If you shoot all day and all the time, it’s tempting to have just one memory card to dump all your photos there and forget about it. Even I was tempted to get a humongous 16GB SDHC card for my Canon 450D.
Why?
Because having a card with a huge capacity is convenient. You don’t have to change cards often, especially if you’re shooting JPEGs.
After our trip to the 15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, my friends and I headed immediately to the Zoobic Safari.
Siesta. This tiger likes to take a nap.
Located at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the Zoobic Safari calls itself the, “only tiger safari in the Philippines.” And with approximately over 20 tigers within its area, it fits the tag perfectly.
The tiger’s cousin can also be seen at the safari–the mighty lion.
The trip to the safari was actually apt as we went there during the Chinese New Year, which ushered in the Year of the Tiger.
Here’s one colorful bird.
But while tigers are the safari’s main attraction, the Zoobic Safari is also home to a host of other animals, including dromedary camels, lions, pythons, parrots, just to name a few.
Settling a dispute. Two Aetas display the dance that is done when settling disputes.
The trip also took us closer to the lives of the Aetas, a group of indigenous Filipinos. They presented several dances they had for different occasions, such as when settling disputes, as well as the ‘monkey dance’.
Demonstrating the ‘monkey dance’.
You can feed the birds for a fee.
We went to the Zoobic Safari during the peak season (October-May), so the entrance fee at the time was P449 for adults (around US$10), and P349 for children (around US$8). The same rate applies during holidays.
A dragon’s tail. Well, not really. It’s a crocodile’s.
However, outside holidays and the peak season, you can enter the safari for only P395 for adults (approx. US$9) or P295 for children (approx. US$7).
Feed us.
There are also other fees for other attractions such as feeding of the animals, and the safari ride. Going to the safari ride is highly recommended as it lets you get up close and personal with the tigers and witness while it is fed with chickens. Want to watch tigers eating chicken? Each chicken costs P200 (approx. US$4.50).
A short telephoto lens was used on this shot to blur the cage in the foreground and put the tiger in focus.
Because you’ll be shooting a lot of caged animals here, I recommend you use a telephoto lens. For this trip, I used my Canon 24-105 f4L mostly at the long end. Using a telephoto lens enables you to blur the foreground, that is the cage, and focus entirely on the animal inside. You won’t be doing much shooting of tigers out in the open, so a short telephoto lens will do (around 100-200mm).
Want more photos of our Zoobic Safari trip? Check out my Flickr Photostream.
For more information on the Zoobic Safari, I recommend you visit their website at: http://zoobicsafari.multiply.com/.
I finally had a chance to catch the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta last February 14. Now in its 15th year, the event was once again held at the Clark Freeport Zone, in Clark, Angeles Pampanga.
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What a week that was. If I were to summarize the entire week, then it would be composed mostly of lots of driving around the Metro. Plus, a bit of Ash Wednesday and Mad Men. View the photos for more.
Was supposed to take a few photos during an event at The Fort last night, until somebody there spoiled the night for me. But that’s not what this post is about. It’s merely an introduction.
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Gala Pinoy Redux is Cedric A. Solidon\'s travel and photography blog, with an occasional offbeat humor thrown in.
The blog originally started in late 2006 as Gala Pinoy, where the author shared his early travels to different parts of the country.
Travel Blog with a Little Humor Thrown In
Traveling sometimes can be stressful, especially when traveling to destinations for the first time. Thus, the author unloads some of the stress by sharing humorous travel insights and photos along the way.
