I have fond memories of visiting African Lion Safari, near Kitchener, Ontario, as a kid. That was in 2005 or 2006. Now, 17 years later, I decided to visit it again with a few friends and see what’s changed.
I bought the tickets for my group online a few days in advance. At about $50 per person, they were not exactly cheap, but still expected for this type of attraction. We have two cars and will be meeting at the park gate, and decided to take the bus tour of the safari (additional $5.25+tax per person) so that we could stay and chat with each other for the day (the other option is self-driving into the safari area at no additional cost).
On the morning of August 19, I picked up friends in downtown Toronto and North York, respectively, and then headed on our merry way. I left North York at about 10AM, but due to a mistaken detour that took me onto the congested QEW, it was close to 12PM by the time I arrived and met up with friends in the other car.
Once there, it wasn’t too difficult to find parking, and we finally started our visit with the non-safari portion. We decided to do that so that we won’t miss the presentation timings, in case the actual safari takes longer than expected. There was a bit of a walk to the presentation stages, during which we passed by the waterpark and playground and quite a few food options and souvenir stalls. These are great places for kids!
We watched the birds of prey and the reptile presentation, conveniently timed one after the other. They were short and sweet, and it was reassuring that the bird presentation was more natural rather than human-centred entertainment. The staff presenters at both shows seemed quite cheerful, which is a plus.
There are also some animals around this side of the part, including birds of prey, tropical birds, elephants, and, to my surprise, a sloth that was in its active part of day at that time. The safari park used to have elephant performances, which was only recently stopped. It is nice that the park no longer does elephant performances. Some members of my group also went to see the parrot presentation, while the rest, including myself, grabbed lunch. The fries with diced meat, tomatoes and green onion were actually quite good, although “elephant ears” (not literally) also seemed to be popular.
Afterwards, it was time for the actual safari! Although the park was quite busy that day, we were able to purchase tickets on the spot for a bus leaving just a few minutes later. No wait at all, and there were still quite a few empty seats on the bus. As we started, I quickly realized that one advantage of the bus is its height, and I was able to take great photos from the windows even though they were tinted. However, the live commentary from the driver-guide was a bit robotic and fast-paced, not as good for educational and learning purposes. The disadvantage of the bus option is that it was just under an hour, and it often felt like the bus rushed through the safari area, which made the experience less pleasurable. We only had a little bit of time in each area to see the animals, and I don’t think we went through all the zones. Overall, I think the bus itself is a better way to see the animals than self-driving, and it offered great photography opportunities, but the journey could be made longer and less rushed for a better experience. (If you like, you could also do both the bus and the self-driving options and enjoy the best of both experiences!)
While some areas of the safari seemed relatively more spacious, I was disappointed with the space that the lions have. It is definitely more space than a zoo but still seemed small for these large animals.
We finished off the visit with the African Queen boat cruise. The line was long, but it moved quickly because there were at least three boats doing the cruise in turn. Given its short 15-min length, I didn’t expect much, and ended up pleasantly surprised with the animal sightings on the islands and the live cruise commentary, which was much better than the bus commentary.
In all, we spent about 4.5 hours in the park. I would recommend more time if you have kids and/or want to spend time at the waterpark. It’s pricey but quite different from Toronto Zoo, and a decent place for a day trip from Toronto. There are many other attractions in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, and it’s easy to combine this with other sights for an overnight or longer trip as well.
Food review: Foodie North
Restaurant: Foodie North, Mississauga, ON
Cost: Approx. $35 per person, incl. tax and tips
Rating: 4.5/5
For dinner, we decided to have it in Mississauga on our way back to Toronto, at a northeastern Chinese restaurant called Foodie North. It was my first time here but two friends in the group had been here already. There are not too many restaurants for northeastern Chinese food in the GTA and this place was a great find! The decoration of the restaurant is tasteful and characteristic, and the servers polite and courteous for the most part.
We ordered a Peking duck, two hot dishes and one cold dish (a northeastern Chinese specialty that consists of broad noodles mixed with vegetables in sesame sauce). I loved the cold dish and the sautéed eggplants, although I found the other meat dish a bit on the salty side.
The highlight of the meal was the Peking duck, because it came with not just the standard wraps, greens and sauce, but also a plate with additional materials, such as raisins and peanuts, and even sugar for the crispy duck skin, which was amazing and something I had not seen at other restaurants I’ve been to. In total, the price was very reasonable even after tax and tips. If I am craving for Peking duck again, in Toronto, I would place this ahead of Quanjude in Markham. Mississauga is an underrated haven for affordable and quality ethnic cuisine, and I hope to cover more restaurants in future reviews.
