Birt Family Focus

Disney's Animal Kingdom - Africa -- 06/24/03

Jambo Everyone!

Today we continue our exploration of the Animal Kingdom with an expedition to...AFRICA!

Across the bridge from Discovery Island is the sleepy little villiage of Harambe. The design for this area was based on actual towns in Kenya, but none of the buildings are replicas of any specific place, so Harambe is its own little place. The roofs of the buildings are actual thatch made by the Zulu of South Africa. The baobob tree, icon of the African Savannah, may be seen here as well. There are three main attractons here, besides the atmosphere-which of itself is attraction enough for me-and we have already visited one- Rafiki's Planet Watch. We will visit the others today.

As I said, the atamosphere is this area is an attraction in itself and it just gets better when you take a stroll along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. The forest is lush and cool. The noise of the crowds really just disappears as you walk deeper and deeper into the jungle. Soon, the sky opens overhead and you will begin to see the animal enclosures. These areas are so well designed, that you will have to look twice to notice that there are barriers between you and them. At the first observation area, you will see Okapi. These are extremely rare and endangered- having not even been discovered by anyone other the natives sharing their habitat until the first part of the 20th century. They look like a cross between a zebra and a giraffe. They are related to giraffes. They share this area with the largest breed of African antelope, the Yellow-backed Duikers. These antelope are nocturnal, so look under the brush to find them- they like to hide there in the daytime. Also sharing this area is the South African National Bird- the Stanley or Blue Crane.

Leaving this area will bring you to the research building and a display of ---NAKED MOLE RATS. Now I know every animal has its purpose, but ...EEEEWWWW. I prefered not to look to long at these little critters. They are kind of interesting, though. They wouldn't make good pets, as they live entirely underground in colonies similar to ants, with a Queen who runs the show. Actually, I kind of like that, now that I think about it. Too bad they are just ....NASTY looking little grunts. Yuck. Oh well- to each his own, yes? LOL

Onward we go and we next find ourselves in the bird aviary. There are hundreds of beautiful birds here. I took picture after picture. Be sure to look down as well as up- there are plenty of ground-dwellers here, too. If you like birds as well as I, you will spend a good deal of time here. Oh yes- there is no limit on how long you tary at a particular area. The only thing pushing you along will be the crowd or your family. Mine was content to stroll along at a very leisurly pace and there are rarely crowds when I go, so I take about an 1.5-2 hours to stroll through here. One can probably do it and be satisfied in less than an hour, though.

Once leaving the aviary, you will come to the hippo habitat with an underwater viewing area. This is pretty cool. They are so graceful underwater. They don't swim, just sort of glide- fun to watch. Once you leave here, you will find yourself in a viewing area overlooking the grasslands, where a variety of large and small antelope, and those adorable little meerkats may be seen. I find I can watch those little guys all day long. I watch them, they watch me- they are so cute and comical! I wonder if they think the same thing?

Once you leave here, you will come to the Gorilla Research Camp. Here you will find all sorts of interesting information about African Lowland Gorillas. You will most likely see a host of people with their faces pressed up against the big glass viewing area, entertaining the Gorillas. Right now, I understand there is a family with a couple of babies. There are several females, several young males (who play together separately from the girls and the babies) and one large silverback male- the king of the troop. There are cast members here who will be only too glad to answer any questions you may have. This is by far the best part of the trail so, naturally, it is the last. Once you have had your fill of ogling your cousins, it's time to leave and have a ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari- if you haven't already.

We tend to ride the Kilimanjaro Safari early in the day as there are generally more animals out in the early, cooler part of the day. Riding this during a light rain is a good time, too, as they tend to like to be out in the rain. On this ride, you will take a jeep out into the savannah and look at he animals up close and personally, as often they will walk right up to your car! The animals have the right of way, so if they do, the driver will stop until they leave - great photo opportunities! The back story is that there is a poacher out trying to capture a new baby elephant and you and your jeep driver and ride-mates are on the lookout for them to try and help catch them while on your photo safari. It's a pretty lame back-story, though poaching is a real and serious problem in Africa. They are trying to increase awareness and hopefully, curtail real poaching activities with attractions that bring it to your attention and make you care about the animals, so I don't mind the story. Along this drive you will see Bongos, Hippos, Crocs, all sorts of birds and antelope, giraffe, lions, babboons, elephants, and rhinos. It is amazing to be able to see these creatures up close in a habitat very close to their native one. I love to take the safari- the Birt family makes it a point to make this a don't miss attraction while at AK. This is a fastpass attraction so be sure and use it and visit the savannah.

Well- that's all for today, ya'll. Next time we will explore Asia and all it's wonders, including a peek into a new attraction being built as we speak!

Until next time-

Sla`inte~