What an adventure my family was on this weekend!

We took a trip to Pine Mountain, Georgia - about an hour drive from South Atlanta - to visit the Wild Animal Safari. Beyond our amazing wildlife encounter experience at Zoo Atlanta, this was really the first time we got so close to such an amazing variety of animals.

Visitors to the animal park have the option of either driving their own vehicles through or renting one of their zebra vans that start at $15. We chose to rent the van which we later agreed was the best decision, because the animals, while not dangerous are also not shy at all and are very anxious to get as close as possible to you and your vehicle! Although we saw several cars in front of us and behind us I truly do not recommend driving your own vehicle through. You'll have a much better time and be more relaxed driving one of their vans.


When you go to buy tickets, you also will have the opportunity to purchase the animal feed. It's recommended that you buy a bag for each person in your party that plans to feed the animals. We only bought two bags for the three of us and quickly learned that we probably could have bought another one since the animals love to eat these little corn treats. Before we even made our final turn out of the animal drive-thru area, we had run out of food.

You will encounter an array of animals on your visit. We had buffalo, deer, elk, emu, cattle, zebras, horses, donkeys, llamas and a strange but very beautiful animal neither my husband nor I were familiar with before make their way to our van. The animal we saw is called an Gaur and I only know this because it piqued my curiosity I researched it when we got home. They are actually cattle from Asia and they are the largest, heaviest and most powerful of all wild cattle (this animal was so big we honestly thought it was some sort of bison). They can grow to be 6-7 feet tall and 8-10 feet long and the males can weigh up to 3,000 lbs!

There are also animals that you will see along your drive that do not have access to your vehicle and they include lions, rhinos and camels.


The drive through park will take about an hour if you really want to stop and take your time feeding the animals. If you want to make it a full day, you can bring food and enjoy lunch with the family at one of their many picnic tables. They also have an on site restaurant if you choose.

In addition, either before or after your drive through, you can walk the park on foot and visit the walk-thru section of the park which is more similar to a traditional zoo experience. Plus, Pine Mountain is also home to Callaway Gardens so there's even more to do in the area.

The Wild Animal Safari at Pine Mountain is a lot of fun and I recommend getting there early in the day because on weekends, it does get quite crowded! All of the animals are quite friendly. It's not your typical petting zoo and you will likely get "slobbered" while feeding these animals, so bring wipes and towels with you (they do have on site restrooms and encourage you to wash your hands after feeding).

While my three year old turned out to not be as brave as she thought she was once those cows and deer started poking their heads through our van, my husband and I found this to be one of the funniest things we've done and laughed so hard the entire time.

I'm so glad we had the opportunity to experience such an up close and personal adventure. And while I probably wouldn't do it again for a while, my husband is all ready to head back down there real soon!

The Wild Animal Safari also hosts church outings, birthday parties, school field trips and more, so if you've got something big to celebrate, and want to do something fun and a little quirky, a trip to this park may be for you!

For more information visist www.animalsafari.com or visit their Facebook page here.