Muddy review: Giraffe Encounter, Safari and Afternoon Tea at Port Lympne
Save on the flight to Africa and explore the Kentish wilderness right here on your doorstep at Port Lympne, Kent’s biggest wildlife park, winner of Best Hotel in Kent and home to the county’s only safari experience.
THE LOWDOWN
Port Lympne is Kent’s biggest wildlife park and home to the county’s only safari experience, as well as over 900 animals across 75 species, located within 600 acres of Kent countryside.
But stats aside, what is equally impressive and important is the conservation aspect of the Port Lympne. Many of the animals you will see on your visit are on their way home as The Aspinall Foundation (Port Lympne’s partner charity) has rescued and rewilded over 1,500 animals in some of the world’s most fragile environments across the world.
Our visit included a drive-by of an Eastern Black rhino (the rarest of the three remaining rhino species in Africa) who is en-route to South Tanzania, to be released back into the wild, with crate training taking place weeks beforehand to ensure that these animals are fully prepared for the long journey home.
What is extra music to our ears, the rhinos who have gone back are not only living free but have also given birth in the wild, and The Aspinall Foundation have successfully had 41 rhino births in 41 years! All visitor monies also go towards their vital conservation work, so you can have fun and do good at the same time.
From a visitor point of view, the attraction has really upped its game (no pun intended) in the last few years so even if you have visited Port Lympne in the past, it is worth a revisit especially as there is now a huge raft of jaw-droppingly cool accommodation experiences plus up-close animal experiences on offer too. With the wealth of all these activities on your doorstep, you might want to linger a little longer in the Kentish wilderness.
THE LOCATION
You’ll find Port Lympne, situated just past Ashford (5 mins from the J11 from the M20) and only a short distance from Canterbury, Folkestone and the Southeast of England. It’s sister site, Howletts is 18 miles away, so you are in a good corner of Kent if you want to see some interesting wildlife.
It’s also a very pretty part of our Garden of England and one of the extra magical moments within Port Lympne are the views of the sea from the highest points of the park. The landscape is often described as Kent savannah and as a person who has had the fortune to do game drives in Africa, you do have a few ‘pinch me’ moments when you see free-roaming animals, like giraffes, roaming the Kentish plains taking in a drink from the watering holes.
On a practical note, is a labyrinth to get round so if you do have a safari or Animal Experience booked, do make sure you allow extra time within the park to locate your meeting location, so you don’t miss your tour.
WHAT TO DO
I mean where do you start – you can jump on board a safari truck, included in your entry ticket, and travel through the Reserve’s South American, Asian and African Experiences spotting amazing animals along the way, including Kent’s only giraffe herd, camels, bears, zebra and many more.
There’s plenty of wonderful walking routes to explore too, where animal enthusiasts can see big cats, including the resident lion pride and playful cubs, gorillas, monkeys, lemurs, black rhino and tapir to name a few.
Dino-mad mudlets will also love the UK’s largest outdoor dinosaur exhibition – Dinosaur Forest to come face to face with life sized prehistoric creatures like the spinetingling Spinosaurus and tremendous T Rex. What also sets this park above the others are the quality of the foodie destinations. Yes, you can picnic in many well-chosen spots with great vistas of the park, but you can also treat yourself to some seriously good foodie spots too.
Babydoll’s (named after one of their beloved gorillas who died at the grand old age of 55) gives off Mediterranean holiday vibes as you can eat beneath the olive trees or on the rustic veranda, with wood-fired sourdough pizza, fresh pasta and seasonal salads on the menu. Their sourdough is made from scratch in-house and left for 24 hours and is topped with the finest Italian olive oil, tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella. Not words you often associate with most eateries at family attractions.
We also love The Garden Room, which seems to have been decorated with Oka items from head to toe and has classic British dishes with a modern twist, with ingredients sourced locally or from their own kitchen garden. It’s mind boggling how they have thought of every small detail when it comes to an amazing customer experience. Locals also flock to The Garden Room for their infamous Sunday Roasts.
GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
During the Easter holidays, I had four ‘lively’ children on my hands as my two children (8 and 10) invited two friends to join them for our Giraffe Encounter and Afternoon Tea at Port Lympne.
They were a bit nonplussed about the prospect of the visit on the way down, so I had a bit of “we have been to Port Lympne before” and “isn’t going to the Zoo for younger children” in the car but OH, how quickly their little heads were turned.
