port lympne safari truck ride

Port Lympne Safari Park

Buying as a gift lovetovisit gift card available here, 25% off port lympne safari park tickets - pick your safari truck ride time for the ultimate kent day out for families.

Port Lympne Safari Park is home to over 600 acres of wildlife wonderland and over 900 amazing animals for you to discover in an exciting day out for a discounted price in Kent today. 

How does my Port Lympne Safari Park ticket work?

• Pick your timeslot for the safari truck ride
• Your tickets also grant you all-day admission to the safari park 
• Adult tickets from £24, was £32
• Child tickets from £21,  was £28

Book your discount admission tickets to Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent and get ready for an unforgettable day out for the whole family, or read on to find out more about this fantastic Kent day out. 

Ticket Information:

The time shown on your ticket is the safari truck start time. It is advised to arrive at the park 60 minutes prior to the safari truck start time. Once confirmed, the safari time will not be able to be amended. The safari loading area is approximately a 15-minute walk from the entrance. If the safari is missed, alternative times will not be offered.

Visit Port Lympne Safari Park for one of the best things to do in Kent with the family

If you're looking for some of the best days out in Kent, then you and the family will love visiting Port Lympne Safari Park. Enjoy an immersive journey into a world of wildlife like no other!

Hop in the safari truck and get ready for an adventure into nature, where you'll meet extraordinary animals from around the world. 

Home to wildlife from every corner of the globe, Port Lympne Safari Park lets you witness many majestic animals as they roam free in natural habitats.

Explore the many things to do at Port Lympne Safari Park

Kent's largest wildlife park is home to wonderful animals from all over the world. See wildlife park favourites such as lions, zebras, cheetahs, giraffes and monkeys, while also encountering rare animals that have become endangered in the wild, such as the Western lowland gorilla, the Eastern black rhino and the Siberian tiger. 

These are just some of the many exotic animals that you'll find on your safari adventure through Port Lympne! The whole family will love spotting animals of all shapes and sizes as you make your way through the site on a safari truck ride. 

Conservation is at the very heart of Port Lympne Safari Park, and each visit to the park helps fund the protection of these extraordinary animals. 

Enjoy two of the best days out in Kent with the Aspinall Zoos

Kent has two wonderful wildlife parks, both offering locals and visitors to the area fantastic days out in Kent:

• Howletts Wild Animal Park - a walk-through wildlife park with over 300 animals and around 50 species, you'll witness real conservation in action at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent
• Port Lympne Safari Park - info on this page

General Admission & Safari Truck Tickets - Port Lympne Safari Park

Get your tickets to a safari truck ride at Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent for 25% OFF and see extraordinary animals from around the world today.

How to find us

Port Lympne is in Lympne near Hythe. Leave the M20 at Junction 11 and follow the brown tourist signs to the park (about 5 minutes drive from the motorway)

How do my Port Lympne Safari Park tickets work?

These tickets include general admission and a ride on the safari truck. The timeslot shown on your ticket is when your safari truck ride will begin. 

Once confirmed the safari time will not be able to be amended.

It is advised that you arrive to the park 60 minutes prior to the safari time. Park gates open from 9:30am.

The safari loading area is approximately a 15-minute walk from the entrance.

If the safari is missed alternative times will not be offered.

Is Port Lympne Safari Park wheelchair accessible?

Port Lympne Safari Park is wheelchair accessible. Accesibility facilities in Port Lympne Safari park include: 

• Wheelchair and buggie routes
• Accessible toilets
• Accessible restaurant
• Accessible gift shop
• First aiders
• Accessible safari truck
• Wheelchair available to hire
• Mobility scooters permitted
• Minibus assistance available
• Concession tickets available
• Assistance dogs permitted
• Disabled parking

How long should I spend at Port Lympne Safari Park?

It takes around 4-5 hours to explore all of Port Lympne Safari Park. 

Can you drive through Port Lympne Safari Park with your own car?

No, your car is left at the car park and you walk through the parks.  However, there is an African & Asian Experience safari ride available.

How many animals are at Port Lympne Safari Park?

Port Lympne is home to approximately 900 animals and 75 species.

Can I bring my dog to Port Lympne Safari Park?

Dogs are not permitted at the park, except for registered assistance dogs.

• Afternoon Tea
• Afternoon Tea for Two

Port Lympne Reserve Visit, Truck Safari and Afternoon Tea for Two

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Get ready for a day like no other with this Visit to Port Lympne, Truck Safari and Afternoon Tea for Two.

With a focus on giving the resident animals as much space as possible, spend the day roaming Kent’s largest wild animal park and admiring hundreds of rare animals. Continue your adventure on an unforgettable 60 minute truck safari covering hundreds of acres, allowing you to see African and Asian animals roaming freely with expert knowledge from your ranger guide.

After working up an appetite, take your seats for a classic afternoon tea at the historic Grade II listed Port Lympne Mansion. You’ll enjoy a selection of sweet and savoury treats, paired with an extensive selection of loose-leaf teas or coffee.

