So 'our' 11 year old (going on 40) decides she wants to go on a safari for her birthday, being she's cultivated an interest in wildlife and nature preservation. Where does one take a kid in the U.S. to have a safari experience? As it turns out, there are quite a few options!
Safari West (Santa Rosa, CA)
Wildlife Safari (Winston OR)
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido, CA)
Safari West (Santa Rosa, CA)
Bearizona (Williams, AZ)
African Safari Wildlife Park (Port Clinton, OH)
Lion Country Safari (West Palm Beach, FL)
Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (San Antonio TX)
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (Glenrose, TX)
Wildlife Safari Park (Ashland, NE)
Buffalo Safari Jeep Tour (Custer, SD)
Pine Mountain Wild Animal Safari (Pine Mountain, GA)
Virginia Safari Park (Natural Bridge, VA)
Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson Township, NJ)
We wanted something more than just a drive-through wildlife park. We wanted something more interactive and longer lasting than a few minute drive=through. Ultimately we let Ashley decide since it was her birthday trip. She chose Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, NJ. More specifically their Wildlife Safari experience that is adjacent to the Six Flags amusement park. 1 Six Flags Blvd., Jackson, New Jersey
ALL of the above safaris are AZA-accredited, which means the animals are cared for compassionately and to the highest standards, often exceeding government regulations and requirements.
Photo credit: Savannah Sunset Resort
We decided to try something new - the Savannah Sunset Resort within Six Flags Wildlife Safari park itself. A glamping suite to be specific.
This place took glamping to a whole new level.
The tent slept 4 and although Six Flags does not allow you to bring in your own food, the tent did have a mini fridge and microwave. But the best part was the veranda. Where else could you awaken to the sight of giraffes roaming right in front of you and hear lions roaring?
INCLUDED WITH YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS:
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Multi-Park Ticket (Six Flags Great Adventure, Hurricane Harbor and Wild Safari Parks) are included per night stayed / per guest for use anytime in the current season.
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Access to Savannah Sunset private viewing areas, business center, outdoor games, private safari tour and a daily giraffe feeding exclusive to Savannah Sunset Resort guests.
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Nightly marshmallows roasting and entertainment (Friday and Saturday evenings).
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Made to order Breakfast is also included each morning in the lodge.
We'd purchased Gold Passes for the trip before booking accommodations ($79 each) which covered:
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Unlimited visits through the end of next year
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Free general parking
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Unlimited access to Wild Safari
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Unlimited access to Hurricane Harbor
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10% Food & Merchandise Discounts
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Bring-A-Friend Discount Tickets
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Eligible for All Park Passport
They're valid at any of over 40 Six Flags parks, not just the NJ Six Flags Great Adventure park.
If you don't want to stay at the Savannah Sunset Resort...
21 of the Best Hotels in New Jersey Near Six Flags
Day 1
Morning: Arrive in Jackson and get settled in your accommodations.
Once you're settled in take a walk around downtown Jackson and explore it. It's easily walkable.
Money $aving Tip: If you plan to so some shopping, the Shop Downtown Discount Card encourages local shopping by offering exclusive savings at participating downtown businesses.
Shoppers can obtain a discount card by donating $20 or more to the American Cancer Society, unlocking deals of up to 15% at local stores. The program supports local businesses, funds community health initiatives, and helps strengthen the local economy, making it a win-win for both merchants and consumers.
And the American Cancer Society is certainly a worthwhile cause.
Downtown Jackson, NJ, is a place where you can find everything from shopping and entertainment to cultural experiences and outdoor activities.
The Jackson Premium Outlets offer a fantastic shopping experience. This outdoor mall features a vast array of name-brand stores at discounted prices. Shoppers can find great deals on clothing, accessories, shoes, and home goods.
With over 70 outlet stores, it’s a shopper’s paradise. Popular brands include Nike, Coach, and Tommy Hilfiger. The outlet is family-friendly, offering amenities like stroller rentals and a food court for convenience.
1000 Premium Outlets Dr, Jackson, NJ
Afternoon: Have lunch at the Jackson Diner: 23 South Hope Chapel Road, Jackson, NJ
Named as one of the top 5 restaurants in Jackson.
The Jackson Diner is different because not only does it serve up classic diner fare like beef stew, baked meatloaf, a variety of sandwiches, paninis, and more, but it has featured themed menus on occasion like German, Italian, Mexican and Greek. They have an extensive menu.
(If there's one thing you'll discover about Jackson and its surrounding areas, it's that they have an overabundance of pizza/Italian restaurants. A severe overabundance.)
