I absolutely love animals & always enjoy visiting different animal spots. On one of the days of our recent weekend trip up north, we stopped by Out Of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde, Arizona. I actually went to this zoo several times as a child when it was located near Fountain Hills, but they moved everything up north further to Camp Verde. Which actually works out better for the animals, as it is typically a bit cooler for them there than the previous location. While it was 85+ degrees down where we live, it was a nice cool 68 degrees with some wind on the day we visited.
The biggest part of this wildlife park that I love is how huge the enclosures are for all of the animals. You'll get lucky and a lot of the animals will be in their favorite spots to lounge within view, and others will be kind of like a safari hunt where you'll need to look for them through out the enclosure. This sanctuary was originally started in 1988 by husband and wife Dean & Prayeri Harrison and their love of animals shows through out the park. Sadly Dean has passed away, but Prayeri is still a huge part of every day operations at the park! In fact she was at the park the day we were there greeting guests, helping answer questions and talk to everyone while they waited in line to buy tickets. Tickets might seem a bit pricey compared to other zoos/animal parks as they are almost $50 per adult, however this is a privately owned park and they have a lot of big cats, bears, etc to provide food to, so that is where the money goes along with the typical cost of operations.
Another big plus about this wildlife park is that the safari ride is included in admission! A lot of other zoos we've been to charge extra for a safari tour, use of shuttles, etc. When you are on the safari you will be right up close to Zebras, Giraffes, and more. If you are lucky one of the two giraffes will come over and take a treat from your hand, or if you are brave enough to put the food in your mouth, they will give you a big kiss.
As I mentioned before, the enclosures are quite large which makes the wildlife park a bit spread out. If you'd prefer not to walk the whole thing & want to get to the back section where a lot of the smaller enclosures are (lizards, snakes, birds, etc) there is a free shuttle that will take you back to the main area. You can also stop at one of four shuttle stops to be picked up to go back to the front gates when you area ready to head home.
Out Of Africa has a large amount of big cats, you'll see quite a few lions, leopards, and wolves. You will also come across bears, porcupines, lemurs and more. All the staff are very knowledgeable about the animals & are happy to talk about them or answer any questions you have. They also feature a tiger splash show, where you'll be able to see some of the trainers interreacting with one of their tigers playing with toys and jumping into a giant pool. Plus for an extra $5 you can feed one of the tigers (safely of course), the tigers looked like they were loving it! You can tell by the healthy coat and of course the little extra pouch under their bellies that they are well fed and well taken care of. All of the animals seemed content and happy. It was also nice to see that aside from one or two of the animals, that all of the enclosures had more than one in it which is great for socializing.
They have extras you can add onto your experience as well, such as an extra tour, ziplining over the park, and animal encounters. This wildlife park is in Arizona & like much of the desert there isn't a ton of shade so remember to bring your sunscreen + a hat and possibly an umbrella along with water of course. All of the pathways are dirt and a bit rocky, some strollers will have no issue getting around but other strollers with the tiny wheels may have issues getting through the park. Wheelchair wise, I would say it is easier if you have an electric scooter vs a regular wheelchair.
Stop by my Instagram or Tiktok page to see a short compilation of clips I took of the animals during our visit.
🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).
🟊 This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this ourselves. I just enjoy sharing awesome spots with my readers.
.jpg)
