Revisiting Ark Avilon Zoo in Frontera Verde

First month of the year and we have five Fridays pala! =) I was supposed to publish this feature yesterday but my computer was not cooperating and I didn't feel too good either. Hence, no Friday post. Boo-hoo! Still, I'll follow my Freestyle Friday theme -- anything goes, more photos less text. If you're confused about what I'm writing about, click here to get an idea. Anyhow, good timing naman kasi I wanted to feature our most recent trip to Ark Avilon Zoo and what you can expect to see there now.

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Fun Friday: Day Tour of Yoki's Farm and Balay Indang in Cavite

Third Friday of the month:  Travel / Recreation / Leisure

We have not been back to Tagaytay since last summer, and whenever we get the chance to visit the cool city for the south, we grab it.  Two weeks ago, we excitedly welcomed an invitation to stay at Wilson's Place with a tour of Yoki's Farm and Balay Indang for a complete recreational experience for the whole family.

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Fun Friday: Horse-back Riding at El Kabayo, Subic

Third Friday of the month:  Travel / Leisure

There are a few not-so-ordinary activities that instantly delight my kids, and it involves horses.

Ever since they had their first close encounter with horses in Tagaytay over a year ago, one mention of a planned out-of-town trip has them picturing a day of riding horses!  Since we can't bring them to Tagaytay every time they clamor for their horsey rides, I just bring them instead to nearby Tiendesitas, a shopping and entertainment complex that offers visitors a quick calesa ride around the center. It's one of their cheap thrills that they couldn't say no to. 

On our recent Subic trip, the kiddies finally went galloping one sunny afternoon at El Kabayo Riding Stables. It's a pretty popular tourist spot in Subic so you could easily find your way there since it's along El Kabayo Road. 

Poised and confident on his brown steed

Of course, mommy and daddy have to ride with the boy and the girl, but the boy insists on riding on his own just like the first time. We're so proud!  I was even more scared for him but he did ride with so much confidence.

We were each provided a riding helmet. My girl did not complain about getting a biker's helmet since it was in her fave pink color!  This was the first time we rode as a family so it's safe to say that it was the highlight of our brief summer trip.

All aboard and ready to ride!

We took the 1-hour leisurely ride by the roadside, with a side-trip to a hidden falls and creek in the forest. It costs P700 per horse (approx. US$16) per hour. We took 3 horses. Sorry I can't recall their names. They offer lower rates for shorter rides with no visit to the falls. We went there around noon -- worst time of the day, it was scorching hot our heads were all sweaty under those helmets! Eeew!

Crossing the make-shift bridge over the creek

The "falls" was a dud. See that thin stream of water flowing down the creek? That's it. We only spent a few minutes there just to feed the kids' curiosity, and ours too! :)))

My hubby J has the camera the whole time since I was riding with my daughter, and so I missed taking photos of the landscape and this magnificent row of old acacia trees that we passed through the forest. It was a postcard moment that I will never forget. Another thing I won't forget was how punishing this ride was on my bum!!! I can't imagine how equestrians do it.

Making our way back to the ranch

El Kabayo Riding Stables house close to 2 dozen horses and offer private riding classes. While writing this feature, I discovered there's an El Kabayo Cowboy Town in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga. It looked so cool from the pictures. This will be our next destination if and when we decide to treat the kids to their favorite outdoor adventure! They will be thrilled to the max!

One final shot before we left the stables.  Girl waves, "bye horsey!"

El Kabayo Riding Stables
El Kabayo Road, Binictican
Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Zambales

El Kabayo Cowboy Town
Clark Freeport Zone
Pampanga

You might like to read:
Tagaytay Family Holiday, Album 1
Fun Friday: Calesa in the City
Subic Summer Retreat at Lighthouse Marina Resort


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Clark Field Educational Tour: Zoocobia & Paradise Ranch

I consider being a stay-at-home mom to be a privilege. And one of the perks is that I am able to participate and be involved, whenever I choose to, in my children's school activities.

Aside from the kids' special programs and school events, what I really look forward to are their exposure trips.  No doubt, such trips are great learning experience for the children and bonding opportunity with their parents (if they're allowed to join), aside from building stronger friendships and camaraderie among the students.

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Easter, rabbits, and other creatures from the Ark

"Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again."

Happy Easter to all!

Though we did not make any special plans the whole week, we already had our fun last weekend and I think I still have a slight hangover from that Acuatico family-bonding trip! I'm hoping we can have another out-of-town adventure before the kids go back to school in June.

My children are not fully aware of the significance of Easter yet. Even if they know about Jesus dying on the cross, it is still more an 'eggs and bunny rabbits' day today -- as Easter Eggs and Easter Bunny symbolize new life and rebirth.

Lone white rabbit lost in a sea Guinea pigs

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Tagaytay Family Holiday, Album 2: Paradizoo

Farm Animals, Vegetable Farm, Flower and Evolution Garden, Perpetual Park, Butterfly Garden, Honey Bee Farm, and a host of in-house facilities and activities are available for visitors of all ages in this private-owned zoo and farm.  Welcome to Paradizoo!

What to do and where to go with four kids in tow?  I took a cue from my friend, The Phenomenal Woman, as I found inspiration from her family's Paradizoo experience. So, here's the second installment of our 2009 holiday album.