What's Included

• Visit to Port Lympne, Truck Safari and Afternoon Tea for Two
• 45 minute truck safari through African and Asian experiences
• Admire over 900 animal residents across 75 species
• Enjoy an afternoon tea in the Grade II listed Port Lympne Mansion
• Tuck into an array of sweet and savoury treats
• Pair your fantastic food with an extensive selection of loose-leaf teas or coffee
• Experience gift pack including personalised voucher and message card

What happens on the day?

The two of you will visit Port Lympne Reserve, where you’ll enjoy all-day entry. Spend the day admiring the exotic animal residents, before embarking on a 60 minute truck safari through the African and Asian experiences. After working up an appetite, take your seats for a classic afternoon tea at the historic Grade II listed Port Lympne Mansion. You’ll enjoy a selection of sweet and savoury treats, paired with an extensive selection of loose-leaf teas or coffee.

Participant guidelines

• Under 16s must be accompanied by a paying adult
• Port Lympne Reserve covers 600 acres of ancient parkland, including a combination of hilly and flat terrain that can sometimes be steep and uneven
• Entrance to the park is via a ramped footbridge with designated disabled parking available at the base of the footbridge on hard standing
• For those needing assistance, the park has an on-call minibus and can transport you to any area required. Please notify any member of staff if you require assistance and this will be arranged
• Wheelchairs are available for hire at the Gatehouse
• Assistance dogs are welcome to the park but not on the safari. Please speak to a member of the team prior to arrival.
• The experience content, equipment used and restrictions may vary

Availability

Your voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.  Please book and take your experience before the expiry date.

The experience is available seven days a week throughout the year, excluding 25th December.

We recommend you book at least four weeks in advance to ensure that dates are available. All bookings are subject to availability.

Please allow a full day for your visit.

What about insurance?

The centres contracted with us hold public liability insurance. We also hold contingency liability cover. You will not be liable for accidental damage to equipment, except where damage has been caused as a result of recklessness or wilful negligence.

Please ensure you are familiar with the terms and conditions of the experience.

How it works

All you have to do is pay for the experience you wish to purchase and we’ll send a voucher and booking information to you or directly to the recipient, then you just need to check the info and book your experience.

Customer Reviews

out of 5 stars

Based on 1 review

Find out what others have to say about this experience

The park is set in beautiful surroundings. Saw lots of wild animals on the truck Safari which was good fun and with the guide explaining about each animal we saw. The afternoon tea exceeded my expectations. It was amazing! Good selection of sandwiches, cakes and scones. Felt very spoilt! Service great too and in beautifully decorated room.

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Kent - Hythe

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• Hythe, Kent
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• Port Lympne Reserve

15% Off when you spend £80* | use code  SPRINGSAVE15 - min spend £80*  -->

Entry to Port Lympne Reserve and Safari for Two Adults and Two Children with Animal Adoption

Port Lympne Reserve is home to more than 900 rare and exotic animals. Situated in 600 acres of breathtaking Kentish countryside, it's the perfect place to visit for a family day out. Encounter a variety of amazing animals, which include spectacled bears, gorillas, tigers, giraffes, monkeys and rhinos. Explore this wild haven on foot and then climb on board a truck for the chance to set off on an epic safari. See the animals roaming around and marvel at stunning views of these scenic rural surroundings. Make memories and spend time learning all about a variety of magnificent creatures. As well as this incredible family adventure, enjoy the opportunity to adopt an animal. Experience the wonders of the natural world and contribute to the outstanding conservation work that is carried out.

• Entrance for two adults and two children for one day to Port Lympne Reserve
• Explore a wide range of rare and endangered animals at the wildlife park
• Go for a ride on a safari truck and see a variety of creatures, enjoying the opportunity to venture further and see more of the reserve than on foot
• Enjoy the chance to adopt one of the following animals – African Painted Dog, Brown Bear, Cheetah, Clouded Leopard, Elephant, European Bison, Giraffe, Gorilla, Grey Wolf, Javan Langur, Lion, Rhino or Tiger
• Includes an adoption pack with a cuddly toy and a folder with a postcard, fact sheet about the animal and a certificate of adoption
• The adoption will support The Aspinall Foundation carry out important conservation work to help save endangered animals across the globe
• Availability Description The Port Lympne Reserve and Safari winter season begins on Monday 20th November. During this time, they are open 10 am - 4 pm on Friday-Sundays and school holiday dates only. They will reopen 7 days a week for their spring season on Friday 29th March 2024. All dates are subject to availability.
• Participant Guidelines Child entry is valid for children aged 3–15 years.
• Other Info All our vouchers are fully flexible and can be redeemed against our huge range of experiences. Your park entry tickets will be sent to you via email and your animal adoption pack will be delivered to you in the post. The safari ride is subject to availability and your safari spaces will not be valid until your booking is confirmed. This park features a Dinosaur Forest, as well as children's play areas, cafes and restaurants.
• Hythe - Kent (South East)

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Port Lympne hotel review: a safari reserve in Kent perfect for adventurous families

A taste of the serengeti in the southeast of england with thrilling safari tours, treehouse stays and child-friendly restaurants.

