In my previous post, I shared my adventures at the Singapore Zoo. This time, I’ll be sharing my adventures at the famous Singapore Night Safari.

I’ve always wanted to go to the Singapore Night Safari. I’ve heard so much about it and have seen so many pictures. My excitement in seeing the Night Safari was based the fact that it is the first wildlife park that was specifically built for night visits. Furthermore, it is one of the few places in the world where one can actually see the animals in their element at night. It has received a lot of good reviews since it opened back in 1994. Even my hotel, the Marina Mandarin Singapore, highly recommended the place by saying that no trip to Singapore would be complete without going to the Night Safari and this is why about a million visitors drop by the Night Safari every year.

You can take various means of public transportation to get to the Night Safari. You can get there by taking the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), by Taxi, or by Bus. If via MRT, you would have to go up North and get off at Ang Mo Kio station and take bus 138 that will take you directly to the Night Safari.

As my days in Singapore were hectic, I got to visit the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari on two different occasions even if they are located so close to each other. For the Night Safari, I decided to join a tour group. The tour company collected people from their Singapore hotels and asked everyone to transfer to a bigger bus that will bring the group directly to the Night Safari. The same efficient process is followed for tours to the Singapore Zoo, Jurong BirdPark, Sentosa, etc.

When we arrived at the park entrance after a short 30-minute ride from the city, I found out that we were to ride the tram as it was part of the tour fee that I paid. Walk-in visitors have the option not to purchase the Tram Ride ticket. Given that the Night Safari is one of Singapore’s popular tourist destinations, the place can be extremely crowded during holidays and weekends.

After around 15 minutes of waiting, we boarded the tram. In general, the 45 minute tram ride was exhilarating. It will introduce you to all sorts of animals that even come within inches of the tram. We saw anteaters, a water buffalo, hyenas, deer, a Malaysian Tapir, etc. I would just have to warn you not to expect any amazing photos here. The low lighting conditions are not suitable for taking pictures. Flash photography is also not allowed within the park so as not to scare or disturb the animals but you can always bring your tripod.

After the tram ride, you can continue exploring the zoo on your own on foot. You can take several walking trails like the Fishing Cat Trail, the Forest Giants Trail and the Leopard Trail. As always, it is a great idea to have a map handy so that you can make sure that you can cover as much area as you can since the Night Safari is only open for a few hours and there is just too much of its total 40 hectares of lush forest to see. Plus a total of 1, 000 nocturnal animals from over a hundred species to observe like rhinos, tigers, fishing cats, giraffes, elephants, assorted birds, etc.

Don’t miss the Creatures of the Night Show. Here, you will see some otters that are trained to sort garbage into recycling bins that are marked “paper,” “plastic,” or “tin.” You will also see Pumas and Hyenas. Another highlight of the show is when a huge trunk containing a 20ft python is drawn from the audience. The trunk is kept under the seats the whole time! This part would usually make the audience either scream or roar in laughter. A volunteer from the audience will be lucky to have a python put around his or her neck. This interactive show is staged a total of three times every night. I highly suggest that you catch either the first show or the last one so that your tour around the park is uninterrupted. If you catch the last show, you have more time to take pictures with the animals and you might even get the chance to hold some of them because the zoo keepers will not be busy preparing the stage for the next show.

Save those priceless memories and have your pictures taken with exotic creatures like snakes, cats, etc. for a fee that will serve as a donation to a chosen wildlife charity. You can also visit the souvenir shops and try the restaurants if you would like to buy some snacks. These restaurants usually open at 6pm so if you plan to have dinner make sure that you do it before the Night Safari opens because more time spent eating would mean less time to see the animals.

There are tons of things to do in this fascinating place. The admission ticket could be a little bit expensive but for I believe that it is certainly worth every dollar.

The Night Safari will continue to wow tourists and locals alike in more years to come because of its uniqueness and because of the extraordinary adventure that awaits every visitor. So if I were you, make sure to drop by this exciting place and prepare to see animals in a different light!

HELPFUL INFORMATION:

Address: 80 Mandai Lake Road Singapore 729826

Phone: (65) 6269-3412

Operating Hours: 7:30pm – 12mn daily (latest admission is at 11:00pm)

Admission Rates: Adult – S$ 22.00; Children (3 – 12 years old) S$11.00

Website: http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/

Posted in Attractions, Singapore

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Attractions, Singapore. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.