After checking-in at Taal Vista Hotel and a hearty Pinoy lunch at Leslie's resto-grill, we then drove our way to Paradizoo Theme-Farm in nearby Mendez, Cavite. It was a 20-minute drive from Aguinaldo Highway. The farm is operated by the same owners of the popular Residence Inn & Zoo, another tourist destination in Tagaytay.

The farm was not all that spectacular and scenic, but more of having a provincial rustic charm. Very organic in every sense. So don't expect a modern theme park ambiance as it is really a working farm where a variety of plants and fresh produce are on offer.

First to greet us on the tour was this large dromedary camel. What distinguishes this camel from the ones we usually see in the movies crossing deserts is that this one only has one (1) hump on it's back. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good angle to shoot it's profile to show the single hump. Just for fun, read through the sign below and you may find yourself doing a spell-check ;)

With a friendly guide leading us up and down the path and around the farm, we were introduced to a number of animals we don't commonly see in the city zoo. The tour gave us a better knowledge and appreciation for these friendly creatures as well as the flora and the produce grown on the property.

Mooo, Wagyu -- beef of Japan! 

So this is the famous, and pricey, wagyu -- the melt-in-your-mouth beef cubes / steaks. Sorry, couldn't help but think of the steak when I saw the sign.  It described them as a pure Japanese breed of cattle dating back to 1830, and can live up to 20 years. They are dark, chocolate-brown colored cows that are relatively smaller than their heavier dairy cow brothers/sisters.

'What are they looking at?', you may wonder. Well, we were all waiting for the arrival of the famous Voltes-5!

I'm serious. Really!

Meet Voltes-5, the cow. So, what's so interesting with this cow?

Look closely...closer...closer...

Voltes-5 has a 5th leg!!!  This so-called freak-of-nature cow has an extra leg and hoof dangling on the right side of his front leg.  Thus the name.

We also passed by several goats and kids, hogs and pigs in large pens, geese and chickens freely walking about. Can you spot the shy kid below?

As we cross the field, we spotted a lone scarecrow. I had my sister-in-law pose for a souvenir shot (",)

The farm nurtures a variety of flowers, and grow assorted vegetables for agribusiness.  A few caught my eye, like this 'Mickey Mouse' plant. Also known as Nipple fruit, it has chemical and medicinal properties, and decorative as well.  It looked to me like it's from the tomato family, and seemed like plastic fruits up close.

Getting this close to a bee was a first for me and I was so glad I was able to capture this one as it was pollenating, I guess.

Now correct me if I'm wrong here, but is my imagination running too wild when I thought this looked like The Grinch screaming and pointing a finger towards the sky as it gets frozen as a tree monster?

 

 There was an afternoon drizzle and these cousins still managed to continue with their curious discoveries.

And more wonderful discoveries along the way...

Can you believe these lettuce were like 2 feet high?!

Sss...slithering reptile was camera-ready to pose over our necks when we got to the farm's log cabin. Well, we did not pose with this one if you're wondering.

 

 

We all took a breather from the walking tour and the kids opted to circle around the cabin on rented bikes.

One of the elements in the farm that also caught my eye was their use of solid, natural wood for their tables and chairs, just like the ones found at the log cabin and cafe.  The distressed and antique look of these furniture reflects the Filipiniana theme.

 A golden tree of dried ears of corn stand proud in the field. Pure ingenuity.

These are my favorite shots from the whole trip. Pure emotion captured. My girl was pretty excited to catch a butterfly in the tent but quickly got so scared when it flew straight towards her, not knowing it landed directly on her cap!

Seeing this worm reminded me of one of my girl's favorite book by Eric Carle, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".

And on we went to the bee farm...uhmmm, it was actually a gallery where we got to see and touch a honeycomb. There was also a viewing window of a small colony of bees.

 

The PerPETual Park, or pet cemetery, was totally unexpected yet logical since this is a farm with lots of animals. A most wonderful way to commemorate our dearly departed animal friends.  Sadly, we lost our own pet poodle Sushi when we got home the day after our visit.  Was this coincidence? Creepy.

One of the cutest and most adorable animals I saw in the farm is this miniature pony (?).

Fresh from the farm's wide lettuce patch are these bountiful harvest of crisp greens.  Beside it was a crate of firm green tomatoes also on offer.

Paradizoo Theme-Farm proved to be the perfect choice for our live-wire gang of four, leaving everyone with a fun and unique learning experience that will surely be remembered for a long time. Even for just a day, the bonding time of the cousins are truly priceless.

 

And now they all went quack-ing out of the farm and ready to head back home for some downtime. Goodbye Paradizoo, we had an awesome time. 'Till our next visit!

 

As soon as we left the farm, my parents, my brother and his family drove back home to the city. As for my crew, we headed back to our hotel for more R & R. To be continued... (",)

Move on to Album 3.

Check out our Album 1

Paradizoo Theme-Farm
Km. 63 Panungyan Mendez, Cavite
Tel.:  (046) 413-1244 / 860-2238
Makati Office:
Tel.:  (632) 898-3695

Admission:
Adult - P149
Kids - P99

For tours and inquiries:
Zoomanity Group
3rd Foor, Yupangco Building, 339 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue
Makati City, Philippines
Tel: +63917-8351111

Email: info@zoomanity.com.ph

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