A swathe of the Masai Mara (almost) cuts through the plains of Kent at Port Lympne. Set up by John Aspinall, the casino owner, the 600-acre reserve near Hythe is home to hundreds of endangered animals, from lowland gorillas to red pandas. So it’s coffee with a chorus of the jungle here. Scattered around is an eclectic range of digs, from pods, cabins and treehouses to rough-luxe wood-panelled lodges with outdoor baths and full picture windows overlooking lion enclosures. Most rooms come with a golf buggy in which to tootle around the reserve and all breaks include a one-hour safari. Several cafés and restaurants keep even tricky young eaters happy.

Overall score 9/10

Main photo: Get up close to giraffes at the 600-acre Port Lympne reserve

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Rooms and suites

Score 8/10 The 89 “units” peppered across the reserve are of all shapes, sizes and price tags. Interiors tend towards the sleek with a touch of Serengeti luxe, featuring tent canvas fabrics, rattan lamp stands and ostrich-feather blankets. Pictures of tigers, gorillas and co abound. Families love the two-bedroom treehouses with large decks. The centre point of the park is the red-brick main house (Mansion Hotel), which was built in 1913 in the Cape Dutch revival style for Philip Sassoon, the MP and socialite. Sassoon used it as a postwar party pad and eight themed rooms and suites are named after his famous guests, among whom were Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Mountbatten and Charlie Chaplin. Original furnishings and features include four-poster beds and tiled bathrooms. Aspinall, who bought the house in 1973, was also big on the eccentric aristo vibe. The reception rooms feature black and white marble floors, a pink Moroccan courtyard, a Tent Room with a trompe l’oeil from Rex Whistler and full-scale floor to ceiling murals of wild animals by the artist Arthur Spencer Roberts.

Food and drink

Score 8/10 The restaurants offer children’s menus and are open at the strange hours that children like to eat. Babydoll’s does a good line in pizza and pasta. For a less-carby, more refined offering, there’s the main restaurant, the Garden Room. Set in the converted stable block of the Mansion Hotel, it’s a light, verdant room with plush furnishings and an excellent bar. The menu is European, the right side of adventurous and uses a lot of local produce — grilled sardines, breaded lamb shoulder with polenta, Ibérico pork chop. Staff are lovely, even to tired young children.

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What else is there?

Score 10/10 Guests can buzz around the reserve on golf buggies and the included safari involves a ride in an open-sided modified military truck that goes into the park’s African, Asian and South American animal quarters. The rangers know their beasts. Expect facts about why giraffes have black tongues and why guinea baboons have about as many teeth as cheetahs. There are a huge range of add-on animal experiences — hand-feeding giraffes, keeper experience days. Away from the creatures, the house has 15 acres of beautifully kept Italianate formal gardens to wander through. A stay also includes access to the sister Aspinall Foundation property, Howletts Wild Animal Park (30 minutes by car).

Where is it?

Score 9/10 Central London is just under two hours away by car and the coastal town of Hythe is a ten-minute drive. The hotel can arrange taxis to Ashford International station, or there’s a bus. Views are over Romney Marsh to the Channel. On a clear day, you can even see France on the horizon.

Price room-only doubles from £139 Restaurant mains from £18 Family-friendly Y Dog-friendly N Accessible Y

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A Visit to Port Lympne Reserve, Truck Safari and Afternoon Tea for Two 118107722

Explore the vast 600-acre expanse of Port Lympne Reserve and its historic landscape, the perfectly exhilarating adventure for animal enthusiasts! Indulge in a delectable afternoon tea within the grandeur of the Grade II-listed Port Lympne Mansion, and revel in a feast of sweet and savoury delicacies (paired with an extensive array of loose-leaf teas or coffee). This experience for two is not only a culinary delight, but also an opportunity to connect with nature, complete with a personalized voucher and message card for a memorable touch.

• Unforgettable 45-minute Truck Safari covering 600 acres of ancient parkland
• The unique chance to admire over 900 animal residents across 75 species right here in the UK
• Complimentary afternoon tea inside the Grade II listed Port Lympne Mansion
• All our vouchers are fully flexible and can be redeemed against our huge range of experiences
• This experience should last around 60 minutes
• Open from 9:30 am to 5 pm; last entry at 3:30 pm
• Available week-round, January to August
• All dates are subject to availability
• Accessibility; The entrance to the park is via a ramped footbridge with designated disabled parking available at the base of the footbridge on hard-standing. The park has an on-call minibus that can transport you to any area required. (Please notify any member of staff if you require assistance and this will be arranged). Wheelchairs are also available for hire at the Gatehouse!
• Lympne Hythe - Kent (South East)

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Port Lympne Reserve

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

PORT LYMPNE RESERVE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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AAA Safari - totally worth it! - Port Lympne Reserve

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The Views are amazing but be prepared to do a lot of walking it does get very tiring my husband & I... read more

Amazing experience. Lots of untidy stuff around the reserve. IE… random ladders and gas canisters... read more

AAA Safari - totally worth it!