You must try one of their specialty milk shakes, from the classic to funky flavors like Butterfinger (vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, chocolate sauce, and chunks of Butterfinger topped with fresh whipped cream), S’Mores (vanilla ice cream, crushed graham crackers, chocolate and caramel sauces topped with marshmallows, and fresh whipped cream), and Funky Monkey (chocolate ice cream, peanut butter and fresh banana with chocolate sauce and fresh whipped cream).
While exploring Jackson, visit Johnson Memorial Park, located at Cooksbridge Road and Manhattan Street.
192 Kierych Memorial Dr, Jackson Township, NJ
This municipal park has lots of great amenities, including a few sports and athletic fields and a picnic and sitting area. Lots of benches dot the park, so there are plenty of places to rest, relax, and enjoy the outdoors. Grills and picnic tables are available to visitors, and kids enjoy playing in the playground area complete with fun equipment. Plenty of free parking is available thanks to the adjacent parking lot. The park also hosts several events throughout the year for residents to enjoy.
This park has an impressive 95 acres of outdoor space. There are soccer and baseball fields, a tennis court, and a beautiful fitness trail where people can run, walk, or ride their bikes. The picnic area has grills available and is located close to the playground. Athletic fields are
typically open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Pet owners will appreciate the dog runs in the nearby Jackson Dog Park, and dogs may also walk on the main park trails as long as they are on a leash.
Evening: Have dinner at Solo Bella: 426 Chandler Road, Jackson, NJ.
Photo credit: Solo Bella
The smell of fresh-baked bread and simmering sauces will hit your nostrils when you first walk into this quaint place.
The restaurant’s menu includes standouts like linguini with fresh clams, chicken Parmesan, shrimp marinara, eggplant rollatini, and veal Milanese. And the portions? Solo Bella serves up gargantuan-sized dishes, you may want to consider sharing.
The menu caters to Italian family traditions, and if you are 1st or 2nd generation Italian, you’ll love the Sunday special where, for $18 per person, everyone at the table eats and shares the same antipasti, salad, pastas, entrees, and desserts.
Reservations are recommended. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
After dinner return to your accommodations and rest up.
Day 2
Morning: Breakfast was included with our accommodations, but if yours isn't then try Sunrise Diner: 129 N. County Line Rd, Jackson, NJ
Photo credit: Sunrise Diner
Delicious homemade breakfasts at reasonable prices. $
Portions are generous, service friendly.
Off to our wildlife adventure.
Wildlife Safari park map below:
I've done safari rides before, like the one at WDW Animal Kingdom so I really wasn't expecting much our of this safari ride. My assumption was wrong!
Animals will come right up to the truck - over 1,200 animals from six continents including elephants, rhinos, tigers, giraffes and lions. Throughout the excursion, informative guides entertain you and answer questions.
The giraffes and ostriches were particularly friendly. They'd come right up to us and stick their faces right in ours. (Ash and I laughed like crazy when a giraffe actually licked my face - which grossed Jay out to no end.
(Animal spit on your face? EWWWW!)
Because of how close the animals came to us all three of us thoroughly enjoyed this ride. We were glad we'd bought the Gold Passes as we could take the ride again, as many times as we wanted to. Taking the ride once wasn't enough for any of us, we wanted to do it again.
From the safari, it was off to the Wildlife Safari Base Camp. Throughout the day, expert animal educators bring the wild to life, sharing fascinating facts, conservation insights, and behind-the-scenes stories about the animals you see. There were parrots, birds of prey, insects, reptiles, and mammals. You walk through the base camp at your own pace and explore all the exhibits.
Afternoon: We had this little gem recommended to us by a semi driver who stops there regularly for lunch. Wow! Small place but HUGE on flavor and value - Off the Grill: 1650 Old York Rd, Allentown, NJ
Photo credit: Off the Grill
fter lunch we returned to the Safari park so Ashley could do her giraffe feeding for the day. Those giraffe certainly aren't shy around humans!
After lunch head for the Six Flags amusement park.
Six Flags is set up into sections like WDW is set up as 4 different parks. The sections in Six Flag Great Adventure Park are comprised of Boardwalk, Frontier Adventures, Fantasy Forest and Movietown.
The roller coasters are crazy insane in the best way possible.
Mix and match your 3 favorite tacos for only $13.99!
And you can see how huge the tacos are at left! They certainly don't skimp on the fillings! And they're DELICIOUS!
They also make sandwiches, burgers, subs and wraps.
You want to get to Off the Grill slightly before the lunch hour because come the lunch hour, the place becomes absolutely packed with customers.
Open Monday - Thursday 5 am to 9 pm
Saturday 6 am to 9 pm
Sundays Closed
Giraffe feeding
There are 100 rides including a dozen roller coasters. The park is very compact compared to Disney, which makes it easier to walk.