Casey, who hails from Utah but is now relishing his life in rural Kent via the wilds of Africa, was our guide for the session. He was fresh from showing pop sensation Jess Glynne and footballer turned pundit, Alexandra Scott, round the park which earnt immediate brownie points with the younger crew. Plus, his dry quips, referring to the baboons as the Kardashians on account of their endless drama, got a lot of laughs too.
But what really resonated with this little lot was the endless facts he had at his fingertips about so many animals within the park as our tour included a safari drive through the park.
Did you know that Giraffes have been walking on this planet for past 25 million years?
Our tour was private which meant that we had Casey’s full attention to answer a wild mix of questions, some unsurprisingly relating to toilet habits and other more thoughtful ones. We were extremely fortunate to spend 30 minutes with the giraffes feeding them birch from our flat hands and preparing for a very long tongue (between 34-50cm in length – yikes) to scoop it all up. It was incredible to see these majestic creatures in such close detail admiring how different all their markings are and it is a warm, fuzzy memory that will stay with me for a very long time.
But it’s not just the giraffes you can meet – we’re coming back for the new Orangutan Encounter where you will be given a tour of their home and help make puzzle toys for them or if you are feeling extra brave, you can feed a Leopard or Cheetah with BBQ tongs or a grab stick.Our trip resulted with one child saying to me, “I want to live here” so job well done.
AFTERNOON TEA
It wasn’t just the giraffes that needed feeding as our visit also included Afternoon Tea within the Port Lympne Mansion hotel where the likes of Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin have been guests over the years.
There was a certain level of apprehension as I entered a very peaceful dining room with four children in tow, but the staff and other diners made us feel incredibly welcome. In any case, there was no time for talking as we were dazzled with a huge selection of food.
Served on traditional tiers, layered with pork and sage sausage roll, finger sandwiches (I am sucker for an egg mayo and cress sandwich) with scones (both plain and fruit) served with homemade strawberry jam and clotted cream as well as seasonal sweets including a hot cross bun cheesecake, lemon and almond Battenberg plus a rhubarb and vanilla mousse. All washed down with birchall loose tea in eight different flavours.
It was a nice touch to have a bespoke Children’s Afternoon tea menu with chocolate spread/jam/cheese sandwiches with millionaire chocolate chip cookies, rocky road and vanilla/mini egg cupcakes alongside the obligatory scones. Needless to say, there was a going home box ready and waiting for all of us.It is all set within a memorable dining room, decorated with hand-painted animal scenes, to really bring home this ain’t no ordinary hotel.
COST
It’s £90 per person for the Giraffe Safari which does not include entry to the park (£32 for adults & £28 for children) and the Afternoon Tea is £29 per person.
WHAT ELSE?
Don’t go home! I am longing to return and pick one of the many accommodation options on offer and not necessarily with my children in tow. They’ve also just received a pretty impressive accolade Kent’s Best Hotel in our Muddy Awards 2024 which is all thanks to you.
From Luxury glamping to treetop hideaways, camping pods to four-poster beds, there’s something for everyone. Holly Willoughby recently stayed at the Lion Lodge with her family to celebrate her birthday so if you are going to save money on a flight to Africa, you can invest your pennies on the accommodation here instead.
We rather like the sound of Tiger Lodge, the luxury apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows through which guests can see (you guessed it) a tiger or if you want something a little calmer, maybe the bijoux shepherd huts at Hog Deer Creek?
And if you are stuck for the next big birthday present, why not give your child a keeper experiences so any young conservationists in the family can roll up their sleeves and join Port Lympne’s team of animal experts for the day meeting the animals and learning what it’s like to work behind the scenes at Kent’s biggest wildlife park.
THE MUDDY VERDICT
FOR THE KIDS: This one is for all ages – even the ones that protest that they are not into seeing wild animals anymore. Forget the screens and immerse in the Kent wildlife and allow a full day to get round it all but do stay the night, if you can.
FOR THE GROWN-UPS: Forget the ankle biters, this is a place for romance too. The newly launched Lookout Bubbles allow you to fall asleep under the stars so you can wake to the dawn chorus of the neighbouring lion pride plus there is a free-standing bath for the ultimate getaway.
I also know of a friend who had her hen party at Giraffe Cottage (sleeps 8 – comes with a private chef) so the opportunities are endless here. Don’t let the kids have all the fun….
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