I dislike to be at the office on my birthday. That is why we decided to go to the Serengeti-Park at Hodenhagen, Germany. If you grew up at Lower Saxony and your parents listened to the radio you know this place – because of its advertisement which is a catchy tune. Main feature is a safari through different zones of the world with the respective animals that you can do in your own car.
In 1972 an entrepreneur wanted to start zoological gardens with exotic animals in the northern hemisphere. The result are zoos at Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands, Japan, England and this one in Germany. The park is ever growing since then – it covers 220 hectares, hosts 1500 animals and when you have done the safari you can visit 40 joy rides, different restaurants and coffee bars and stay overnight at various houses.
The entrance fee is pretty high but therefore the safari is really long and nice. You should know that you can print out a free entrance voucher for a child online at their website. Don’t forget that! When you get inside you need also to decide if you want to use your own car or take a bus. I would always go by car – the risk that it is damaged feels pretty low and you got a much better chance to get in contact with the animals.
I really liked the safari, but there are also some things that could be better. In the monkey area the people all touch the animals and nobody seems to care about this – even if it is officially forbidden. The food within the park could have a better quality and some of the rides seem to be old. There is a section for younger children which made us happy.
The last addition was a petting zoo with sheep, goats, donkeys and alpacas. That was nice but they charge you the unbelievable amount of 3.50 € for animal food. Nearly nobody does this and therefore the animals are very obtrusive if you buy some. But all in all this was a very nice day and I would definitely do the safari again!
Serengeti-Park
Am Tierpark 1
29693 Hodenhagen
Germany
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