There are 3 kids sections and various restaurants and shops as well.
Photo credit: Six Flags
Go to the park on weekdays and you'll avoid the long weekend lines. Getting there early even on weekdays is advised to avoid possible big lines later on.
My Review of the Six Flags Great Adventure Park
I'd be doing you the viewers a disservice if I didn't give you our (collective) opinion on this amusement park.
There were a number of things we found rather disturbing.
First of all, if you're not staying at accommodations within the park and must drive and park there, you're going to be playing something akin to Dodge Cars as you try to make your way safely to the park entrance. Even little children are forced to do this, which upset us. With what Six Flags charges for everything, there's absolutely no reason apart from straight up greed that they couldn't run a couple of shuttles in that parking lot to get their guests safely to the park entrance!
We noticed the park seems to be in a state of deterioration and that less than honest attempts are made on this front. For example, we saw a years old roller coaster that had merely been repainted and new signage put up...advertised as being a "new" roller coaster still running on the same years old track. There's nothing wrong with refurbishing a roller coaster and renaming it. But don't try to pass it off to paying guests as being "new".
We all know amusement parks are deliberately designed to be money pits. This is hardly rocket science.
But Six Flags has taken it over the top, especially where its food concessions are concerned.
Expect to pay over $50 for two small garden salads with a small bit of grilled chicken, a very modest pulled pork sandwich, three small fruit cups, and three bottles of water. The food was just “ok”, but absolutely not worth the exorbitant cost.
Limit your food to snacking in the park but eat meals outside of the park. Bottles of water and three small ice cream cups were an additional $20 plus at another concession stand.
Photo of one of the concession stand food signs:
Almost $30 PLUS an added $1.30 surcharge for 2 average sized slices of cheese and pepperoni pizza that I'm sure were mass produced and frozen prior to the concession stand throwing them in the oven?!!
This isn't a case of "increased labor & supply costs". This is a case of bold faced GREED on the part of Six Flags. No wonder Six Flags has begun announcing park closings if this is how they intend to operate!
Six Flags announces on its website that there's live entertainment. We saw no such thing anywhere in the park. Apart from going from ride to ride, there's little else to do except get pickpocketed by Six Flags.
If you're going to deny riders taking anything with them on the rides, then provide adequate storage facilities to secure their belongings while on the rides. We actually had one park employee tell us to "Hide your water bottles in the bushes" when he said we couldn't take them on the ride. HIDE THEM IN THE BUSHES?!! SERIOUSLY?!!
There is a bank of lockers somewhere in the park that of course, you pay for. But if after 2 hours you're not back at that locker, it automatically opens so that just anyone could steal your stuff. And no one is going to walk halfway across the park between each ride to put something like their water bottle in a locker!
Nor was this nonsense being enforced consistently! We noticed riders who had purchased what amounted to Fast Track passes being allowed to take huge stuffed animals they'd won on the ride simply because they'd paid hundreds of dollars more for those Fast Track passes.
We also felt the rides were extremely short in duration for the amount of time one could spend standing n line in order to ride one. Even the little kid's carousel only made 3 turns before the ride ended.
Yes, we had fun on the rides. I won't deny that or the fact that most park employees were friendly and helpful. But by the end of our first evening there, even the 11 year old kid had announced "This place is a RIP OFF!" We'd originally planned to spend another full day in the amusement park...but none of the 3 of us had any burning desire to do that and we changed up our itinerary.
So BUYER BEWARE.
That review does not pertain to the Wildlife Park! It was beautifully run and maintained, The only complaint I had about it was Six Flags didn't allow you to bring your own food in, thinking they were going to force you to eat at their grossly overpriced restaurants in yet another money grab. We never ate in the amusement park after that first night. In fact, we never returned to it. Only Ashley did for a day with a friend she'd met in the glamping park who hadn't yet been to the amusement park.
Day 3
Morning: If breakfast isn't included with your accommodations, have breakfast at Rosemary Artisanal Bagelry: 1135 E Veterans Hwy Building 1 Unit 9, Jackson Township, NJ
Talk about homestyle (and kosher)!
Rosemary's boils and stone-fire cooks their own bagels and ferment their own sourdough. They even make their own mayo and dressings.
Rosemary's serves breakfast, brunch and lunch.
Their fare includes soups, snacks, sandwiches, wraps, Artisanal toasts, fish, pasta, pizza bagels, burritos and more.
Average prices per breakfast item range from $6 to their single most expensive menu item being $19 so everything is very reasonably priced and the food very good.
