After two years of no school tours, the day in which the students (and staff) eagerly anticipated had finally arrived! St. Thomas’ were packed onto the bus and hit the road to Phoenix Park.
We reached our destination – Dublin Zoo and the Juniors set off in search of some animals. Just as we entered through the main gate, it wasn’t long until the Senior pupils had alerted the Juniors to some monkeys – specifically macaques. The Juniors made their way along the trail and spotted some snoozing Asian lions and Amur tigers which were hiding in the long grass. A zookeeper at the tiger’s reserve, showed us the skull of a tiger and we were able to touch its enormous pointy teeth! We saw dholes (Asian wild dogs) which reminded us of foxes only much bigger! We made our way to the Bornean Orangutan house to find more sleepy heads. Next up were the Chilean Flamingos. They were all stood together on the opposite side of the water. The Juniors were feeling peckish, so we stopped for a short picnic.
We took off again and found some wolves, red pandas and sealions. The sealions were certainly a highlight as we were able to get very close to them and watch them through the glass swimming playfully. We saw some penguins having a swim and splash too.
The temptation of slides and climbing frames was too much (even for some of the big children), so it was time for some fun in one of the many play parks at the zoo. After all that fun, it meant only one thing – ice-cream!!
With our ice-creams in hand, we headed off again in search of more animals. We watched some Asian elephants from a distance and then we made our way to Africa, to see giraffes, zebras, oryx and rhinoceros. We had some more fun in one of the play areas, climbing on ropes and zebras! We followed the path again and saw some gorillas, chimpanzees, an African wild dog and African tortoise. It was time for a second picnic and to rest the little feet.
Off to the farm we went! We saw a rather large pig sunbathing in the mud, and another pig was feeding her piglets. The Juniors had a go at milking a cow and then they took the tractor out for a spin!
We took a trip into ‘Zoorassic World’, which was home to reptiles both past and present. We spotted some snakes, tortoises and crocodiles.
Our final stop of the day was to the gift shop. We were amazed by all the cuddly toys. If only the bus was big enough to bring them all back to school! It was time to make our way back to the bus and return to school. We had a fantastic day exploring Dublin Zoo, admiring the animals and importantly having lots of fun and laughter!
