A day with the animals in Fota wildlife park

HELLO boys and girls, I'm just back from my holidays, where I spent a day with lots of wonderful wild animals including giraffes, monkeys, cheetahs and kangaroos. When Aunt Molly told me we about the trip, the thought of going as far away as Africa or Australia had me a little worried. But when she said we could take the car, I didn't know where we were going. Aunt Molly loves playing tricks on me so I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but when she told me to start packing I didn't stop to ask any questions. The next day we set off in our car and drove for what seemed like hours. I wasn't allowed to ask any questions and had to follow Aunt Molly's directions. Just when I was about to get cross and cranky at being cooped up in the car for so long in all this glorious sunshine, I was told to turn right and there I saw a big green sign that read Fota Wildlife Park. We got out of the car and Aunt Molly opened the boot where she had hidden a huge picnic basket. So the promise of a basket of home baking and the chance to see so many wild animals more than made up for the long journey to Cork. Of course I was too hungry to wait so we had lunch as soon as we got into the park. But the excitement of all that lay ahead meant I didn't manage to get through as much food as I normally do, so once I had polished off some sandwiches and a piece of fruit (Aunt Molly is determined to make me eat healthier) off we went in search of some exotic creatures. First up were the zebra and giraffes, who were happily grazing away on a huge open enclosure. There were information boards to tell you all about the animals and their natural habitat as well as what they liked to eat. I was so busy reading about the zebra, who I think are amazing animals, I didn't notice two llamas who happened to stroll past me. Aunt Molly wasn't too keen on how close they got to her but they didn't seem bothered by any of the people, and it being a beautiful sunny day, there were hundreds of families there, including lots and lots of children who seemed to be having a wonderful time. On the other side of the path there was a big fence behind which lay a cheetah. Did you know that cheetahs are the fastest land mammals? Unfortunately the cheetahs at Fota seemed a bit tired the day we were there as they didn't do any running. They seemed perfectly happy to lie stretched out in the sun and I can't say I blame them. On we walked past wildebeest and gazelles until we came across some very noisy peacocks. I've always admired the beautiful colours of the peacock but this was the first time I got to see one for myself and their feathers really are amazing. But it's a pity they can't learn to be a bit quieter as they screeched and screeched until I had to put my hands over my ears as they were making an awful racket. We decided to have a rest at the duck pond where there were hundreds of ducks and birds floating on the water. There were penguins too but they were hiding in little caves, no doubt trying to escape those noisy peacocks. Further on we came across monkeys and gibbons who were having a lot of fun swinging from the maze of ropes and branches that made up their own little part of the park. By now Aunt Molly was starting to get a little tired and we decided to make our way back to the car. On our way we saw more cheetahs, some long-tailed lemurs that are very funny looking creatures, as well as the biggest bird I've ever seen in all my life: a bald headed eagle that was pretty scary looking. On our way to the hotel, Aunt Molly had arranged for us to stay in I couldn't stop talking about all we had seen, and how wonderful the day had been. I know I've been to the zoo in Dublin before but it was so much nicer to be able to see the animals roaming around with each other and enjoying themselves as much as we did. Bye for now, Uncle Jasper.