by Steve

We have fallen into a travel pattern of spending 7 months on the road, from April through October, and then 5 months in Tucson. Unless there's a global pandemic, and then we might sit tight for a while. This means that we are typically traveling back to Tucson in late October. There really are just a few ways to get to Tucson: either we are coming down from either the north, through Flagstaff; from the east, through Las Cruces; or from the west, which would be from either Las Vegas or Yuma. Since we have spend a far bit of time exploring Utah, we are usually coming from the north. A convenient stopover a couple of hundred miles from Tucson is Camp Verde, and we've stayed there 4 times now.

We have found a number of interesting things to see and do within a short distance of Camp Verde. There are several National Monuments, including Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. There's the historic mining town of Jerome, and the red rock country of Sedona. We've been to all of them a few times now. But right outside of Camp Verde is an attraction that we had not seen: the Out of Africa Wildlife Park.

Some of the first animals you'll see when you visit are giraffes. There are three of them, and they will put their head into the tram you are riding to take a piece of celery from your hand. (Celery is provided as you board the tram.) As the tram takes you through a large area you'll see giraffes, antelope, zebras, ostrich, water buffalo, etc., all roaming freely.

The zebras are the bandits of the group, having learned how to hold up the tram until the driver gives up some food.

These guys look like they are grinning about some inside joke.

Up the hill from the "safari" area that is accessible only via the tram is a whole series of large fenced-in areas for predators that couldn't be trusted to not eat the zebras or giraffes. The first one we saw was a tiger. Not just your normal run-of-the-mill tiger, but a rare white tiger.

We saw this white tiger right after seeing a regular orange tiger. And we thought "Wow, they have 2 tigers"! But as it turns out, they have a whole lot of tigers. We lost count, but think that it's at least a dozen. Most all of them are rescues. 

Then there are the lions.

One of the nice things about this park is that the lions and tigers have larges spaces to roam. Some of their enclosures are connected to others, giving them extra spaces to explore and live in. But the best part is that there are viewing platforms that enable you to see the lions without having to look through a fence. We were fortunate to find a group of lions that appeared to be posing for us. 

At this park, I got some of the best big cat pictures that I've ever taken. In addition to the lions and tigers, we also saw panthers and a mountain lion. The mountain lion is named "Sage" and knows its keeper's voice. When the keeper calls, the puma responds with a squeak. I don't think I've ever heard a mountain lion before.

A variety of other animals round out the residents of this park. Here's a face that only a mother could love.

If you look at the ears on this fellow, you'll see that he's really interested in whatever sounds we are making. He's not interested in eating us, despite the drool. Rhinos are herbivores. 

If you find yourself in Camp Verde and have some time, the Out of Africa park is worth a visit. Expect to spend around 4 to 5 hours if you want to see the whole park. Wear sturdy shoes and plan on a fair bit of walking. Don't expect a lot of creature comforts for the visitors. The roads and walkways are not paved, and there are only a couple of spots in the park with drinking fountains and bathrooms. But that all adds to the rustic wild feel of the place.