Sun-Thur: 7:00am - 4:00pm
Friday: 7:00am - 12:00pm
Photo credit: Rosemary's Bagelry
Our trip was about wildlife and wildlife conservation so we scrapped our plans to spend the day in the amusement park and drive 45 minutes to Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge: 800 Great Creek Road, Oceanville, NJ
We're both passionate about wildlife and its conversation and Ashley has developed this same interest so we wanted to incorporate learning experiences into her trip as well as fun.
Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge protects more than 48,000 acres of southern New Jersey coastal habitats. More than 82 percent of Forsythe refuge is wetlands, of which 78 percent is salt marsh, interspersed with shallow coves and bays. It's also a critical location where bird migration is concerned.
As you just saw in the video, the 8 mile long Wildlife Driving Tour is just beautiful.
The Refuge Entrance Pass costs $4 per car daily. The fees collected fund safety services, trail maintenance, interpretative programs, and facility improvements for visitor enhancement. At least 80% of the recreation fees collected at national wildlife refuges and national fish hatcheries stay at the location they were collected.
In addition, an Interagency Pass is also required because the refuge is run by the NPS. We already had an annual senior pass so we were covered. Fee and Pass information here.
When you arrive at the Refuge, stop at their Visitor Center.
You can pay any admission fees and purchase Passes here, ask any questions you may have and learn what programs are available during your visit.
We were glad to discover the Refuge had a Junior Ranger Program in which Ashley could participate in during our visit to the Refuge.
The Visitor Center
ou can pick up or download and print out the age appropriate Junior Ranger booklet for your child. Complete 6 tasks in the booklet during your visit, stop back at the Visitor Center once your child has their booklet tasks completed and they will receive their Junior Ranger badge and a certificate.
Your child can borrow an Adventure Backpack while you’re there! If either the Headquarters Building or Friends of Forsythe Shop are open during your visit, you can sign out an Adventure Backpack filled with supplies such as binoculars, tape measure, pencils, sketch paper, bug boxes, and more! Backpacks are available during normal business hours:
•Headquarters Building: Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
•Friends of Forsythe Shop: Weekends Spring and Fall 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
(**Backpacks are helpful but not required for completing activities)
We actually did this activity with Ashley and after our visit she told us she enjoyed that much more than another day at the amusement park. She didn't just complete 6 tasks in the booklet, she completed ALL of them!
Afternoon: Although we spent all afternoon in the wildlife refuge, we did break for lunch and then return to the refuge so Ashley could complete her Junior Ranger program.
Have lunch at nearby The Smithville Inn: 1 N. New York Road, Galloway, NJ
This is a more upscale restaurant whose prices won't break the bank.
They even have their own carousel!
We wanted to treat Ashley since she was doing such a great job on her Junior Ranger program.
They have a fantastic lunch menu with plenty of options to choose from.
Jay had a Prime Rib Sandwich he said was excellent, priced at a reasonable $19 - one of the most expensive lunch menu items.
I had a Crab Cake Sandwich, also $19 and delicious. Ashley had the Chicken Caesar Wrap at $16.
After lunch, head back to the Forsythe Wildlife Refuge to finish exploring. The refuge includes several scenic trails that pass through coastal wetlands, freshwater ponds, early successional fields, and woodlands.
There is a fee to hike the trails.
If you haven't done the 8 mile Wildlife Drive, it features two wildlife observational towers, a boardwalk extending over the salt marsh with views of the Atlantic City skyline, and links to a network of trails, providing opportunities for hiking, wildlife observation, photography, and more. By all means take this drive and if you're physically able to, climb one of the observation towers. The view is breathtaking at the top!
Evening: We had dinner at Hoffman House, 94 N. Front Street, Kingston NY. If there's one thing we discovered about dining in the Jackson/Kingston area it's that there's an overabundance of pizza and Italian restaurants.
Hoffman house serves a twist on American/Italian fare. You can't beat the atmosphere...the restaurant is in a beautifully restored 1711 colonial stone house and they have an outdoor covered dining patio set in a gorgeous garden.
After dinner return to your accommodations and relax.
I'd found the Horse-opoly game I'd been watching for on sale at Kohls and had given it to Ashley for her birthday as she loves both Monopoly and horses. We made popcorn and played Horse-opoly out on the veranda, which was soooo relaxing.
When it got dark we headed over to the firepit for the roasting marshmallows resort get together. Ashley met another girl her age (Leah) which was great as Leah's family was also staying in Savannah Sunset Resort and doing the wildlife safari so the girls could do it together on their own the next day.
I ordered Coconut Encrusted Chicken with a peach apricot sauce.
