I had a hard time narrowing it down so there are a lot of photos 🙂
Groupon sent an email about Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch and it looked really cool to me. I checked their website and saw they were about 65 miles from us and as I continued to check it out I saw that they were having a homeschool day in just a few days. I cancelled everything else and registered us. I decided to keep it a secret from the girls and told them to bring some stuff in the car to keep them busy for a long drive. We were about half a mile away when Nadia saw a sign for the ranch with a picture of a kangaroo on it and she said, “Kangaroos? It would be cool to see kangaroo’s today.” By the time we parked and the girls could see they started getting really excited.
We started out by going to a presentation on kangaroo’s and heard some amazing facts. Then we saw this little Joey who lost his mom so they made him his own pouch. So cute!
After the kangaroos we got on the safari tram and if you ever go, I suggest you get on the narrow green one, not the one white one because you can stand right up and pet the animals. Also go on the tram when you first get there because the lines get long and the animals are excited about the food buckets. We first met some horses and Zorses which they told us were safe to pet. We continued on to another area and saw zebras and we were told NOT to touch them.
Mom named Spot and baby Dot.
This is a type of deer from China that is now extinct in China and this guy is one of the few left in the world.
Then we went to see the Camels and they were really friendly. Nadia and I had a good time petting all the ones that came near to us. Amelie was TOTALLY freaked out by the camels and she stayed in her seat. I was scratching the neck of a camel and he practically tried to kiss me. That made Nadia start laughing and Amelie screamed out, “He’s going to eat Mommy!”
We moved on to the petting zoo area and I bought a cup of feed. This made me realize how much Nadia has grown up because she was so happy to feed a sheep, goats and even a pig – it was really precious.
This guy kept running up and head butting my hips trying to knock the food cup I was holding out of his reach. It made me laugh every time he did it.
Amelie was willing to pet the animals, but did not want to feed them.
This is a photo from the barrel train ride on the ranch. It would be an understatement to say the girls LOVED this. They rode it 5 times by the end of our day and I joined them a couple of times which really made them laugh.
I love lemurs!
And then I got to PET a lemur. She even grabbed at Nadia’s bow and my jacket. So cute.
I35 came to a complete stop for about 10 minutes so I snapped this photo of my very tired children. What a great day we had! I am so blessed to be able to stay with my girls all day and homeschool them!
*An additional note to any locals who head over there. We stopped and ate lunch in their new restaurant “The Bears Den” which features oven fired pizza. The 3 of us split a cheese pizza and Nadia declared it the best pizza of her entire life. It was on thin crust with Parmesan cheese on the crust. The server told us they are open for dinner every night.
*The ranch only has port a potties for public use, so be prepared. I had read that on Trip Adviser and stopped at a convenience store about half a mile from the ranch. They do have restrooms inside the Bears Den if you eat there.
*It had rained a lot the day before, so be prepared for mud if you head out there. You have to remember it’s a working animal rescue and ranch.
