A few years ago, I decided that instead of a wrapped gift for my nieces (Katie and Charlie) birthdays, they would receive an ‘Auntie and Niece Day’ as a gift from me. This is a day that’s just the two of us spending time together doing something fun. That day can be anything they want (well…within reason) – shopping, movies, sporting events, a day at the zoo…or even an overnight at the zoo.
And that was exactly what Charlie wanted to do this year – the overnight at the zoo. Thankfully there’s a wonderful program at the Toronto Zoo, the Serengeti Bush Camp.
Both Charlie and I were super excited for our overnight, but also a bit nervous. We had no idea what spending the night at the Zoo would be like. The great news is that we both had an awesome time and would totally do it again!
Our overnight started with a behind the scenes tour with the giraffes (Charlie even got to feed one).
Followed by a visit to the hippos (and they were hungry).
With all of this excitement, we built up quite an appetite as well, which was good because the Zoo served us a great buffet for dinner. After dinner we enjoyed a late night scavenger hunt where we ran around the African section of the Zoo with our flashlights (so much fun), and we listened to a funny campfire stories with s’mores.
Our ‘room’ for the night was an authentic African tent with cots to sleep on where we could snuggle into the sleeping bags we brought with us. In the morning, our adventure continued with breakfast, a tour of the African Pavilion, and the option to stay at the Zoo for the rest of the day to enjoy checking out all the other animals if we chose too.
Overall, the Toronto Zoo provided the perfect environment for this year’s ‘Auntie Kim and Charlie Day’. It truly was ONE WILD NIGHT of fun and great memories that both of us will remember forever.
© 2016, Kim Haveman. All rights reserved.
What a fabulous idea. And what a great aunt you are. Congratulations to Katie and Charlie for ‘choosing’ you!