Put it this way...if it hadn't been considered uncouth to lick your plate in public, I would have! It was that good.
Some reviewers complained Hoffman House was pricey but we didn't feel that way at all! My entree was $20. Jay had Grilled Leg of Lamb - Rosemary & garlic marinated boneless Leg of Lamb grilled, thinly sliced and topped with garlic butter, served with mint jelly. $22 for boneless leg of lamb is cheap compared to what other restaurants have charged for it.
Day 4
Morning: Have breakfast at The Mug Rack: 70 West Veterans Highway, Jackson, NJ. Locals recommended!
What a brilliant idea! Why don't more restaurants do this?!!
I had a great time talking with fellow officers, etc.
Family owned and operated and you can tell by the friendly atmosphere it's a local haunt.
The morning we stopped there, they'd invited local police to breakfast to strengthen the bond between them and the community they serve.
The breakfast was great too - but then the locals always know the best places to go. Nice relaxed, casual atmosphere where you don't feel the need to rush through breakfast and can strike up conversations with the people around you. Extensive menu at reasonable prices too.
The girls were going to spend the day together, leaving Jay and I free to do whatever we wanted to.
We decided to drive 30 minutes to Allaire State Park and the historic Allaire Village: 4265 Atlantic Ave.
Farmingdale, NJ.
What a fantastic historic village and park! Although the walk-through video below was filmed in fall, it will give you an idea of what the historic village is like.
Stop at the Visitor Center, located in the row houses shown below.
If you're going to use the trail system, pick up a map as the converging trails can get confusing and you don't want to get lost!
The visitor center is open seasonally and for special events, please call the Allaire State Park office at 732-938-2371 for operating hours.
A network of trails winds through the park providing opportunities for hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders. Several moderate hiking trails are in the main day use area of the park, close to
The Visitor Center is located in this rowhouse
the main parking area. The “South Side” area of the park is approximately 800 acres of varying terrain and has miles of unmarked trails as well as four primary marked multi-use trails. The South Side trails trailhead is off a large gravel parking lot located on Hospital Road.
Bring your mountain bike along! We rode a couple of the shorter South Side trail loops that are multi-use by hikers, bikers and horseback riders.
The park also has a narrow gauge railroad! Established in 1953, the Pine Creek Railroad is an example of rail travel at the height of the steam era in the United States. The diesel, narrow-gauge trains are operated by the NJ Museum of Transportation (link is external). For more information, call 732-938-5524.
Afternoon: We'd packed a picnic lunch so we wouldn't have to leave our park activities. Picnic facilities are provided for family outings in attractive wooded settings adjacent to the village. Charcoal grills, tables and sanitary facilities are provided.
We biked the 1.6 mile River Trail Loop after our picnic.
The River Trail Loop winds through various forest growth area's diverse ecosystems. There are sweeping river views as you go along the trail. The trail features shaded sections. However, be prepared for spots that may require careful navigation, there are wet and muddy spots along the way. The trail is rich in flora and fauna - a very pretty ride.
After you've explored Allaire Park and Historical Village, return to Jackson.
Drive 13 miles to Freehold for dinner at Lemon Mediterranean Restaurant: 3475 US-9 North, Freehold, NJ
Hallelujah, something besides Italian! Although the cuisine is an interesting combination of many splendid cuisines, such as Spanish, French, Moroccan, Greek, and Italian. By then we were ready to spend a month's income on something besides Italian.
This was food to die for. Everything was absolutely amazing!
Following dinner return to your accommodations and do something relaxing.
Day 5
Morning: Have breakfast at Bagel Run: 341 N County Line Rd, Jackson, NJ. Locals recommended.
Alongside their signature bagels, they serve freshly baked muffins, rich coffees, homemade French toast, hearty breakfast platters, omelets, sandwiches. Their bagels are kettle-boiled, hand-rolled, and baked fresh daily. The owner, Sam, brings over 20 years of experience in the bagel business, having successfully run multiple bagel shops throughout New York before bringing his expertise to Jackson.
(Jay's a NY bagel connoisseur and he gave the Bagel Run bagels 2 thumbs up) We even bought a box to take back with us to the resort - whether Six Flags liked it or not)
Drive about 40 minutes to Rancocas Nature Center: 794 Rancocas Rd., Westampton, NJ.
The preserve is a non-profit organization situated on 210 acres of the Rancocas State Park with 3 miles of hiking trails through meadows, forest, and wetlands. The Center opened its doors in 1977 and has provided the area with a year-round variety of environmental education programs for all ages, both on-site and off-site, for schools, scouts, libraries, senior citizens, and the general public.
