclusive passes to a different type of meet and greet this time! See how concerned the staff was, of the safety of the kiddos.

Steffi got to feed the baby binturong while Leroy watches.

And he finally did that too!

A family photo with everyone in!

Here's my daddy trying to feed Justin, the beaver. The zoo staff was really quite corny to name him Justin lor! (think Justin Bieber) 

The beavers were really shy during this very first session and this is the best shot I got of the kiddos with Justin.

And this is how huge Justin looked after coming up on land.

Thank you Wildlife Reserves Singapore for hosting our family for the super enjoyable weekend! For you readers out there, note that there are various promotions going on here that would save you quite a fair bit on admission and boat rides too!