The triple AAA safari is a particular experience separate to normal safari but it is unquestionably worth every penny. Your ranger (in our case the knowledgeable and highly engaging Will) gets you into a small jeep/truck affair and takes you off to explore! We had 8 people in the jeep and the more personal nature of the tour allowed plenty of opportunity to ask questions. Our particular experienced allowed for some hand feeding of Rosie, the obliging and surprising soft skinned Rhino. There was also some serious quality time spent in the giraffe house feeding these stunning animals...and who doesn't love a giraffe! The relaxed nature of this tour meant we got to spend a bit more time viewing the wolves, camels (who have real character), tapir, various antelope and cheetah. In total the safari was about 2.5hrs. Within the experience cost you can then spend the rest of the day exploring the rest of the reserve. This may just have become a yearly pre-Christmas treat away from the hustle and bustle!

Thank you very much for taking time to leave your kind review. It is very good to hear how much you enjoyed your AAA safari which gives a wonderful overview of the African Experience where the animals roam free with the added bonus of feeding our Rhino and Giraffe. We look forward to welcoming you back again to Port Lympne hopefully for your pre-Christmas treat! Thank you once again.

We enjoyed a day around the park, used the safari bus, driver was very friendly, informative and had a good sense of humour, made it all very enjoyable as did seeing the animals with so much space and being cared for so well, they are also doing a great job increasing depleting numbers and releasing some back to the wild.

Thank you very much for your lovely positive review. We are delighted to hear how much you enjoyed your time with us and we hope to welcome you back in the near future. Thank you once again

Lost track of how many times I heard the word "enrichment" to describe how the animals are cared for. I'm not into zoos and safari parks and this place is no different. Some of the animals are cared for more than others, think Animal Farm by Orwell. Will not return to add further misery to these poor captive ( yet "enriched" animals )by filling the pockets of the owners under the banner of it's all about the animals.

Thank you for taking time to leave your review. As a world renowned conservation charity we are justifiably proud of our conservation record here at our Parks and of our many overseas projects. We are always looking to return our animals back to the wild where we can, having sent back Black Rhino, Javan Gibbon, Western Lowland Gorilla and the first ever repatriation of African painted dogs back to their home states to name but a few. Our animals here at the Reserve live in large naturalistic enclosures that mimic their natural habitat. Our dedicated keepers take great pride in providing the greatest care for the animals and their well being with their welfare always being our top priority. Thank you once again.

Me and six others ( should have been 7) had an overnight stay and had our own ranger and chef who provided us with a three course evening meal and a cooked breakfast in the morning. Also had two safaris with our ranger, and what he didn’t know about all the animals wasn’t worth knowing. Fantastic break

Dear Catherine B, Thank you for your 5* review on your recent stay at Giraffe Cottage. We are very pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay and we hope to welcome you back in the near future. Kind regards The Customer Service Team

An amazing day out on Monday with my small Granddaughter beautiful crisp autumn day. Hardly any people in the Park we walked through the Wallaby enclosure then took the safari truck. The driver mentioned a rocky ride due to the resent weather but that aside all the animals were out to greet us Spectacled Bears I’ve not seen before because always hiding.. Rhinos, Giraffe, Painted Dogs, Ostrich, Wolves, Common Eland , Zebras, Red Lechwe plus more glorious to them out and grazing. We stopped off and walked towards the Dinosaur Park, but was I told they did like them so stopped and saw the Tiger having his lunch right in our window view.. time for our lunch in Babydoll a warm welcome good coffee and a great pizza.. Time to make tracks home a walk back to pick our buggy up my only little request if providing child buggies make sure they are working and better still buy new ones please.. will I return yes I’ve brought a yearly pass so they can carry on their great conservation program..

Thank you very much for your lovely review. We are delighted that you enjoyed your day with us so much that you have purchased a membership pass. Regarding the buggies I have passed your comments to our Estates Manager who will be monitoring their condition and arranging for replacements as required. Thank you once again for your support and we look forward to welcoming you back throughout the year.

Me and my wife took our two little girls, straight away we found the staff very informative and very helpful, we had a walk around the park and saw lots of animals out even tho it was raining, both the girls myself and wife where pleasantly surprised! We then took a safari truck,as was told this was the only way to see the giraffe. So we jumped on the truck? We only had to wait 10 minutes. I believe the drivers name was Matt, he was very polite and again very knowledgeable really topped the day off, I tried to tip him ,but he respectfully declined and asked me to donate it instead. (We did this) What an amazing young chap ! We all had a fantastic day out,the girls loved it. Thank you to all the staff. I would highly recommend going, we will definitely be coming back and maybe staying next time!

Thank you for your lovely positive review. We are delighted to hear that you all enjoyed your day with us and we really do appreciate your kind comments about our staff. We hope to welcome you back as a day visitor or perhaps we can tempt you to stay at one of our many luxurious accommodations?? Thank you once again.

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Reviews — zoos in europe, port lympne reserve, wild ani­mal park.

