Two larger-than-life rhinos racing across the path of our car hinted at what was in store for us when we arrived at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire.
What myself and my boyfriend, Steve, a pair of self-confessed big kids, didn’t realise, was that it was only going to get better.
As we continued on we came into the path of five large giraffes, who seemed to enjoy sticking their heads right up to the car window.
It was amazing to get such a close-up view of these beautiful and inquisitive animals.
We moved onto the lion and tiger enclosure but sadly couldn’t spot the caged tiger.
The lions however were basking in the sun as we drove past and didn’t seem remotely interested in our car, but it was frightening enough to think that they could come right over to us if they wished.
The black bears were a different matter and came very close to the car as they ambled around their enclosure.
Steve wasn’t too keen on them after reading a sign which told us not to stop still for too long as they like to pull off wing mirrors, but we had no trouble with them and I got lots of photos of them climbing trees.
The next part of our journey was into the monkey enclosure and this was by far our favourite part of the trip.
We didn’t have to wait too long for one of the cheeky little fellas to climb onto our car bonnet and peer straight through the windscreen.
It was amazing to see the monkeys so near and a few of the females were clutching tiny babies in their arms, which was lovely to see.
You do have to be careful though because they like to bite and pull at windscreen wipers so at that point we were advised to move the car slightly and they soon jumped off to investigate another car.
On the road safari we also saw North American Bisons and Zebras and Bactrian Camels and Oryx, which are extinct in the wild.
The great thing about Woburn is you are able to drive around the road safari as many times as you like so we went back to see more of the lions who had woken up after lazing in the sun all morning.
After we had been around twice we parked the car and wandered around the foot safari and found out Woburn really does have lots to offer.
Here we saw the penguins, sea lions and a very smelly hog and also got to get up close and personal with a variety of other animals.
We were allowed to enter the ‘Land of Lemurs’ and stand right next to the curious black and white creatures who didn’t seem even slightly perturbed by our presence.
We went to watch feeding time inside the Squirrel monkey enclosure and watched the tiny creatures run around and play for a while.
There was also a chance to feed the Lories and Lorekeets birds, get up close to wallabies and stroke sheep and goats in the mini petting zoo.
There were also a variety of talks and feeding events going on at various times throughout the day, including a meet and greet with the elephants.
We were lucky with the weather when we visited and decided to eat lunch outside and then take a free pedal boat trip on the small lake at the park.
There is also a free train that runs all around the park but instead of getting on this we decided to do one last lap in our car before going home and we were delighted that we managed to spot the tiger at last.
Woburn is a great day out for big kids like myself and also families. There really is something for anyone and it would be hard for any animal lover not to be impressed with the close proximity you can get to your favourite creatures.
Woburn Safari Park is open daily from 10am to 5pm during the main season until November 4.
Adult tickets cost £19.99 and children’s cost £14.99.
For more details visit http://www.woburn.co.uk/safari/