A few years ago, my best friend and I decided that we were going to do an Animal Kingdom Tour. We decided to do the Wild Africa Trek and it was amazing.
We met with our trek guides at the start of the Kilimanjaro Safaris. Here we met our guides, were given our safety vests, cords for anything that may dangle, and went over all the safety requirements.
The first part of our 3-hour journey began with the most dangerous part, navigating the crowds through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail! At the end of the trail, we were herded into the woods. Following the trail, our guide was providing us with useful information through our headsets. After a brief walk, we arrived at an overlook, where we were tethered to a safety rail that allows us to walk to the edge of a cliff that overlooks the hippopotamus pool! Here a hippo expert with buckets of lettuce educated us on the feeding habits, and relationships of the hippos here at the park. As she talked, she tossed lettuce down to the edge of the pool where the hippos starting coming to feast. It was very cool being close to them and watching them eat.
Onward to the wooden bridges which crosses over crocodiles. We were strapped on a guideline to walk across the bridges. It wasn’t difficult but it was wobbly and intimidating when you look down at all the crocodiles. If you check out the pictures here, you can see the crocodiles below us. There’s one long bridge connected to a platform, then a smaller bridge which takes you to the crocodile observation ledge. Here you’re tethered to a rail that allows you to safely watch the crocodiles from above. We were joined by a croc expert this time. As with the hippos it a great photo opportunity. Some of the crocodiles look as if they are smiling as you take their pictures.
Once we were finished with the crocodiles, we shed our vests and ear pieces and head down to the back of a safari truck, which is open on three sides. Our safari truck takes a very similar route as the Kilimanjaro Safari but we stop more often, for longer periods of time. During our trip we stopped near the giraffes who approached us looking for possible snacks. It was a great photo op. One giraffe had his head all the way into the back of the truck!
We bounced along through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve to our boma (area for outdoor meals) for a light lunch prepared by Tusker’s Restaurant on the beautiful observation deck. The food was excellent served in metal “buckets” with a beautiful flower. If you look to the left on the Kilimanjaro Safari, off in the distance you can see it. Here we were also provided with binoculars to observe the nearby wildlife. There’s a fantastic view of the elephants (my favorites), the flamingo pool and grasslands. The back of the observation deck provides a view of the lion’s rock formation home.
Once lunch is completed its back on the truck to the finish out the tour. Along the way we continue to stop to take pictures and observe the animals. The tours end at the same spot at the Kilimanjaro Safari, where we say goodbye to our guides and continue on to enjoy the park!
The tour was one of the best that we’ve ever been on. It’s a little pricey than most, but I assure you, it’s worth it. And if you charge it to your Disney Visa Card, you get a 15% discount.
Our place is a short 5.2 miles from Animal Kingdom!