Think Animal Planet and River Monsters. Now imagine all these monsters appearing right infront of you. Man-eaters, menacing, powerful, 1 ton monsters, razor sharp teeth, these freshwater fish are the perfect casts for a nightmare!
Daddy ask Yi to pose below a real-size stingray. This fellow originates from Mekong, has a 2m wingspan and maybe weighs 500 kg (not our Bbq variant)
Last Friday, Daddy grab his company’s corporate card and we troop to Mandai. River Safari is in between Singapore Zoo and Night Safari.
River Safari is not only about the Pandas, but woe betide the parents who skip the Panda enclosure. What we wish to say is the giant fishtanks from Mekong to Amazon are cool, and should captivate everyone’s attention.
Talking about water tanks, a few are making splashes (the biggest, the tallest) in Singapore recently. River Safari, Marine Park (Sea Aquarium), and we even snorkel in the Rainbow fishtank at Adventure cove !
Kang loves the Alligator Gar (not related to alligators, adults around 2m and 100kg). Watch them feed with lighting speed (1st Video below)
Did you know River Safari is Asia’s first and only River-themed wildlife park? We get to identify 7 of the World’s river systems.
The cute Red Pandas greeted us at the Giant Panda forest. We saw his cousin in Hong Kong’s Ocean Park last year.
If you are going on a weekend, expect long queue for the pandas. We recommend that you book the earliest timeslot, and proceed straight to The Giant Panda Forest (15min walk)
Panda’s menu.
Video : Kai Kai(凯凯) and Jia Jia(嘉嘉) caught on video + various exhibits
In an earlier story, we knew how the Pandas (Very Important Pandas) took Singapore Airlines from Chengdu (China) to Mandai (Singapore).
Hello Panda, SengkangBabies are here to visit 🙂
Ironically, not many people will have the opportunity to photograph the Pandas together.
The hugh bamboo wallpapers outside the Panda enclosure is ideal for Panda portraits.
At every corner, information billboards allow us to learn about the habitats, ecosystem, and the animals or fishes. Daddy did not even know crocodiles exist in China’s Yangtze.
The information provide an immersive experience for the kids to learn through fun and interaction.
We cross Upper Seletar Reservoir to reach Amazon basin.
Looking at the map below, almost half of River Safari is dedicated to the Amazonian system! A pity the Boat ride (River Quest) down Amazon is not ready yet.
No Xena here, but we did caught a lot of cute animals ! (1230 at Amazon Square)
Eagles, Pelicons, Snakes and cute hedgehog thrill the audience. Those kids sitting infront get to touch the creatures, an unforgetable experience.
Squirrel monkies are so cute, and sometimes friendly. We still have to remind kids monkies are wild animals and we have to keep a distance 🙂
See, Hear, speak no evil, although we got some coordination problems 🙂
The Giant otters play hide and seek with us, Daddy told us these otters can be 2m long !
Not all monsters are carnivorous, the 1 ton manatees are herbivores, but some catfish (Goonch) has a reputation for feeding on human remains !
The amazing Amazon Flooded Forrest is Daddy’s favourite ! Imagine the 1000kg manatees cheek to cheek with yourself on the glass wall! Avoid their feeding time, as we found out the manatees will all be crowding around the diver haha 🙂
Video : Awesome Mekong and Amazon Fish tank
Random photos. There are too many to showcase, pop by our Fanpage for more photos.
We have completed one round (clockwise) of the River Safari, and we went through the earlier Rivers again. Basically it is the other six rivers Mississippi, Congo, Nile, Ganges, Murray and Mekong (we had skip them for the Pandas earlier).
Along the way, we had our Fun moments too, Daddy did remind kids not to roleplay the late Steve Irvin (our idol) and wrestle with real crocs !
Be it Crocodiles, Gharials or Alligator (gars), all look intimidating.
Our last stop is the majestic Mekong river. Daddy told us Mekong flows from China to Thailand! (Catfish can grow up to 3m and weighs 200Kg, Stingray can weigh up to 600Kg !)
Bye Bye our friends. This is the only group photo when Kai Kai and Jia Jia will pose together.
Tips :
1) River Safari is opened from 9 to 6pm. If you are the first visitors on a weekend, book the earliest Panda viewing slots (15 min interval). 3mins watching Kai Kai chew bamboo, 5mins searching for Jia Jia, and the remaining time spend with Red pandas :p
2) You will notice a lot of information about the fish, mammals, creatures, take time to explain to the kids (eg that 2m catfish can swallow a young child alive ! )
3) Everyday at 12:30, an “animal show” will be conducted at Amazon Square (after the bridge). This is a fun interactive event which all KIDS should not miss.
4) You will need about 3 to 4 hours to cover one round. A stroller might be helpful for the smaller kids.
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All our photos are on our Fanpage. The river is calling…
– Website
– Fanpage (WRS)
– Pricing (during soft launch, Adult $25, Child $16)
– Opening hours is 9am to 6pm
– map
credits .. All the maps above are from River Safari homepage
** Do you wish to compare Singapore’s top 3 attractions “Adventure Cove Waterpark, Sea Aquarium and River Safari“?
