I went to Noah’s Ark in Locust Grove, GA. This is a place that was put up for animals and children to find a refuge. People can walk through and see the animals that they have rescued. Best part it is free to go see. They do take donations of the monetary kind along with anything else you want to give to help with the kids or the animals.
I went on a Saturday afternoon with my husband and four year old daughter. It was a little warm out but I brought some water with us. I suggest comfortable walking shoes as it is outdoors and fairly spread out. Most of the paths are paved but there are some things you will go off the path to see.
There is a welcome center to go to next to the parking lot where you can see their reptiles as well as drop off any donations you may have. In the welcome center there is also a restroom, which I suggest using because once you go to the animal area there is no restroom for you, and a coke machine.
Outside the welcome center is the alligator pit. It has a suspension bridge that goes right over the water. This bridge provides quite the wow factor for children because you are just a couple of feet above the water. While we were there the alligators were quite active and we saw three swimming in the water and two others sunbathing.
Across the street is where the animal area is located is the best part for me and my child enjoyed it too. In this area there are several animals that roam freely. There are a couple of pop belly pigs that roam around the grounds and that will let people get quite close to although not close enough to touch.
There are deer to include the babies that run around the park. I love this because most of the time a deer will take off on site of a person but these will let you get very close as long as you do not make hurried moves. There is one that will let people walk right up to it and touch it. I must say though there are signs posted that say not to pet the animals.
Then there are the llamas that also run around the grounds in herds. There was one llama that was separate from the other llamas and was running with the deer. The llamas like to run past people so I try to stay out f their path as not to get run over.
The other animals are all in cages. These include lions, bears, birds, wolfs, monkeys, and buffalo. When we were there the lion seemed to be upset over something as he kept walking around and roaring but this was nice as lions are normally asleep. All the big animals are kept in cages that have double fencing and an electric fence. The cages also seem large enough for these animals to have plenty of room.
The only problem I have with the viewing of some of the animals is they can be hard to see because black fencing was used and the cages are large. So if the black bear is at the back of his cage it can be hard to spot him. But since it is a free animal refuge I can not complain much.
There is also a small area for barnyard animals. It contains a couple of small pigs and some goats. The goats will walk up to the fence looking for food and let you touch them. It is harder to get the pigs to come over.
All in all it is a nice area to be located just outside the city. Kids seem to enjoy it and I find it a quite place with few crowds to go and relax. You get to see animals a little closer than you would find in the zoo and it is no where near zoo prices.
The idea behind Noah’s Ark is to help kids and animals that do not have a home. They operate on donations and have never charged to walk around to see the animals. It is a place that is doing kind things and provides a safe place for kids and animals in a dangerous world. I will definitely go back and I recommend the place to anyone looking for a nice afternoon.