Port Lympne Wild Ani­mal Park was set up as a pri­vate zoo in 1973 by John Aspinall to pro­vide more room for his ani­mals in his first zoo near Can­ter­bury. Aspinall was a gam­bler who held both eccen­tric and extremely right-​wing views, and ran unsec­cess­fully for par­lia­ment in 1997 . He had a pas­sion for wild ani­mals, espe­cially goril­las and tigers.

The ani­mal col­lec­tion on the Howlett estate near Can­ter­bury was opened to the pub­lic in 1975 . The estate at Port Lympne near Hythe, Kent was pur­chased in 1973 , and opened to the pub­lic as Port Lympne Zoo in 1976 . The zoo­log­i­cal gar­den and safari park is set in a 600 acres land­scape, includ­ing the Port Lympne man­sion and its 15 acre land­scaped gardens.

Both zoos Aspinall founded are known for being unortho­dox, on account of the encour­age­ment of close per­sonal rela­tion­ships between staff and ani­mals, for their breed­ing of rare and endan­gered species and for the num­ber of keep­ers who have been killed by the ani­mals they managed.

Since 1984 Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Ani­mal Parks are man­aged by The Aspinall Foun­da­tion. A char­ity devoted to pro­tect­ing rare and endan­gered ani­mals and, where pos­si­ble, return­ing them back to the wild. For instance the Foun­da­tion man­ages two gorilla res­cue and reha­bil­i­ta­tion projects in the cen­tral African coun­tries of Gabon and Congo where they have been able to suc­cess­fully rein­tro­duce over 50 goril­las to the wild.

Together with Howletts wild ani­mal park they own an extra­or­di­nary col­lec­tion of big and small cats. In Lympne you can find: Bar­bary lion, Chee­tah, Snow leop­ard, Ben­gal tiger, Suma­tran tiger, Clouded leop­ard, Pal­las cat, Ocelot, Fish­ing cat, Siber­ian lynx, Cara­cal, Rusty-​spotted cat, Mar­gay and Scot­tish wild cat. Along with Howletts they house 7 Fish­ing Cats and over 16 Ocelots. Ocelots bred at the parks have been sent to Mex­ico and in time their off­spring should be eli­gi­ble for intro­duc­tion into wild habitat.

Next to this diver­sity cats Port Lympne Wild Ani­mal Park is home to the largest breed­ing herd of black rhi­nos out­side of Africa and the world’s the largest goril­lar­ium, “The Palace of the Apes”.

Port Lympne also offers a safari expe­ri­ence. A safari vehi­cle takes vis­i­tors across the open plains with giraffe, black rhino, wilde­beest, zebra, ostrich, ante­lope and other wildlife roam­ing free. It is even pos­si­ble to stay overnight at a lodge in the park to com­plete the fake African safari adventure.

(Sources: web­site Port Lympne wild ani­mal park; Wikipedia)

05 . 09 . 2011

06 . 09 . 2011.

It is on a windy after­noon that I pay Port Lympne Zoo my first visit, already famil­iar with the thought that I prob­a­bly need more time to cover every­thing what the Zoo has to offer. For­tu­nately, this is enabled by the unique offer that when you buy your ticket you are allowed free entrance for a whole year, pro­vided you give you per­sonal details (includ­ing photo) and let them turn your ticket into a ‘passport’.

The Zoo con­sists of two parts, a reg­u­lar zoo that you can visit by foot and a safari for which you have to board a truck. Right after the entrance you have to decide when you want to do your ‘truck safari’. A truck in old bush style brings you to the most remote part of the Zoo and cov­ers a dis­tance that could be a chal­lenge for many peo­ple. Orig­i­nal walk­ways have been closed or re-​routed since they intro­duced these truck safaris which led to quite some protest from zoo enthu­si­ast, who think the Zoo is turned into a jour­ney park.

With the truck you can return to base­camp (entrance area), but you can also get out close to ‘Car­ni­vore ter­ri­tory’ and walk back to base­camp. While doing so you first come along the Pal­las’ cat enclo­sure. A large rocky exhibit, that con­sists of three dif­fer­ent parts of which the mid­dle part has a moat filled with water instead of a fence to sep­a­rate man from ani­mal. Both Aspinall Foundation’s zoos have good breed­ing results with this small cat species from the Himalayas. Fur­ther down the path you find two Ben­gal tigers (male sib­lings) in a large, recently ren­o­vated, enclo­sure on a slop­ing hill with sev­eral high obser­va­tion posts. In the down­hill part of the enclo­sure the tigers can get eas­ily out of sight. In ‘Car­ni­vore ter­ri­tory’ you can also find Bar­bary lions and African hunt­ing dogs in sim­ple but ade­quate enclo­sures. Unfor­tu­nately it started to rain at that point of the visit, so I decided to return to the car park and come back the next day. But not before I had a look at the red panda, which had an enclo­sure devi­at­ing from what you see in other zoos. The sur­face area is com­pa­ra­ble, but it lacks trees or other oppor­tu­ni­ties to climb, which is absolutely nat­ural behav­iour for a red panda. There are a lot of tree trunks to allow the panda to travel around its enclo­sure above ground level, but this seems not to ful­fill the needs of this par­tic­u­lar species.

