Melbourne Sojourn with Children
Published in The Straits Times, 9 March 2019:
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/travel/melbourne-sojourn-with-young-children
We are observing a crash of rhinoceroses, when we hear a grating noise.
"Mummy, look," my son says. Kipenzi, a Southern White Rhinoceros, aged five and weighing a robust 1700 kg, is buffing its horn on the bumper of our off-road safari vehicle.
Our vehicle rattles slightly on the savannah. The baggy-skinned ungulate attempts to place its foot on the bonnet, in a surprising moment that yields enthusiastic yelps from my three children.
"Kipenzi, no," our guide Meaghan states firmly, as she adroitly reverses the vehicle away from the grasslands. Kipenzi, she adds, is particularly sociable, having been hand-raised in the veterinary hospital before being reintroduced to the herd through a delicate process.
My family and I are at Werribee Open Range Zoo, a picturesque 225-ha wildlife park just 30 minutes' drive from the Melbourne CBD. Visitors ride safari vehicles to explore the sprawling plains and spot freely-roaming animals such as bison, antelopes, giraffes, camels, oryxes and ostriches.
We get up-close with a tower of long-lashed giraffes, feeding them a mixture of sprigs, carrots and sweet potatoes.
"I felt its tongue! It's so ticklish," my elder daughter squeals, while my son gapes at two males play fighting, clashing their powerful necks and horn-like ossicones to battle for dominance.
Zoos are sometimes a subject of controversy. I cannot help but notice, however, that here the animals at Werribee appear healthy and extraordinarily well-cared for by a team of caring, passionate keepers.
"Our goal is to be the world's leading zoo-based conservation organisation," Meaghan says, sharing Werribee's conservation campaigns and research efforts.
We visit Ranger Kids at the zoo, an indoor play space simulating the Melako village. It is pretend play at its finest. My children don khaki safari vests and binoculars for wildlife patrol, "flying" the wooden helicopter for a birds-eye view to spot injured animals.
My eldest daughter plays medic at the field hospital, complete with a surgery area stocked with medical gauze, syringes and scalpels. My son and youngest daughter load large plush lions and zebras via canvas stretchers to the recovery room.
"A… dazzle of zebras," my son reads from a leaflet.
"And a pride of lions," my daughter chimes, pleased with her expanding stash of collective nouns. My husband nods approvingly.
How educational, I think to myself. Learning indeed happens best when kids are having fun, and our trip is turning out to be both enjoyable and informative.
And this is just the beginning, as we will discover over the next eight days, exploring family-friendly experiences in and around Melbourne.
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