We love hearing about active families getting out and exploring all there is to see and do in Hamilton Halton Brant. Samantha, a mom to four-year-old twins, brought her family for an African Lion Safari adventure and chronicled their day on her delightful blog, Loving You Is Cherry Pie. Thanks for letting us share your post Samantha, and bring those darling girls for another outing in Hamilton Halton Brant soon!


WE WENT WILD AT AFRICAN LION SAFARI

SAMANTHA – I have lived in the Great Toronto Area all of my life (other than my time living in Kingston while going to law school), and specifically the Halton region for the past six years. We love Halton! It’s especially great to live near the Niagara Escarpment with all of the unique spots for outdoor adventure out here. Even though our girls are quite young, our family has already hiked, visited waterfalls, picked strawberries and more. When we were offered the chance to visit African Lion Safari, we were very excited (we would have liked to try the Wake Up the Wild Adventure; however, children must be at least 8 years old). If you don’t know it, African Lion Safari is a drive through wildlife park located in Hamilton, Ontario dedicated to the conservation of declining wildlife species.

  • The day of our visit to African Lion Safari started with intense thunderstorms (or as Alexa likes to say, “hunter storms”) and we weren’t sure if we could visit as planned. We took a risk and made the 40 minute drive, and by the time we arrived, the clouds cleared and later the sun came out. It was the perfect weather for an outdoor adventure.

  • Our first stop was the 9km drive-through game reserve. Despite initially planning to take the Safari Tour Bus, we changed our minds at the park and drove through in our minivan to get up close and personal with the animals. And that we did. Shortly after entering we saw the lions and I can’t deny that I got nervous when this guy (or girl, I’m not sure?) came within a few feet of my window. He was just looking for some shade under the tree but for a second I was a little wary.

  • The rest of the drive was just as exciting as we got to see so many different kinds of animals. The girls really were in awe of the animals roaming around out there.

  • After parking our car, we walked to the elephant area and got a front row spot for the elephant swim. Again, they came so close!

  • We then walked around and checked out the grounds, rode the ponies and had sno-kones… once the girls saw the Misumu Bay Wet Play Area they were unstoppable. They had an absolute blast here and could have stayed there all day going down the slides.

  • Once we were done there, we climbed aboard the Nature Boy Scenic Railyway Tour. It was so picturesque to travel by train through the forest with my little family. By the time we left the train, tiredness started to set in and we had to abandon our plan to ride the African Queen Boat Cruise unfortunately. It’s definitely something I would want to try next time but we had to make the decision to end our adventure as we could sense our girls were so tired they were bordering on meltdown. They slept the entire way home and another hour once we got home, which is to say that they had a fantastic time. We all did, it was a great family adventure!

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April 12 - 19

Ceramic Buttons/Stitch Markers Workshop

Monika Schaefer Pottery & Fibre Art Studio

2 Palomino Dr, Carlisle, ON a L0R 1H3

2-day workshop: Wedensday April 12 AND Wednesday April 19, 2-5pm both days, in Monika Schaefer...

Now thru January 1

Woodland Cultural Centre – Virtual Museum Tour

Woodland Cultural Centre

184 Mohawk Street, Brantford, ON, N3T 5V6

Now thru December 31

A Day of Play Experience

Six Nations Tourism

2498 Chiefswood Road, Ohsweken, ON N0A 1M0

Price: $70.00/person for a group of less than 20; $60.00/person for a group of 20...

Now thru March 29

Virtual Chair Yoga with Ageless Arts

Royal Botanical Gardens

680 Plains Road West, Burlington, ON, L7T 4H4

Now thru May 24

Toddler Days

Joseph Brant Museum

1240 North Shore Boulevard East, Burlington, ON, L7S 1C5

Now thru January 5

AGH Virtual Tours: Fridays at Four

Art Gallery of Hamilton

123 King Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8P 4S8

Now thru April 4

Yoga at the Gardens

Royal Botanical Gardens

680 Plains Rd W, Burlington, ON, Canada

Now thru January 1

Woodland Cultural Centre – Self Guided Museum Tour

Woodland Cultural Centre

184 Mohawk Street, Brantford, ON, N3T 5V6

Now thru April 30

In Movement: Training Sessions for Freedom Fighters

Art Gallery of Hamilton

123 King Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8P 4S8

Now thru June 1

FREE Downtown Hamilton Walking Tour

Tour Guys

36 Hunter St. E., Hamilton, ON L8N 3W8

Now thru March 26, 2023

Treewalk Village in Winter

Treetop Trekking

5050 Harrison Rd, Binbrook, ON L0R 1C0

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