In going through the programs offered Ashley found one she wanted to
participate in. Problem was, you had to be 16 years old. Uncle Jay wasn't about to let that deter him from trying to get her into the program. He spoke to the naturalist in charge of the program, then called Ashley over, saying "There's someone I want you to meet. She'd like to see your travel journal."
Ashley shook her hand saying "Pleased to meet you" and handed over her travel journal. She went thrrough it page by page, then said to Jay "Oh I think we might have room for her if you'll sign a waiver."
A facsimile of what Ashley's jounral looked like
I'm sure it may have helped matter that Ashley is a Girl Scout.
As you may have gathered if you've read other sections of this site, Ashley journals and the program she wanted to take was a 1.5 hour Nature Journaling Hike. We also bought her a membership ($35) to the Nature Center as we firmly believe in fostering Ashley's education on these trips and her interest in wildlife/nature and their preservation.
The Rancocas Nature Preserve is gorgeous and has so much to offer no matter what your age. Admission is FREE but consider making a $2 per visitor donation to help support the Preserve. You'll get your 2 bucks worth.
Stop at the Visitor Center. The Nature Center Visitor's Center includes a nature store, trail maps, high quality bird seed for sale, live animals, natural history displays, and restrooms.
Current Hours:
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays from 12:00 to 4:00pm
The Reserve has 3 Miles of hiking trails on a range of landscapes. TRAIL MAP
Plus, see a dragonfly pond, frog pond, a Monarch Waystation, the Sensory Play Area, and more! Open 7 Days a Week, All Day until Dusk. No dogs or bicycles allowed in the Reserve.
Photo credit: Rancocas Nature Preserve
The Reserve also has several wooden picnic tables and benches for public use.7 days a week, all day until dusk. Clean up and carry-out all trash and no grilling, smoking, or playing music from any speakers. You can easily spend a morning and afternoon at the Reserve, especially if you participate in one or more of their programs.
Afternoon: Normally we avoid chain restaurants but even Ashley had had her fill of pizza and Italian so we had lunch at Cracker Barrel: 110 Hancock Ln, Westampton, NJ. (Westhampton is also listed as Mount Holly to avoid any confusion here)
From Westhampton we returned the 39 miles to Jackson and our accommodations so we could do one more safari ride and Ashley could feed 'her' giraffes as she'd come to call them.
For your itinerary do whatever pleases you for Day 5 afternoon. It's your free R&R time to do any last minute things you haven't done but want to do.
Evening:
Have dinner at Plumstead: 457 Pinehurst Road at Route 539 Cream Ridge, NJ.
Plumsted Grill is an eating establishment that offers a variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, side dishes and seafood items. Its menu includes French onion soup, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, beef nachos, stuffed mushrooms, buffalo shrimp, Maryland crab dip, Caesar salads, strip sticks and fried pork chops.
Plumsted Grill also serves baby back ribs, lamb chops, veal marsala, chicken parmigiana, broiled scallops, and roast beef.
Gyro Platter
Hours of Operation:
11 - 9:30PM Sunday - Thursday
11 - 10:30PM Friday - Saturday
Day 6
We headed for home so we could set up Ashley's birthday safari party at home. Unless you're going to keep things uber simple, this is a party better thrown at home than on the road if you want to bring a WOW! factor to your party.
Start with your largest focal wall in your venue room.
The first thing I did was make a corner waterfall that's very easy to do.
The "rocks" are just boxes wrapped in somewhat crinkled kraft paper and hot glued. To make the rock sides of the waterfall you do the same thing, just stack and hot glue the box "rocks" on top of one another.
The water in the waterfall is an inexpensive metallic blue fringe curtain. The white "froth" at the bottom of the waterfall is cotton coils used by hairdressers when perming hair. Just puff them up. The "pooling water" is shower curtain liners, $1 each from the dollar store. The foliage is artificial from the dollar store as well.
You can also add live houseplants around the waterfall if you wish.
If you can find to-scale stuffed jungle animals to surround the pool, great. If you can't, don't sweat it.
The waterfall was placed in one corner of the venue wall.
On the largest portion of the wall I covered it with a photo backdrop. You can buy these for around $20.
I then made the photo backdrop more 3D by adding items I had around the house: my grandmother's steamer trunk, my grandfather's railroad lantern, a safari chair, a corrugated DIY barrel, a pair of binoculars, a DIY campfire. The only things I bought were the cardboard stand up figure of the safari hunter and a stuffed giraffe from a secondhand shop.
One of my clients had me throw two safari parties for her - one for her adult friends, one for one of her kid's birthdays. How shall I put this nicely? She was a perfectionist no matter the cost.