The next day the weather had improved and at least it was dry most of the time. Instead of hop­ping on a safari truck I went straight after the entrance to the right towards the Iber­ian wolves, dholes, Amur tigers and Bar­bary lions. The lat­ter con­sist of a large breed­ing group that is scat­tered all over the Zoo in three dif­fer­ent enclo­sures. The two lions on the right side of the entrance have access to two small shel­ters and a large out­door enclo­sure which is fenced off all around. This part has got grass, a few trees but pro­vide no hid­ing places what­so­ever. If you walk around the wire mesh fence the adult male lion becomes even more ner­vous than he already is, and is observ­ing you all the time. The lioness is 8 years old and born with a birth defect of the spinal col­umn. That is why she limps with her right front leg, which shows mus­cle atrophia (accord­ing to a zookeeper). But she is in a good over­all condition.

The Iber­ian wolf pack is housed in a fenced off part of the for­est of Lympne estate, which pro­vides opti­mal shel­ter. But at the time of my visit the pack is ner­vously pac­ing close to the fence. Next door the dholes ( Cuon alpi­nus ) have a smaller enclo­sure at their dis­posal and the for­est is less dense. The other car­ni­vore species in this part of the Zoo is the Amur tiger. Four spec­i­mens (male, female and two cubs) pop­u­late this part of the for­est which con­tains a pond, an grassy arti­fi­cial ele­va­tion, and a shel­ter of which the roof is used as an obser­va­tion post.

When return­ing to base­camp, which is the part of the Zoo located right after the entrance on the left, the snow leop­ard and another Bar­bary lions enclo­sure can be found. Although the snow leop­ard enclo­sure con­tains many enrich­ment ele­ments such as plat­forms at var­i­ous lev­els and tree trunks for climb­ing, there is no foliage at all, and the ani­mal is very exposed to the pub­lic because of the wire mesh fences and roof, with only one small shel­ter. The two Bar­bary lions (male and female) are housed in an enclo­sure with an undu­lat­ing ground sur­face, a small pool, trees, shrubs and high level obser­va­tion posts. It looks as if they are fed using a method to drag or hang the meet, but I have not seen it being used as it was a fast­ing day. Nev­er­the­less they are fed very well, as the male is very fat. Com­pared to the snow leop­ard exhibit the lion enclo­sure is much larger.

Return­ing to Car­ni­vore ter­ri­tory I focused on the small cats. Per­son­ally, I think the term Car­ni­vore ter­ri­tory is a bit mis­lead­ing, because you will not find all of the car­ni­vore species they keep in Port Lympne. Quite a few are housed else­where, such as Amur tigers, wolves, dholes, snow leop­ard and clouded leop­ard. Most of the small cats are housed in enclo­sures built with wooden poles and wire mesh net­ting, with a roof less than two meters high, and dense veg­e­ta­tion. More or less spread over the com­pound you can find sev­eral enclo­sures with fish­ing cats, of which Port Lympne is one of the most suc­cess­ful breed­ers in the world. Apart from these shy small cats you can observe Pal­las’ cat, Scot­tish wild cat, black-​footed cat, cara­cal, ocelot, mar­gay, Indian desert cat ( Felis lybica ornata ), Siber­ian lynx ( Lynx lynx wrangeli ) and rusty spot­ted cat. Regard­ing the Scot­tish wild cat Port Lympne is proud to be part of a con­ser­va­tion effort to pro­tect one of the UK ’s threat­ened species.

Con­sid­er­ing the pri­mates it can be said that only the Guinea baboons ( Papio papio ) and the ones that are housed in the mixed species exhibit — de Brazza’s mon­key, east­ern black and white colobus mon­key, and gorilla — enjoy a nat­ural envi­ron­ment. All the other pri­mates are housed in enclo­sures that are erected with wooden poles, wire mesh net­ting and arti­fi­cial enrich­ment. It must be said that the enrich­ment really is rich, with climb­ing facil­i­ties like wooden beams and ropes, and rub­ber slings. The west­ern low­land gorilla must be men­tioned specif­i­cally. Not only because Howletts and Port Lympne Zoo have the largest cap­tive breed­ing col­lec­tion of these mag­nif­i­cent great apes in the world, but fore­most for the way they are housed. They are kept in what looks like a huge cage with straw bed­ding, both in Howletts and Port Lympne, which I haven’t seen before. The phi­los­o­phy is that the deep layer of straw, which is topped up with fresh straw daily recre­ates the leaf lit­ter of the for­est floor. It also sup­plies a source of heat in the win­ter, almost like under floor heat­ing. Other ideas intro­duced to enhance gorilla wel­fare are enrich­ments such as a vast vari­ety of cage fur­ni­ture and puz­zle feed­ers. More infor­ma­tion about Aspinall’s phi­los­o­phy on gorilla enrich­ment to enhance wel­fare can be found here .

