Well, as we progress through August and temperatures rise in to the mid-high 40's, we are constantly looking for things to do inside, other than retail therapy, which does nothing but aggravate my bank manager! Indeed, our best friends have two young boys and so for them the need is even more pressing.
So, Mrs. C delved in to the memory banks and suggested we visit Arabia's Wildlife Centre, which is based in the desert just outside of Sharjah and take a walk on the wild side!
Our kids are now grown up but when they were at school a visit to Arabia's Wildlife Centre was a firm favourite for school trips, with all the kids excited to see the Baboons and their pink bottoms! Funny the things that kids get excited about. I am normally against zoos but what I like about this centre is that in the main, it is the public that are caged in and the animals which roam free. Perhaps there is a lesson there to assist animal conservation the world over.
The drive is about an hour from Dubai and with kids entering for free and adults for AED 15 each it is a real bargain.
You can really divide the centre in to three sections:
Reptiles
Birds
Big Cats and Baboons
Reptiles:
Given that I hate snakes I was thankful that these were all well and truly caged in!
However, given that all of the species in the Zoo were indigenous to the Middle East I think I would like to firmly reconsider camping trips to the desert and a 200mm lens is as close as I would like to get to most of these.
Birds:
Interesting the birds were all flying around in a very large warehouse sized room and seem quite un-interested in the public. However, it was an opportunity to grab a few close ups with the Fuji XH1 and the excellent XF55-200mm zoom.
Big Cats and Baboons:
Ofcourse for the kids this was the highlight of the visit. As it was early afternoon the temperatures were soaring and so most of the big cats, Arabian Leopards and the Cheetahs, were very docile and taking the opportunity for a well earned siesta. This was also good for me as it gave me an opportunity for one or two close-ups which would otherwise have been quite difficult.
Finally we came to the Baboons. As expected they caused much excitement as they played and started fighting amongst each other and seemed to take great delight in "mooning" the crowd with their bright pink bottoms and various appendages! Don't worry, I have censored the images and despite their antics managed one or two nice shots.
All in all a great day out and you were even allowed to take your own picnic! So, if you happen to be passing through Sharjah and you are wondering what to do with yourselves, visit Arabia's Wildlife Centre and take a walk on the wild side!