![]() ![]() Nona Herring has been in the drive-thru safari business since the 1980s, when her family used to own a safari park outside of Tyler. You can go on a private tour of the park, but manager Sharon Ivey says most people’s favorite part is the Baby Room, where guests can play with some of the park’s exotic babies, such as lemurs and coatimundi, for an extra $20.ġ3440 Us Highway 287 N, Grapeland | 9 a.m. Get a feed bucket for $5, or make friends with the monkeys with a $2 cup of peanuts. There’s also a 10-acre walking section where you might spot kangaroos, anteaters camels, or Natalia, a baby giraffe. Watch for more than 50 different animal species on the mile-long drive. This 100-acre park is home to 500-plus animals. Animals peer in to your vehicle as you hold in hand food meant for them alone to eat.Īt these safaris, you can learn about animals from all over the world as they roam freely like they would in the wild-but, you know, all from the comfort of your own car and only a couple hours from home.įranklin | 9 a.m. Well, at our state’s many drive-through safaris, the roles are reversed. This is where the actual Natural Bridge is.REMEMBER GOING TO THE ZOO AS A KID, wandering past exotic creatures that you’d only ever seen in movies like The Lion King? All the magic and joy in the air, as you stand just outside enclosures of zebras, monkeys, and wildebeest, peering inside, ice cream cone in hand? Another attraction next to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is the Natural Bridge Caverns which is also a good place to visit. Go early as animals tend to head for the shade as the day gets warmer. Take a slow ride around the ranch and enjoy. ![]() I is an experience to have at lease once. Some of the animals found here are buffalo, deer, gazelle, zebras, long horn cattle, ostrich, rhinos (caged up for safety purposes) and minature donkeys that love rubbing up on the bumper of your vehicle. There are different sections of the ranch that have groups of animals as you would see them in their natural home. ![]() These animals are hungry and will come up right to your window waiting for their buffet. There is a per person price at the enterance of the park which includes a bag of animal feed so you can drive along and feed the animals as they walk up to your vehicle (additional bags of feed can be bought). The Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is a must see for anyone who likes seeing a variety of safari animals without the danger of being eaten by a lion. The snackbar/restaurant was nice & clean, and the gift shop was spacious and inviting, with things like t-shirts, shotglasses, animal models, and real ostrich eggs. The facility is clean and organized, and there were maintenance workers all over the place cleaning and prepping the areas. The zebras were especially forceful, nipping fenders and surrounding the car! It really was a lot of fun. ![]() The various ratites (ostriches, etc.) would also bully their way into your car windows. The other animals would beg for treats as well. They'd come up to the side of the car and plead with their unsettling amber eyes. The animals were hilarious! The aoudads (goat-like African species) would literally go and stand in front of the car to stop you from proceeding, so their cohorts could get treats from you. We went around 10 in the morning on a Saturday, and people were already starting to show up. We'd heard about this place, and being in San Antonio for a week, decided to check it out. ![]()
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