Monkey World; Ape Rescue Centre - Dorset
We were all in high spirits as we made our way to Monkey World. On arrival, everyone eagerly opened their adoption packages to see which primate they had adopted and so the search began! We had a wonderful day strolling around the sanctuary meeting woolly monkeys, lemurs and small monkeys, chimpanzees, spider monkeys and orangutans.
We stopped to listen to several keeper talks along the way, gaining an insight into their characters and personalities as we watched them perform ‘scatter feeds’ to bring the primates closer. Outside each of the enclosures there were picture boards of primates, together with their rescue history. The orangutans were fascinating to watch and so funny as they came right up to the glass of their enclosure and actually posed whilst we took many photographs.
We drove to Bowleaze Cove, a small sand and shingle beach on the Jurassic Coast, known for its geology. Everyone enjoyed a paddle and we had a few games of skimming stones which was great fun.
We sat on the seafront and enjoyed an ice cream treat,
A great morning was spent at The Sealife Centre which had 13 different zones spread over 5 acres of land with the largest man-made rock pool in the country. Here, we had fun walking through each zone marvelling at magnificent sharks, colourful clownfish and inquisitive sea turtles. The rock pools were amazing micro- habitats full of incredible creatures. Luckily for us we got to have a hands-on experience and stroke a sea anemone, starfish and crabs!
Fairy penguin island was so cute as we watched them being fed and learnt that they arrived here in 2018 from Australia and are the only colony you can see in all of Europe. The night and day ocean display were awesome, and we experienced the 24-hour wonder of a coral reef as it moves from night today in the reimagined ocean tunnel display.
It was time for round two at Monkey World and we think we were more excited than last time! Without delay we made our way back to finish off our holiday, viewing our adopted chimps one more time. Peter was overjoyed at seeing his chimp Bryan again and loved watching him, constantly checking if he was ok.
We strolled around the second part of the park, once again enjoying watching the animal antics. We found the Jim Cronin memorial statue, a beautiful bronze statue of him and a chimpanzee, this made for a great photo opportunity.
Wow- what a great find! Sandworld showcased awe- inspiring work by some of the world’s leading sand sculptors and is the UK’s only sand sculpture festival. We strolled around looking at amazing sand sculptures based on TV and films including Alien vs Predator, Avatar, Dr Who, Star Wars and Mandalorian.
Our next adventure of the day was for a spot of fossil hunting on Charmouth beach, something that Cameron had desperately wanted to experience. Charmouth is a haven for fossil hunters that can be found on the foreshore and is famous throughout the world. Cameron, Anthony and Laila soon disappeared and began their search for fossils and sure enough within a short time they had found some great fossils to take home. Good hunting guys.
We headed off to Corfe Castle for the day. First, we stopped at Norden to experience a steam train ride and visit the Purbeck Mining Museum. The museum is dedicated to the history and heritage of Purbeck Ball clay mining and its industrial narrow-gauge railways. It's was then time to board the steam train and we were soon off, chugging down the tracks through beautiful countryside. The castle is one of Britain’s most iconic and evocative survivors of the English Civil War, partially demolished in 1646 by the parliamentarians. This was a royal palace and fortress 1000 years ago. We had a lovely time exploring the ruins and marvelling at the surrounding views way up high at the top of the viewing tower.
Today we chose to visit Etches Museum of Jurassic Marine Life in Kimmeridge. This is a modern museum housing amazing marine fossil that tells the story of life and death in Dorset’s Jurassic seas 157 million years ago during the age of the dinosaurs. Cameron was once again in his element and was very knowledgeable about some of the exhibits.
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