Gala Pinoy Redux

“Sa dagat at bundok,
Sa simoy at sa langit mong bughaw”

Isang malayang Araw ng Kalayaan sa inyong lahat!

It’s been a busy week spent with lots of time outside. It’s great to see the outside world from time to time, especially after being cooped up in my room for most of the time. Here’s how the week went: with trains, coffee, miniature items, and models. A crazy combination, but it was all worth it anyway.

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.

Interacting with the Aetas

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’.

Zoobic Safari Entrance Fee 2010

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).

Tips on Taking Photos at the Safari

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).

More Zoobic Safari Photos

Want more photos of our Zoobic Safari trip? Check out my Flickr Photostream.

More Information

For more information on the Zoobic Safari, I recommend you visit their website at: http://zoobicsafari.multiply.com/.

So here I return to travel blogging. But first, we back track.

Back in December 2006, I put up my first blog, Gala Pinoy, where I shared with the world my thoughts and photos of the places I’ve been to, including Cam Sur and Daet.

Then, came a problem. My website was hosted on one of the Philippines’ largest universities, courtesy of a friend. But when she left her work there, I had to fend for myself and do the back end work of my blog. Until the databases and the files disappeared, likely deleted by some IT admin there.

Too lazy to revive almost a year of work, I decided to let go of the former domain in November 2008. Apparently, somebody bought the domain up, and I’m no longer raring to get the original one. Thus, Gala Pinoy Redux.

But enough talk about me. I just hope you enjoy the travel photos and stories that I will share with you in the coming posts. :)

- Cedric