My family and I recently took a trip to Sedona. Jason and I were a little skeptical because we were not sure how kid friendly Sedona was. I did some research and low and behold, I found a little gem off of hwy 260 in Camp Verde (about 30 miles SW of Sedona) called Out of Africa Wildlife Park. My family and I had the most amazing experience to start our trip. We were pretty anxious to get there and before going, my hubbie had a preconceived notion that this was just another “zoo”. We lived in San Diego so we had our fair share of the zoo experience. This was completely different! At Out of Africa Wildlife Park, you get up close and personal with the animals. The park is only closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas day so we are lucky that we got to go in the winter when most parks close. Because we went when it was a bit cooler, the park was very quiet and so we did not have to fight crowds.
We started our journey around 9:00 am so that we could get a full day in. Upon arrival, you get your tickets and wait to hop on the tram as you are given a complementary piece of celery (not for you to enjoy….for the animals). Once everyone aboard the tram, you take off with a trainer who drives you through the zoo to experience the park “behind the gates”. You drive right next to the animals. We were lucky to meet a giraffe who willingly ate celery out of the guests hands. He dropped mine but it was explained that he was having a picky day. Next we met Kibo, who was a much more cooperative giraffe. He ate right out of Jicelle’s hand and gave our tour guide a big wet sloppy kiss. It was pretty amazing because they tuck their heads inside the bus. We also met Chili Pepper, an ostrich with attitude. The tour guide stepped out of the vehicle and showed us the bird’s temperament and gave her some treats. We saw many other animals but the fun was just beginning.
Our second tour was on a tram and given by Al. It was a little more in-depth and we went around the entire park with him. He periodically stopped and shared with us some stories about the animals. Along the way we met, Jericho the Rhino, hyenas Chipa & Chitabe, Diligence the Zebra, Enoch the panther, and many others. Lazarus the lion was atop the hill growling and it could be heard throughout the park!
The best part was the tigers. My husband is a serious tiger fan so I wanted him to have the opportunity to see the tiger show and surprise him with a tiger feeding. Chalet was the star of the show. She jumped in the water and did some tricks based on instinct. The handler mentioned that they don’t train the tigers and the activities that they did were based on the tigers protective and territorial instincts. At the conclusion of the show, we got in line to feed the tigers (with tongs from outside of the cage of course).
There is not another place that I am aware of that you can walk up to the fence and see a wild animal just a few feet away, or have your one year old be able to pet a snake! All in all, it was a great experience and one I highly recommend.
Out of Africa is located off of the 260 Highway in Camp Verde. They are open 363 days a year. There are many activities throughout the year as well as additional tours and zip lines. More information can be found at the website: http://outofafricapark.com