A neigh­bour of the goril­las is the greater bam­boo lemur or broad-​nosed gen­tle lemur ( Pro­le­mur simus ). This lemur is one of the rarest pri­mates in the world with around 150 cur­rently known to exist in the wild, and crit­i­cally endan­gered. They live in bam­boo thick­ets in Mada­gas­car, and their diet con­sists mainly of bam­boo ( 98 %). The Aspinall Foun­da­tion is imple­ment­ing a con­ser­va­tion pro­gramme in Mada­gas­car work­ing in part­ner­ship with local com­mu­ni­ties. Only seven zoos in the world hold approx­i­mately 15 greater bam­boo lemurs in cap­tiv­ity, of which two can be found in Port Lympne Zoo. Belle, the female greater bam­boo lemur at the park gave birth in July 2012 .

Clouded leop­ards:

Amur tigers:

Exotic and native wildlife enjoy the same meal:

Aspinall legacy

• Gorilla enrich­ment

Zoo details

John Aspinall’s legacy is not just the Aspinall Foun­da­tion, but his ideas about how humans may and can inter­act with wild ani­mals have found fer­tile soil in his son Damian. In this video you see Damian Aspinall’s daugh­ter Tansy 18 months old — about 20 years ago — play­ing with a gorilla:

ABC­News brought the news about the release of the video as follows:

A 300 -​pound gorilla picks up a tod­dler and car­ries her as if she’s one of its own in a 22 -​year-​old video that is only now being seen by the masses. The gorilla belongs to Damian Aspinall, who heads a foun­da­tion ded­i­cated to con­ser­va­tion and send­ing goril­las back into the wild. The lit­tle girl in the video is Aspinall’s daugh­ter, Tansy. The blonde-​haired tod­dler has a smile on her face as she pets, plays and is car­ried around by a gorilla. Aspinall said he is releas­ing the video now to bring aware­ness to endan­gered goril­las and to show their gen­tle nature.

(Source: ABC­News , 16 . 09 . 2012 )

Gorilla enrichment

Aspinall’s gorilla enrich­ment to enhance welfare, social groups.

At Howletts and Port Lympne together they are for­tu­nate enough to house the largest breed­ing col­lec­tion of west­ern low­land goril­las in the world. This enables them to keep their goril­las in large age diverse groups. This is one of the sim­plest yet most effec­tive ways of enrich­ing the lives of the goril­las, pro­duc­ing well-​balanced indi­vid­u­als who exhibit species-​specific behaviour.

Cage design

The enclo­sures pro­vide their goril­las with a 3 dimen­sional space. This is achieved in 3 main ways;

The floor area. This is cov­ered in a deep layer of straw, which is topped up with fresh straw daily. This is their attempt to recre­ate the leaf lit­ter of the for­est floor. It also sup­plies a source of heat in the win­ter, almost like under floor heat­ing. At var­i­ous times dur­ing the day they scat­ter small food items such as seeds and maize from the roof of the enclo­sures. By doing so they are encour­ag­ing the goril­las to for­age, which is a nat­ural behav­iour. In the wild they would spend most of the day look­ing for food.

Cage fur­ni­ture. The goril­las are also pro­vided with a vast vari­ety of cage fur­ni­ture. These are all at dif­fer­ent heights and made from dif­fer­ent mate­ri­als. Some are fixed and some are mobile increas­ing the com­plex­ity of the gorilla’s envi­ron­ment. These include nat­ural rope, fire hose, wooden plat­forms, tyres, slides, nest­ing bas­kets and fire hose hammocks.

The space frame. This is the metal frame­work at the top of each enclo­sure. This is the key to the enclo­sure being 3 dimen­sional, like upstairs and down­stairs in your own house. It cre­ates a whole new space for the goril­las, as well as space for the keep­ers to attach cage fur­ni­ture to.

Puz­zle feeders

Puz­zle feed­ers are dif­fer­ent objects that require the goril­las to think and manip­u­late ways of retriev­ing their food. Some puz­zle feed­ers they use:

Honey pots. These are def­i­nitely a favourite of their goril­las. The trays that fit inside the pots are filled with honey, jam, lemon curd or some­times even mar­mite! The goril­las poke sticks through the holes in the top and get a tasty treat on the end of the stick when they pull it back out.

Puz­zle feeder. A wooden maze that clips onto the side of the enclo­sure. The goril­las have to use sticks to manip­u­late the nuts from one end of the maze to the other, where they can get them out of the feeder.

Tombo­las. These are a favourite of their younger goril­las. Small pieces of food are placed inside and as the goril­las spin them around the food falls out. They also pro­vide hours of fun even when empty.

Log feed­ers. Hang­ing or fixed logs with drilled holes that are filled with honey, jam or lemon curd.

Boomer balls. An extremely hard plas­tic ball with holes in it that can be filled with seeds, nuts or pellets.

Bot­tle feed­ers. Plas­tic bot­tles filled with nuts and seeds. The bot­tles before­hand are ster­ilised and free from wrap­pers and caps. This is to avoid cross con­t­a­m­i­na­tion and the pos­si­ble risk of injury to the gorillas.

