Sometimes the best things to do is right under our own noses. My youngest grandson recently had his first birthday. His parents had a huge party at a local country club to celebrate the weekend before his birthday, but we still wanted to do something special on the day of. We rooted around looking for something to do in Fayetteville NC than remembered that Lee Crutchfield had his Zoo in Cameron up and running so we decided to take a look.
Lee is a great guy, loves animals and people, we made his acquaintance around ten years ago when he owned to the local feed store in Sanford NC and we were raising goats, we used to buy our feed from him. The kids loved going to the feed store because Lee had really made it a special place. The store was loaded with exotic animals and it really made going there to pick up a couple of bags of feed a real outing.
We never expected to find what we did when we pulled into the Aloha Zoo and Safari. This 60 acre preserve is just amazing. The first shock is that it is literally 10 minutes down a country road from our own home. The Aloha Zoo and Safari is locate right off of Hwy 87 literally a 30 minute drive from Fort Bragg and around 15 minutes south of Sanford.
The zoo has many exotic species beginning with the newest addition a white baby Bengal tiger. There are Zorses and Zebras and a sew of farm animals. There is a petting zoo where you can feed all the baby livestock and Donkeys. There is an Avery filled with exotic birds. Peacocks strut the property – all 47 of them with tails on display.
The Safari part is conducted by a big John Deere tractor hay ride style. You are pulled through the vast paddocks filled with animals. The paddocks are home to the Zebras, Water Buffalo, Honey Bears, Turkey’s. Pot Bellied Pigs and a bunch of other animals. At one point on the Safari the caravan comes to a halt and you can get out and feed the animals.
Here is the really unique part about the Aloha Zoo and Safari, most of the animals that are roaming around are rescues. They were either abandoned by owners, or found themselves in places that was not suitable for them and they were confiscated. Lee is extremely dedicated to each and everyone of the animals. There is a zoo manager that is also a veterinarian that lives on site and takes care of the animals along with a slew of volunteers.
Did I mention the load of primates that calls the Aloha Zoo and Safari home? This is simply a great way to spend the day.
The hours of operation for now is 11-4 Saturday and Sunday, but that is due to change to include the weekdays as well. $5 per adult with kids under 2 free. There is a summer camp that is planned as well for children kindergarten age through 12 th grade. Call ahead to find out all the details. The staff is friendly and helpful. Aloha Safari Zoo can be contacted at 919-770-4257.