She found a photo she loved of a jungle dining venue - below. You don't have to go this crazy, this is just to give you ideas.
I found discontinued animal print tablecloths on sale for $7 each. She found animal print dinnerware at a rental store near her and we used large plastic leaves as placemats. I went on a stuffed elephant safari, looking for little stuffed elephants to use as napkin holders. I hit the jackpot at a secondhand shop that had a large above ground pool set up FULL of stuffed animals. 25 cents each. (I;m sure every customer walking in thought there was a lunatic loose as I stood IN this pool digging for elephants.) I hung my camo hunting net from the ceiling with 3M removable hooks and used twisted kraft paper for vines woven into the netting.
I don't know what she paid to rent the dinnerware, but the rest of decorating the dining area came to under $100.
For the table centerpieces, I used glass jars I'd saved, hot glued to wood slices I cut from a log on my wood pile. I glued Spanish moss around the jar, onto the wood slice. I got a bunch of plastic jungle animals at the dollar store and hot glued them to the wood slice. I had the palm fronds in my party supply inventory, filled the glass partway with gravel and anchored the palm fronds in the gravel.
For a kids party just use safari or jungle themed disposable dinnerware.
I don't know where my client found them but she found nearly life-sized stuffed jungle animals for rent from an event planner. $10-$15 each to rent.
Just so you know there are event planners that apparently do this...
They had giraffes, rhinos, elephants, zebras, tigers and lions they rented.
We used some of these around the waterfall watering hole.
Apart from your focal wall, just scatter jungle theme type items here and there in the rest of the room - a compass, an old looking map, a pith helmet, etc.
My client also wanted a safari outfit for each child. Costumes are outrageously expensive now so after some digging, I found this 12 count set for $35.
Food/Menu
In my experience kids don't typically eat a lot at parties. They're too hyped up over the games and activities. So doing sandwiches, fruit, veggies, etc. usually suffices for kids parties. By keeping a jungle/safari theme to them the kids are more likely to want to eat.
Here are some safari themed foods for kids:
Games & Activities
Sleeping Lions
Sleeping Lions is easy to set up and requires no props—just a good sense of humor and a bit of imagination.
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Number of players: Minimum of 6 children
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Ages: 6 years and older
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Setting: Indoors or outdoors
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Materials needed: None
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Play time: Around 10 minutes
Set the tone of the game by explaining the roles clearly. Here’s how to organize it:
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Choose the Hunter: Select one child to be the “hunter.” Their job is to make the other kids laugh or move—without ever touching them.
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Sleeping Lions Lie Down: All other players lie down on the floor like “sleeping lions,” remaining perfectly still and silent.
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Start the Game: The hunter walks around, telling jokes, making silly faces, dancing, or imitating animal sounds to get reactions. No physical contact is allowed.
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Awakening the Lions: If a lion laughs, giggles, or moves, they become part of the hunter team.
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Winning the Game: The last remaining lion who hasn’t moved wins the round.
The music I used:
Fun Variations to Keep the Game Fresh
If you plan to play multiple rounds or want to increase the challenge, try one of these versions:
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Blindfolded Hunter: Adds difficulty and heightens the sensory fun.
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Silent Hunter: Only gestures allowed—no speaking!
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Team Challenge: Start with two hunters working together.
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Strategic Lions: Let lions adjust their position slowly for more dynamic play.
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Reverse Focus: Have multiple hunters team up to get one lion to react.
King of the Jungle
After arranging the chairs and seating the players in a circle, it’s time to assign roles and begin the jungle mayhem.
1. Assign animals and gestures
Each child is assigned an animal along with a unique gesture or sound. You can let them choose, or assign from this fun list:
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Gorilla – Pound your chest and grunt
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Elephant – Use one arm as a trunk
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Bird – Flap your arms like wings
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Chicken – Tuck hands in armpits and flap
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Alligator – Make a chomping motion with both arms
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Bear – Curl fingers into claws
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Lion – Frame your face with your arms and growl
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Snake – Wiggle your arms like slithering
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Fish – Pucker lips and mimic gills with hands
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Monkey – Puff cheeks and pull ears
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Worm – Wiggle a pinky finger
2. Establish the rhythm
The game leader—“the King”—starts a 5-beat rhythm that all players follow:
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Pat knees
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Clap hands
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Point left thumb left
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Point right thumb right
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Make another player’s animal gesture
The player whose animal was just mimicked must repeat the rhythm and call out a new animal gesture on beat 5 to pass play.
3. Handle mistakes
If a player messes up the rhythm or does the wrong gesture, they move to the left of the King, and everyone between them and the King shifts seats clockwise. Players then take the animal assigned to their new seat—meaning everyone has to stay alert and adapt!
