Advertorial
This December, something MYSTICA is brewing at the Night Safari. If you’ve never been to the Night Safari, or haven’t been there in a long while, now is probably the best time to visit.
The first time I visited the Night Safari some years back was for their Halloween event, but too bad, even though that event was really fun for us adults, it was not exactly kid-friendly, so they didn’t join us. I was waiting for an opportunity to bring them to the Night Safari, so when I heard about this event, Mystica Wildlife Wonderland, happening from now till the end of the year, I thought it was such a perfect time to bring them!
The Night Safari is mysterious enough on its own, virtue of the fact that it only comes alive when darkness comes. But Mystica will cast a new light on Night Safari, literally! You’ll see what I mean.
When we reached Night Safari, we were greeted by some mystica creatures with faces painted with colorful and luminous paints and dressed in colorful and bright costumes, some fitted with fairy lights! While some of them may be imaginary creatures from the wonderland, my kids could recognize some of them to be animals – See if you can recognize any yourself! Many kids were waiting to take photos with them - It was such a colorful welcome! :)
Oh yes, if you spotted the luminous art on the kids’ arms, you can grab your own face or arm painting there! My kids opted for glow-in-the-dark fairies to start off our night of Mystica adventure. Sometimes, I wish they are more adventurous to go for face painting – Hopefully next time!
Once you’ve gotten your face or arm painted, be sure to take a photo inside the Mystica Glow-In-The-Park Photo Booth to get the full effect of the painting! So COOL!
Armed with our glow-in-the-dark tattoos, we started exploring Night Safari – The animals were waiting for us!
The best way to explore the Night Safari is by tram, and that’s exactly what we did. We hopped on to the tram and took a really fun and educational 45-minute ride around the Park. Our host did an excellent explanation of the many animals we saw along the way – Yes, we saw elephants, flamingos, goats, lions, tigers, tapirs, wolves, etc. I wonder if it was due to the poor visibility at night, my sense of smell got especially sensitized – The animals smelt errr…… fabulous – You’ve got to smell it to know what I mean. =P And did I mention we stopped at a place and kept very quiet just so that we could hear the wolves howl?? It was so amazing! That’s where the fun comes from, right? We hardly get so up, close and personal with Nature. :)
Speaking of which, every visit to a place such as the zoo, bird park or Night Safari, is a humbling experience for me. I don’t know how my kids seem to know the names of so many animals which I don’t!?
Apart from taking the tram, you can also explore Night Safari by taking any one of four walking trails – Fishing Cat Trail, Leopard Trail, East Lodge Trail or Wallaby Trail. I strongly recommend taking the Wallaby Trail if you only have time for one, because on it, you’ll come to the Naracoorte Cave, which was very interesting!
In this cave, you’ll meet the creepy crawlies such as centipedes, scorpions, snakes and rats (REALLY HUGE, OMG)!
Just look at that tail. =X
The Fishing Cat Trail was kind of interesting too because of the clever use of lights everywhere, you’ll think you walked into a fantasy land.
Along the Leopard Trail, we walked in to the Giant Flying Squirrel Walk-Through Habitat and it was such an experience! The moment we walked in, a flying squirrel flew right above our heads from one tree to another! In fact, the squirrels enjoyed doing it so much that they kept climbing at fast speeds to the top of the trees and flew down again and again. All of us just stood there ‘wow-ing’! We love it!
That’s what Giant Flying Squirrels look like, by the way (obviously a stock photo from Night Safari):
We had such a fun family outing to the Night Safari – a first for the kids, and they are definitely asking to go back again. If you are thinking of where to bring your kids to this December school holiday before it ends, do consider the Night Safari’s Mystica Wildlife Wonderland! It’s certainly a unique family bonding activity with a fresh and interesting angle. Go dressed in your quirkiest and wildest costume and be spotted by our mystery roving judge when you visit Mystica, you can even stand a chance to win attractive prizes every night! :)
Mystica Wildlife Wonderland
Dates: 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 Dec
Time: 6 - 9.30pm (Activities till 9.30pm but Night Safari is open till 12 midnight)
Admission: $35 (Adult), $23 (Child)
[PAssion Card members receive 10@ off admission till 31 Dec 2013]
Website: www.mystica.com.sg
Tip: Skip the festive queue and purchase tickets online at URL: http://eticketing.nightsafari.com.sg:83/SafariBooking.aspx !
P/S: The J Babies received complimentary admission tickets to the Night Safari for purpose of this review, but all comments & photographs (unless otherwise stated) are mine.
