Subic Trip with J's Family: Zoobic Safari

If you've noticed here and here, I was an emotional wreck last week. The boyfriend and I were having issues and for a moment there I thought that was the end of us. Luckily though, during the Halloween weekend, tita-in-law invited me to go out-of-town with the whole family and J came to fetch me. We talked and settled things and kissed and made up ;-) And the rest, as they say, is history :)

Now back to the out-of-town trip. I was only told to pack my things noon of Saturday. J and I left home that same evening and slept over at their Marikina house (first time! :D) and come early morning of Sunday, we're bound to Subic!

Our first destination:

Tita Meg got Zoobic Safari tickets (I forgot to ask where) at a promo price of Php1499, that's for 6 persons already. But in case you wanna know, here's the regular rate:

Yes, it's kinda pricey, and everything inside comes with a price, too.

But let's just say we're doing it for the animals :)

After presenting your tickets, you will have your wrists stamped.

You'll also need it when you go in and out of the premises.

We got there around 11AM starving so we opted to eat first. They have a mini resto there but the food choices are limited.

Of the 5 set meals, only 3 were available when we were there.
Yeah, I meant it when I said "limited" :P

The interiors are consistent with the whole safari ensemble (but they could definitely improve on the ventilation).

The boyfriend's family.
That's S2BMIL at the far left and beside me were bro-in-law and his wife.

Us ♥

 Us again, post-meal. Candid shot courtesy of Kuya Migs. I dunno what we're talking about here but I guess if you ask us about the food, that look could describe it. The food is so-so. But for hungry tummies, okay narin. Haha.

After lunch, we proceeded to the mini-stage where orientation is conducted before the tour.

 She's our tour guide, and we belong to group number 15 along with many other groups of guests. Because each guide is in charge of about 50 people, the actual tour is sort of chaotic. You can just roam around by yourself, or choose to stick with her if you want it to be reaaaallly educational.

Closer look at the map.

Then the tour began. At this point, I'll let the pictures do the talking (or not.) :P

 

 The more tame birds you can find here.

 At Bird Thrill, there's more interaction with other types of birds.

 After this picture, J almost got bitten by that bird. Haha.

 Here is where you'll find rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and more.

Zoobic Park houses the farm animals and those that live in the wilds.

You can feed them, but you have to pay for the food also.

 Behind us is a bearcat.

There are also boards like these in the park, where you can stick your heads out for souvenir pictures. If you don't quite recognize them, they're J's mom, Tito Bobby and Tita Meg :P

We just have to have one! :)

Next attraction is the Serpentarium.

(Thanks to Kuya Migs again, for all the photos with his watermark :D)

That ends the walking tour. The rest of the attractions are accessible via this tram for an additional Php50 per head. You can choose to bring your own vehicle, too, and drive alongside the tram.

Our first stop is the Forbidden Cave and another one called Zoobic Cave. I don't have pictures of the latter, and I forgot what's in there, as well. Haha.

Inside the cave are stuffed animals (real ones).

When we're done with the cave, we waited for our turn on the caged jeepney (below) for like 30 minutes, then off we drove into "the Philippines' only Tiger Safari".

In there, humans are caged and tigers are free, for a change :-)

This for me is the most exciting part of the tour. It's not for the faint-hearted, I tell you! You actually feed the tigers with raw chicken (which you also buy for PhP 200). According to Kuya, the chicken pieces won't even constitute a quarter of a kilo. Lesson learned: Next time, bring your own raw meat! Haha.

A crew will throw a few chicken pieces towards the hood and naturally, the tiger will run for it. Katuwa panoorin, promise! :)

After the safari, you'll ride the tram again to bring you to the rest of the park zones:

Do I look scared? Well, I am! Hahaha!

Next is the Savannah where ostriches run around, lots of them!

And for some reasons, wild boars too (not running, just lounging around like normal pigs :P). Please don't ask me how ostriches and boars are related. Hahaha.

Spencer aka Bruno Mars stayed at the back of the tram because we all didn't know we'll pass through something like this. He's playing cool until the ostrich threatened to run after him! Everyone was laughing at our guy! Haha.

From the muzooeum, our final stop is at walking distance:

At this point, we're just too tired so we just took pictures outside.

J took this from outside as well. Lots of crocs waiting for food.

Noticed Mariz's shirt? She just passed the CPA board exams (Congrats!)

But if you call her CPA, she'll correct you: CPA Dancer!

Oh-kay. Haha!

That ends the tour around Zoobic Safari. It took more than 3 hours and it can really drain your energy, but it's fun nonetheless! Friendly advice: Be sure to keep some bottled water and face towels handy :)

While having snacks.

The boss/manager/financier contented at watching us eat. Haha.

Before leaving, don't forget to buy souvenirs!

Prices are kinda steep, though.

And if you have some extra cash, you might wanna take a picture with the tiger.

Because we don't wanna spend so much, these souvenir shots will suffice :-)

There. I hope you enjoyed a virtual tour of the zoo! Up next, another Subic tourist destination: Ocean Adventure! :D