Walk with the Elephants and wave at the Giraffes. The NC Zoo- Africa is a visually stunning and overall enjoyable journey through the African Grasslands. The real question is do you have the guts for the high ropes course?
Over The Hill And Through The Woods…
Asheboro is home to the one and only NC zoological park. This mecca of a zoo is located in the heart of the old north state. 75 miles from Raleigh, 75 miles from Charlotte and 25 miles from Greensboro means that if you live in the state, this can be a great day trip for you.
The NC Zoo- Africa is surrounded by farms, forests and the town of Asheboro. Asheboro is a fair sized town in its own right so you do not need to worry too much about modern convenience near the park.
Driving to the park, you may get funneled down one of the many back roads near the park. Most of them are in great condition but traffic can get a little odd. You may also come through the park’s main entrance with the life sized elephant statues and sign.
I recommend selecting the parking lot closest to the attractions you want to see the most. Google Maps differentiates between the North America parking and the Africa parking at the time of writing. Depending on the parking area you choose and where you are coming from will determine if you come through the main entrance or not.
Parking at both locations is substantial. That being said, I have been surprised at how many people have come to the NC Zoo-Africa the last few times. Most recently, we had to park in the zone farthest from the entrance but did not struggle to find a spot. I hope that with some of the new additions they add in some more parking to take the added load.
If you need to park in the area farthest from your preferred exhibits, there is a shuttle that runs between the parking areas and a tram that runs between all the exhibits inside the park. So fret not.
Off To Adventure!
Right off the bat, I started to see comparisons to the Sylvan Heights Aviary. Considering the Sylvan Heights Aviary is a member of the NC Zoological society, it makes sense it would share themes with its big brother the NC Zoo. The NC Zoo is the World’s largest natural habitat zoo (and growing)
The Main entrances both cross over a sizable natural water way that is absoltely stunning. I find the Africa entrance particuarly striking but that is just me. Madilyn found it equally entertaining to run across the bridges.
Elephants
The Africa side of the NC Zoo has a loop which I find very convenient. This offers you the opportunity to still see more fun stuff on the way back to the car. Most people with gravitate to the counter clockwise direction because you will get to see the Elephants the first. This is a truly massive enclosure. The observation areas are designed to make you feel like the elephants could walk right up to you and say hi. We hung around here for a while because these fellas were staying fairly close to the outlooks.
Rhinos
One of the next great areas to visit is the Rhinos! This enclosure is a mixed natural habitat with antelope, ostriches and other African grassland animals. Like many of these large beasts, we found them calm and relaxed under some shade. Considering how endangered these beast are in the wild, I found it to be a great treat to see them in person (even if it is in captivity). There is another observation area that is currently closed due to the baboon enclosure renovation. Once they finish, I plan to go back to let you know where to go.
There is a service you can book called a “zoofari”. For just 25$ (at the time of writing) you can take an open air vehicle tour of this massive 40 Acre exhibit. For context the entirety of the Sylvan Heights Bird park is just 28 acre. You may also get some choice views of the elephants but I do not believe they actually go into that exhibit.
All around the Africa side of the park you will see bronze statues of animals. These are perfectly fine for kids to climb on and many do (including me). I recommend finding your favorite animal immortalized in bronze to take a quirky fun zoo picture together (especially if you have little kids).
Giraffes
The other must-see exhibit is the similarly massive zebra and giraffe area. There are 3 main observation area along the loop. Each one offers different opportunities to see these exotic animals up close. The most interesting is the Giraffe Deck. At 5$ a person, you can get at an eye level viewing point where the giraffes tend to get very close. Guests are encouraged to be quiet so as not to scare them away. No strollers are allowed in this viewing area. Our rambunctious crowd was not the quiet type so we opted to check it out next time.
If I wrote about every exhibit here, I might as well write a book. I recommend checking out 100% of the exhibits. To mention a few: flamingos, lions, lemurs, gorillas, red river hogs and many more. The chimpanzees have a very interesting observation deck area. They actively research their behaviors to learn more about them. The Gorillas had a pane of glass that had been slightly damaged by one of the gorillas. A needed reminder that even though this is a zoo, these animals are still dangerous and powerful.
Trams, Restaurants and High Ropes. OH MY!
With the size of the NC Zoo-Africa being so vast, the designers put in extra nice amenities to make sure all your needs could be addressed without having to leave. I started to notice this just inside the front entrance. At both entrances you will find a medical aid station clearly marked. This is perfect for minor issues.
Next you will likely notice the significant number of restaurants throughout the park. Some are only seasonal and other are open year round so be sure to check online when planning your visit. There is quite the range of snacks and food available between all of these and even online ordering at some of the newer locations. I have not had the opportunity to try these out yet but they look quite good from what I have seen.
If you plan to jump around to different exhibits or have a specific area you want to get to quickly, check out the tram. this is a simple open air transit solution in the park that move between predetermined locations. They estimate it will take on average 30 mintes to wait for the tram but you can travel across the entire park. This can really help if you wander into North America but parked in Africa.
NC-Exotic
The NC Zoo- Africa visit gives an exotic atmosphere that puts Joe Exotic to shame. Not as many big cats but it does have a great balance of space, energy and depth that makes every inch special. If you can’t get enough of the NC Zoo and Aquarium system, consider getting a membership!
Overall
The NC Zoo is a truly immersive animal experience center that can take more than a full day to experience. And that is just the Africa Side! The Park is sized for big crowds but never stops you from getting up close with all the exhibits and seeing some amazing animals. Absolutely worth the time.
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