This continues until everyone has had a turn or the group decides to restart.
Safari Scavenger Hunt
Regardless of what themed party I was throwing, if I found a game or activity the kids really loved, I'd reuse it by putting a twist on it that fit the theme of the party I was currently doing. A scavenger hunt was always a hit with the kids. I repurposed this hunt by simply putting mini plastic jungle animals in the plastic eggs instead of dragons for the medieval party. (Make sure you get the LARGE plastic eggs!)
I put animals in some of the eggs but not all of them. If a child found an egg with an animal in it, he/she won a small prize. The prize can even be the animal they found in the egg. If they found an empty egg, they were instructed to leave it where they found it so another child could find it. I'd also hide dollar bills in a few of the eggs and a $10 bill in just one of the eggs. This made the game far more interesting as every kid wanted to be the one who found that $10 egg!
DIY Animal Masks
Another activity the kids really liked was making their own animal masks. You can go really simple making these masks or more complex depending on the ages of your party guests.
DIY Binoculars
Alligator Ring Toss
You can make a ring toss plywood board with holes in it through which to toss beanbags or Amazon sells this ring toss game for $11. Whoever gets the most rings on the alligator wins. We used the game itself as the prize to the winner.
Animal Costume Contest
On the invitation, include that there will be an animal costume contest. When everyone gets there, have a competition to decide who has the best costume. Bonus points if they do an impression of the animal they are dressed up as!
Take advantage of inexpensive printables
You can find inexpensive game printables all over the Internet.
The kids liked Wild Animal Bingo.
Let them use mini plastic animals or Animal Crackers as Bingo markers.
For inexpensive prizes and party favors I could buy in bulk, I went to Oriental Trading Company.
They also carry safari themed party decorations in bulk.
Adopt An Animal
Set up an Adopt An Animal station. Before the kids leave, let them adopt a stuffed animal.
For older kids who could read I made up stories about each one on a string tag and attached a story to each animal.
Jungle Animal Trivia
For older kids I made up my own Jungle Animal Trivia Game. I wrote the trivia questions and answers on index cards. The child who got the most answers correct won a prize.
For example:
What is the ancestor of all cats?
What is the fastest land animal?
What type of animal is a Gorilla?
What is the largest land animal in the world?
What animal has the longest tail?
What animal lives in the Amazon rainforest? Jungle Animal Trivia For Kids
Lion, Lion, are you Hungry?
I used this one to burn off the kids excess energy when they were getting a bit too wound up.
One person is the lion, and stands at one end of the yard. The kids are at the other end of the yard. The kids yell together, “Lion, Lion, are you hungry?” to which the Lion will say “No, not really, come closer”. The kids will all come a little closer and ask the question again. This happens over and over, until the Lion finally answers “Yes”! At this point he tries to catch as many children as possible and they become lions too. The game starts over, with the new lions on one side of the yard and the other kids at the other side of the yard.
Loose Animals
This is always a fun jungle theme party game and involves a game keeper trying to round up some loose animals. In advance make some cards (one for each child) and stick a picture of a wild animal on each. Mark out 2 lines several feet (or yards) apart on the ground and have the kids stand in between the two lines.
Choose one child to be the gamekeeper and the others are all given an animal card. Tell them to keep their animal identity secret from the gamekeeper. The gamekeeper then patrols the park and shouts out the name of an animal.
If an animal hears his name he must run past the gamekeeper wherever he may be and touch the other chalk line before the gamekeeper catches him. If caught he must leave the playing area and is said to have been put back in the game park. The last animal caught becomes the next gamekeeper.
Tarzan Swing
The kids loved this one no matter what their age. Just be sure to tell your party guests to bring their swimsuit and a towel to dry off with BECAUSE THEY WILL GET WET! This one is great for a hot summer day too.
You'll need:
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A very sturdy tree limb
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A very sturdy rope with a couple of knots tied in it near the end of the rope
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A kids wading pool
I bought one of those 3 in 1 kiddie pools that sprayed water jets. ($30)
Fill up one or more wading pools with water and place them under a strong branch of the tree. Put plastic crocodiles in the water to make it "swampy." Tie a jungle rope to the branch and let it hang down so the kids can easily reach it. Tie in a couple of knots to make the rope easier to grab.
The kids take turns to see if they can swing across the swampy water without falling in. Naturally they are going to want to get in at some time so be prepared for lots of wet kids!
I found that 3 in 1 pool was the best $30 I could have spent. The kids would have played Tarzan Swing for the rest of the party if I'd let them! They WANTED to get soaked and the spraying jets of water helped them do just that.