Into The Wild

I love going out of town. It's a good change of pace from the busy and sleepless life in the city. Kicking it back in a place where you can actually see a billboard-free sky is a blessing to me. Traveling completely changes my mood. Maybe it's the clean air. Maybe it's all the green scenery. Maybe it's the fact that I get knocked out almost instantly when placed inside a moving vehicle. (Fun fact: When I was a baby, my dad used to take me out for a couple of car rides around the block to put me to sleep when I'd cry. Think of it as a modern cradle. Today, I hold world record for the sleepiest passenger ever.)

Last October 31, while everyone was prepping to go to the cemetery, I met a couple of cool animals at Avilon Zoo in Montalban, Rizal. It was a bit of a drive with the detours in preparation for All Saints' Day, so I got there a little after lunch. This post is photo-heavy under the cut. I hope it somewhat transports you out of town, or out of your office cubicle at the very least to cure your post-long weekend blues. :)

Instant good vibes!

Someone had fun with Overlay haha! :)

We had bright sunny weather that day.

Thanks to the lovely folks of Rizal for their fine hospitality. I felt like Chavit Singson that day, having the whole place to myself. Entrance, food and everything else was taken care of, which made the trip all the more awesome.

I found that reptiles were my best models because they stood so still.
Shooting manual on them was fun in itself.

This tucan was practically smiling at me. :)

The first thing you'll see is a big green fiel---wait a second. THAT'S A SWAMP! There was a big lake/swamp that was covered in plants. Smart move to build a barricade around it, or most people would've been arapaima chow.

I was waiting for Jeremy Wade to surface the water.
Swear, these things were 9 feet long and about 2 feet in diameter.
*That's what she said*

Deceiving "grassland" is deceiving.

The place was huge! 7 hectares to be exact. You'd need an entire day just to see all the animals. I think I saw around 4 different lakes. I'm not even sure if that was all of them too.

Don't worry,  these guys were in another lake, far away from the arapaimas.

Appropriate as it is the Year of the Snake.

Their main attraction was the exotic snakes, which I unfortunately didn't get to see. When the Ber months (October, in this case) roll around, day quickly turns to night with 4:30pm looking more like a 5:30pm sunset. While this makes for fashionable sweater weather on those long chilly nights, it does not however deem fun for daytrips. Zoo hours only go up until 5:00pm. And well with 7 hectares to go through, it wasn't an easy feat seeing all the animals.

Fish are friends, not food.

Sharkbait Ohh Ha Ha!

Make Me A Meme.

So what we get drunk? So what we eat weed?

No zoo is complete without a petting station. I was really excited for this one because I wanted to bottle-feed a tiger cub or hug a monkey.

Fun Feeding For the entire Family.
They get crafty with the alliteration on most of their signs.

"Daddeh, I want anotha pony." - Veruca Salt

The star, and best part of the zoo was Trixie the orangutan.
She could do high fives, big smiles, hugs, and the occasional
kiss on the cheek if you're up for it.

You could also buy veggies on a stick to feed the guinea pigs.

Wish these arrow signs were bigger.
They were hard to spot once you start roaming around taking pictures.

Most of the animals are far from being camera shy.
They're probably so used to people taking photos of them on a daily basis.

Michelangelo looking for pizza.

They had some fine ass over there too.

I couldn't get as many good shots of the birds as I'd like because most of them were behind bars.
From what I saw, they made up 50% of the zoo population.

Choco na gatas o gatas na choco? Uyy tvc recall.

Camera-elusive heron.

NARNIA!

Wish there was feeding station for the birds.
They were all over the place, and free in open air lakes.

It's on like Donkey Kong.

"Whatcha doing?" "Not much, just thinking about life and stuff."

Bittersweet with the bars. The cats' faces were a foot close to mine.
It was perfect for photo ops, but the safety bars posed as a challenge.

Real house-cougar of Rizal.

I didn't even have time to explore this part cause I was rushing to go through all the other animals.

Unfortunately for the camera, it was siesta time for most of the animals.

Way to build up their confidence, guys.

One of my favourites! The prairie dog, so awkward, he's cute.

Timon!

Some buildings were under construction to make way for even more animals!

Rocko's modern life.

My best subjects stood the most still for the camera.

Avilon also sold all sorts of neat stuff in their souvenir shop, cacti included.

Headed home.

This trip was timed perfectly for the long weekend. And it wasn't your run-of-the-mill holiday too. A huge thanks to the people who set this up for me. I'm pretty bummed that I didn't get to explore the entire zoo, but I guess that makes way for another trip in the future. Lesson learned, I'll have to head out a lot earlier next time around.

Here are some tips to get you going on your visit:

1. Check the weather before you go. Avilon is an open zoo. There are very few shaded areas, so it would be difficult to explore if it rained or drizzled.
2. Wear comfortable clothes. You're going to be walking a lot, so put on something light, cottony, and airy.
3. Bring a change of clothes. Since you're going to be walking, odds are you'll be sweating. Plus, you'll only get to shower once you've traveled back to the city, so a clean set of clothes wouldn't hurt. 
4. Get your camera ready. Avilon is 90% camera friendly. The only places you can't shoot in are the ones with nocturnal creatures, but the rest is pretty much free for all. Just take out your flash so you won't startle any of the animals.
5. Have some cash on you. If you get hungry, there are small food kiosks where you can get a quick bite to eat. Photo ops in the feeding/petting station also cost Php50.00 for two shots from your own camera. And there's a neat souvenir shop you might want to check out on the way back.

Avilon is a great place to bond with friends and family if you're looking to do something new over the weekend. It's a fun learning experience for everyone because you get to see animals you never thought you'd ever encounter in the Philippines. Don't worry. The folks at Avilon take good care of these creatures, ensuring all their needs in a clean and safe environment they can thrive in. These photos aren't even close to the number of animals you'll see there. They're all so wonderful in person too. Book a trip down to Rizal and see them for yourselves.

Avilon Wildlife Conservation Inc. (2 branches)
Avilon Zoo - Brgy. San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal
948 - 3986
Ark Avilon Zoo - Frontera Verde, Ortigas Ave. cor. C-5, Pasig City
706 - 2992