Depend­ing on the sea­son they are able to offer their goril­las dif­fer­ent novel food items. In doing this they are able to pro­vide a vast vari­ety to the ani­mals’ diet as well as a form of men­tal stim­u­la­tion. They pro­vide large whole pump­kins, whole coconuts, freshly cut maize, dif­fer­ent species of tree branches, and Swedish turnip which has been drilled and filled with good­ies such as honey and seeds. Impor­tantly, because the goril­las are so intel­li­gent, they always have to think up new enrich­ment ideas.

• Direc­tions

Direc­tions to Port Lympne Reserve

Port Lympne Reserve is located in the South East of Eng­land in Kent, and is within easy reach of the home coun­ties of Lon­don, Sur­rey, Sus­sex, and Essex.

Address : Lympne Near Hythe Kent CT 21 4 PD United King­dom

pub­lic transport

Port Lympne Reserve is approx­i­mately a 1 hour and 20 minute train and bus jour­ney from Char­ing Cross or Vic­to­ria rail­way sta­tion in Lon­don, or approx­i­mately 40 min­utes from St Pan­cras Inter­na­tional, Lon­don, on the high speed ser­vice. Take the train to Ash­ford Inter­na­tional sta­tion (which is also a stop for the Eurostar train arriv­ing from France), a travel plan­ner for this train ride you will find here . From here take a bus jour­ney from the domes­tic sta­tion side. The Stage­coach East Kent num­ber 10 bus runs between Ash­ford and Folke­stone via the park. For bus times please call 0871 2002233 or check here .

by bicy­cle

The south­ern coastal region of Kent has many beau­ti­ful scenic cycle routes. When you have access to a bicy­cle and are not afraid of undu­lat­ing ter­rain I would rec­om­mend trav­el­ling to the Zoo by bicy­cle. A great jour­ney plan­ner is avail­able here , where you can find infor­ma­tion on bike shops for bicy­cle hire in the area as well.

If you are trav­el­ling by car Port Lympne Reserve lies on the B 2067 , and is just past Ash­ford, Kent. It is also a short dis­tance from Can­ter­bury, Folke­stone and the south­east coast of England.

Trav­el­ling from Sur­rey and West Sus­sex could not be eas­ier. Your fastest route will be to join the M 25 and travel in the direc­tion of the Dart­ford Tun­nel. Then take the M 26 /​M 20 , and leave the M 20 at Junc­tion 11 just past Ash­ford. Port Lympne is a 10 minute drive from this point. Just fol­low the brown tourist signs to the park. Esti­mated trav­el­ling time from Junc­tion 8 of the M 25 is 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Direc­tions from Lon­don, Essex and East Sus­sex include join­ing the M 25 /​M 26 . Look for sign­posts to the M 20 in the direc­tion of Ash­ford to deter­mine your direc­tion of travel. Fol­low the M 20 to Junc­tion 11 and then fol­low the brown tourist signs to Port Lympne. Esti­mated trav­el­ling time from the M 25 /​M 26 or M 25 /​M 20 inter­change is 45 minutes.

The car park (free of charge) is very large with park­ing bays on the grass and on hard stand­ing. Access to the gate­house and entrance to the park is via the footbridge.

When using Sat­Nav please set the Post code to CT 21 4 LR .

From : --  Choose source      -- Port Lympne Wild Animal Park or

Down­load the zoo map here .

Goal: 7000 tigers in the wild

“ Tiger map” ( CC BY 2 . 5 ) by Sander­son et al., 2006 .

Latest Additions

Tallinn zoo­log­i­cal gar­dens, tallinna loomaaed, stadt haag zoo, tier­park stadt haag, salzburg zoo, krefeld zoo, cerza zoo, cerza parc zoologique lisieux, bratislava zoo, rheine zoo, natur­zoo rheine.

Safaris are back at Port Lympne!

Posted: 28/05/2021

Published 28th May 2021

Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve is excited to announce that its popular safari experiences have recommenced.

These unique tours are like nothing else in the UK, offering a journey through the park’s vast Kentish savannah, seeing such iconic animals as giraffe, rhino, wildebeest and zebra. They offer the best way to experience an authentic, awe-inspiring safari whilst restrictions remain on international travel.    

A range of options are available to visitors, from an hour-long truck safari taking in the reserve’s South American, Asian and African experience areas, to a ranger-guided AAA Safari, which offers unforgettable up-close encounters with herds of giraffe and rhino. 

Port Lympne’s knowledgeable safari drivers and rangers provide a tailored commentary throughout, with ample photo opportunities as visitors are guided through the reserve, set against a breath-taking coastline backdrop. The ranger-guided options offer guests the chance to ask questions and discover more about the overseas conservation work the reserve does in conjunction with The Aspinall Foundation. All profits from the safaris go directly into supporting this important conservation work.

Prices are as follows:

• Truck Safari: £6 (can be added to park tickets when booking online)
• Ranger’s Tour: £45
• Giraffe or Rhino Safari: £75
• AAA Safari: £95

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