Safari sleepover

Kent may be a long way from Africa and a lot less exotic, but the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park gives an overnight taster of the real thing.

The Livingstone Safari Lodge, which opened this month, has ten African-style luxury tents; snore while the lions roar outside, then awake to the rhino hrumphing.

The fun starts as you sip a sundowner outside your tent as giraffes and wildebeest gather at the waterhole near by, before an evening safari in a converted army truck through the 100 acres where animals roam free. Then it’s back for a barbecue buffet before bed.

If you need the loo in the night it’s a short walk to the shower and lavatory block, but there’s no danger of being mauled – the animals are safely on the other side of the fence.

A 5.30am wake-up call from the ranger is the prelude to a dawn safari, full breakfast and time to explore the other 500 acres of the park on foot. The package costs £150pp for anyone over the age of 9.

Port Lympne also runs dawn or dusk safaris (£30pp with breakfast or dinner). A 90-minute day safari costs £5 for adults and £3 children.

Details: 01303 234190, www.totallywild.net.

Feeding frenzy

See the animals before the public is allowed in at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire, which this year is giving a sneak preview of the big cats as they are released from their house as part of its Breakfast with the Carnivores package.

With 16 lions, Woburn has one of the biggest prides in Europe. The price of £240 for four includes breakfast and a day at the park. Woburn has also expanded its VIP “offroad with a ranger” tour to include an afternoon foot safari (£290 for four people). And adults and children older than 12 can shadow a ranger for a day for £195pp.

Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, also runs VIP tours in its own vehicles with wardens (£68pp adults and children over six), which means your car escapes the antics of the monkeys.

Details: 01525 290407, www.discoverwoburn.co.uk; 01985 844400, www.longleat.co.uk.

Sundowners

For one evening each summer, both London and Whipsnade Zoos open their doors in the evenings, giving a different atmosphere to zoo visits, as well as more talks from the keepers. Whipsnade, in Bedfordshire, is open on June 29 from 6.30pm until late, while London Zoo is open until late on July 27.

The latter this spring introduced its Gorilla Kingdom, a walk-through experience where visitors can see Bobby the silverback gorilla and two companions separated only by a moat, as well as a rainforest exhibit that creates a basement-to-rooftop South American rainforest under a translucent roof. Entry costs £16 adults and £12.50 children for each zoo.

Details: London Zoo (020-7722 3333), Whipsnade (01582 872171) or www.zsl.org.

More information: www.enjoyengland.com/family.

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