Selwo operates two parks on the Costa Del Sol. Selwo Marina and Selwo Aventura, the latter is where we’re heading today. With Spain being hit by a heat wave, sitting around the pool just didn’t do it for me, so I was itching to find things to do on the Costa Del Sol. Cat and her parents went to Ronda, So I rounded the kids up and went to Estepona, to see some Animals.
Selwo Aventura, Estepona
All the advertising you see around the Costa Del Sol for Selwo Aventura, show a regal Lion surveying his kingdom. African Landscapes with a wild savannah vista. I was excited to see a different type of zoo attraction, since the last one I’d been to was Animal Kingdom in Disney. Although I can’t compare the two, I knew the set up would be totally different.
Selwo Aventura is situated on a hill over looking Estepona (near Marbella). The Park lends it self well to it’s surroundings, taking full advantage of the hills and valleys it is based on.
Upon Entry you receive a park map with times of Animal talks and experiences. We’d missed the “Meet the Cheetahs”, so headed straight up towards the “Meet the Lemurs”. We were very un aware of what to expect, which made the experience exciting. As we approached the enclosure for the Lemurs, I noticed that you had to pass through a meshed gate. Imogen started to get a little wary of going inside. Maybe she was right to, as we were walking into the Lemur exhibit, with Lemurs climbing all around us. There was a park bench with 2 Lemurs sitting on it. I had two little humans hanging off me! Towards the exit I spotted a Lemur sitting on a fence post, but as I positioned for a better photo, I thought it was going to leap onto me! This is certainly a great up close experience and certainly what memories are made of!
It did make me wonder what the meet the Cheetahs was actually like as the Lemurs actually met us!
I decided Meet the Snakes and Meet the Lion wasn’t for us. Instead we went off timetable and just ambled around at our own pace. The Kids were hot and the site was large and hilly. Lots of walking up hill, not as much down hill.
Feeding the Elephants
As we walked through an aviary and avoided the birds we headed to the Elephants.
Two African Asian elephants were roaming around in their enclosure. We had great views of these wonderful animals, so stood watching for a while. By pure chance it was also feeding time. A park ranger came over and handed Imogen and Abigail so food pellets, that looked a little like wheatabix. They threw them to the elephants and we watched them graze on them like a morning snack.
We watched them have a dust bath and investigate cracks in the wall with their trunks. For a pair of slow moving bulk animals they seemed to be very dextrous with their trunks.
Safari Time
As we’d reached the back of the park it was lunch time. Which also coincided with a noisy jeep truck droning off down a nearby path. So we started to queue up for the next trip. The park ranger at the front of the queue was checking tickets. TO take the safari trip you needed to purchase an extra ticket at 15 Euros per person. We’d made it this far we may aswell do the extras!
The Truck took us down a steep dirt track to a gated enclosure. On the left was a white Rhino. Two volunteers were given the chance to feed him. Imogen was straight in to the action. Each armed with a small bundle of grass / hay, they tossed them in towards the Rhino. Who slowly plodded over to investigate what was on offer.
Next up were the Zebras. Again everyone was given the chance to feed the zebras. This time it was from the truck. They were literally nibbling at the side of the truck.
Further round we climbed out of the truck to see the Hippopotamus. This time a Hippo wrangler was feeding them. Apparently they are very aggressive!
There were lots of other animals to see on the short safari ride, including giraffes, antelopes and impala. For the chance to feed these animals alone I felt it was worth the extra ticket costs. Our kids loved the chance to be so up close to them too.
Home Time
We’d been in Selwo for 5 hours and we were exhausted. It was time to make the trek back to the entrance. Back through the Lemurs, who at this point were fast asleep on their backs. Beyond the bird enclosures. Then up towards the ex….. hang on there is more.
We discovered a whole new wing of animals. Red Panda, Peacocks, Wallabies, Hyena and A Cassowary. I’m no David Attenborough, but I believe Cassowary are very aggressive and can slice a human in half with their claws. If thats wrong, I’d rather be wrong and running away than test the claws sharpness. So as it walked towards us at the weak looking fenced corner we moved on.
Selwo Aventura Review
Overall we enjoyed the day out here. The staff didn’t speak much English, but then again I didn’t speak much Spanish. There was easily a full days activities here, including a zip wire over the lake which we avoided. We loved the chance to feed and be so close to the animals, which we’d not experienced before.
There is a joint park ticket available to buy, where you can visit both Selwo parks and ride the cable car. Looking back I think we should have bought that, but we didn’t know what we were going to be doing day to day. Both Selwo Parks are value for money and I think if they were in the UK the cost would have been a lot more. If we were heading back to the area I probably would go back here, but that is mainly due to there not being that many tourist attractions. I;m not a beach or sun bathing person, so activities are always on my radar.
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