We visited the Krasnodar Zoo Safari Park “Sunny Island” in August 2016.
I consider this corner of wildlife one of the best zoos in Europe. This conclusion is based on extensive personal experience visiting zoos with my children (reports of visits to other zoos at the end of the article). And of course, on Lukyan’s emotions after communicating with animals.
Krasnodar Safari Park does not have an official website. Current information is posted on the park’s page on the VKontakte social network (https://vk.com/safari_park). For the convenience of readers, I have duplicated important information as of 2021 in this review. Please note the opening hours: from November to March: from 9:00 to 18:00, from April to October: from 9:00 to 21:00.
Krasnodar Zoo Safari Park ticket prices in 2019
Adult - 550 rubles, Children (up to 14 years old) - 400 rubles.
Children under 2 years old have free admission! Guide services - 1000 rubles, Photography - 50 rubles, Video filming - 100 rubles. Discounts are available for group visits: for every 10 children, 1 accompanying adult is admitted FREE. Time flies by in the park. We arrived at 12-00 and left at closing time. This is due not only to the large territory and interesting animals. The Krasnodar Safari Park hosts exciting children's performances. You won't need to buy tickets for most of them, but they are definitely worth a visit. Children play for a long time on the unusual playground of the zoo.
Amusement park “Sunny Island”
Sunny Island Park is located in the southeast of the city and covers an area of more than 40 hectares of land. In Soviet times, until 1960, there was a tree nursery and flower farm “Gorzelentresta”. In November 1959, deputies of the city council adopted a resolution on the organization of a Park of Culture and Recreation on the territory of the trust. Since then, the park has been actively developing, and today there are more than 25 children's, family and adult attractions, sports grounds, cafes, bars and restaurants comfortably located here. The indoor ice skating rink built here will happily welcome everyone at any time of the year. The main attraction of the island is the Safari Park. In Krasnodar, this corner of wildlife is loved and very popular among city residents.
Poster of entertainment for children in the Safari Park of the city of Krasnodar
In the report about my visit to the zoo, I will try to indicate the start time of the performances at Safari Park Sunny Island, but it is better to clarify these points at the box office when purchasing tickets:
- Seal and walrus show weekdays: 12.00, 15.00 and 17.00 weekends: 12.00, 14.00, 16.00 and 18.00 Cost: included in the price of entrance tickets
- Performance of gymnasts, clowns and demonstration of sand painting techniques. Check time when purchasing tickets at the box office. Cost: included in the price of entrance tickets.
- Fish peeling procedure - 150 rubles for 5 minutes
- Attractions: from 120 to 160 rubles.
- Playground. Cost: included in the price of entrance tickets
- Boat ride around the island: 100 rubles
When visiting the park with a child, be sure to take sun cream with you. Especially if the kids are wearing short-sleeved shirts. There are many open areas on the territory and you will definitely be able to get a good tan. The presence of repellents will allow children and adults not to experience discomfort from mosquitoes. This is especially true for the Safari Park - Dinosaurs area.
petting zoo
The inhabitants of the local petting zoo bring a lot of joy to children and adults: ponies, llamas, goats and sheep, and other domestic animals of our latitudes and distant countries. All of them, in the literal sense of the word, are tame: very kind, sociable, and willing to be petted. But not just like that, of course, but in the hope of a treat. Moreover, feeding animals with food that you brought with you is prohibited. You can only buy “local” food: it is sold packaged in neat paper bags in vending machines - the same ones that are “charged” with various snacks and drinks in various city institutions.
Parking next to the Sunny Island Safari Park in Krasnodar
From Taman we drove by car to the Safari Park in Krasnodar. Parking was a bit of a hassle. As a result: we parked the car in the underground parking lot directly in front of the central alley leading to the entrance to the Sunny Island Zoo.
Parking diagram near Sunny Island Safari Park.
I recommend leaving your car in the underground parking lot. We were incredibly glad that when we got into the car after visiting the zoo, it was not red-hot like a chariot of fire. The parking lot I indicated is convenient due to its geographical location. Turning left after entering the parking lot, we were already moving along a long pedestrian bridge towards the Safari Park. It took us about 5 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the park entrance.
Zoo guests
Today Safari Park in Krasnodar is one of the largest zoos in the North Caucasus. Its territory is divided into thematic zones. Each plot has its own unique landscape design. The animals are in excellent conditions. Wide and spacious enclosures have been built for them. The zoo's collection includes more than 100 species of animals and contains 1.5 thousand individuals. Among them are kangaroos, monkeys, hyenas, camels, peacocks and parrots, zebras and many other animals. There are also rare animals. The height of the falabella horse does not reach 80 centimeters. There are no such babies in any zoo in Russia. Giraffes, a white tiger and a lion, which have taken root in the park, are rare inhabitants in our country. Every day, two walrus performers named Lyusya and Dusya put on performances for visitors in the pool of the Pinniped Theatre.
Review - report on a visit to the zoo in Krasnodar Safari Park.
Entrance to the Safari Park of the Krasnodar Territory
Upon entering the zoo, the visitor is greeted by a small pond with bridges across it. Red-eared turtles have a great time in the pond. I think this is where the paradise for these centenarians is located. Sanatorium all inclusive. At this point you can choose the direction of your movement through the safari park. We headed towards the area reserved for Dinosaurs. On this way we met giraffes, hippos, monkeys and many other animals.
The hippopotamus was acting weird that day. Therefore, Lukyan hovered near him for about 20 minutes. Apparently, not only the playful mood of the huge colossus affected, but also the short distance to the hippopotamus. This was the first time the child had seen a hippopotamus so close.
While we were watching the hippopotamus, the ostrich was watching us without blinking and with some obvious thought in his head. I just wanted to put a hat with wide brims on his head - it would be just like in the cartoon.
Mischievous monkeys frolicked with might and main on their island. They played some strange catch-up game, like ordinary children in elementary school.
One monkey ran after another, dropped a third one from a branch as it moved, and, without catching the runaway one, flew into a bowl of food. Lukyan was simply delighted with the unfolding plot. And I remembered the poems of the well-known English poet John Ciardi:
How could I have thought? Of course not, When I said to a sweet girl: “Hello!”, When in a sunny park in the long-ago spring I met Mom, and Mom met me.
I told her: “Let's get married!” It seems so... Did I know that this decisive step would ultimately lead us to a den of savages Or to a terrible lair of wild animals?
We dreamed of children, funny kids, plump cheeks, washed ears. Did we imagine that a terrible offspring would grow up next to Restless monsters?
The first girl, Mary, was born - With blue eyes, fresh as a wound. Could anyone have suspected in their souls how much violence was hidden in such a baby?
This was Monster Number One. Another gentleman appeared after her. Number Two looked like a boy, Named John, he seemed nice and handsome.
At first he smacked, cooed, snorted... But he grew - and became ferocious before our eyes! He was already rowdy from dawn to dusk! And then Nightmare Number Three appeared.
So in a few years our decent house became not a home, but simply a gangster’s nest, the abode of mad tigers and lions, where chaos, pandemonium and roar reign.
Judge for yourself - what should Mom and Dad do now? Should I escape through the window or through the door? Only one thing remains, probably, for them - to turn into Terrible Dragons themselves!
Then we walked past pelicans and several other animals peacefully going about their day.
Having left giraffes, frolicking hippos, llamas, unblinking ostriches and elementary school students disguised as monkeys, we found ourselves in the kingdom of the Ancient World.
Children's playground at the Krasnodar Zoo
And in this zoo there is such a children’s playground, which our hero was simply delighted with
