Visiting New Africa Rocks at San Diego Zoo

There is a new section called Africa Rocks at the San Diego Zoo! I remember seeing the section under construction last year. I recently visited the Zoo with my friend Lizeth. We went on a Sunday afternoon, with our kids, and spent about three hours at the Zoo. This was more than enough time to visit the Africa Rocks section, see a few other animals, walk a bit, enjoy a ride on the Skyfair Aerial Tram, and for the kids to play a while at the Discovery Playground.

The Africa Rocks section spotlights the amazing biodiversity found on the African continent. It includes Cape Fynbos – African Penguins, Madagascar Forest – Coquerel’s Sifaka (with various Lemurs), Ethiopian Highlands – Hamadryas Baboon, West Africa Forest – West Africa Dwarf Crocodile, Acacia Woodland – Leopard, and Kopje – Meerkat. There is also a Rady Madgascar Habitat and Falls, which includes a beautiful waterfall. Africa Rocks is located to the right side as you enter the Zoo. It is just passed the Urban Jungle (giraffes, rhinosaurus) and Outback (koalas) sections, before you reach the Elephant Odyssey section. We entered on the Center Street side. It is a walkable zone, with wide corridors, so it was easy to navigate my daughter’s stroller. From where we entered, it is kind of a slight downhill walk. Lizeth and I, as well as the kids enjoyed learning about the animals and Africa while seeing the new section. The animals are truly amazing! The areas where they are kept are ample and they have sections to climb, run, move around in, and rest. I know the San Diego Zoo tries as much as possible to replicate the animals’ natural habitats. The entire section is wonderful. My favorite parts were the lemurs, penguins, leopards, and the aquarium (all picture below). There is also beautiful landscaping, filled with African flowers and plants. While we were there, I noticed the Bus Tour passing by, so you can also catch a glimpse of Africa Rocks on the tour.

The way we walked through the Africa Rocks section, we ended with the aquarium. Below are some pictures, in chronological order from our visit. Next to Africa Rocks is the Asian Passage area, which has a gift shop, small dining areas, benches covered with umbrellas for shade, and a restroom. FYI, moms, the bathroom is small and even though their is a sign for a diaper changing table, it is in a separate room with it’s own door, which was locked on the day we visited. I had to look for another bathroom that had a changing table to change my daughter’s diaper. We left that section through the flat electric ramp/escalator (without steps). The ramp is wide enough for most single strollers. I simply put the break on the way up. At the top of the escalator, visitors can head to several sections, including the Zoo entrance/exit. We walked to the Benchley Plaza, perhaps better known as the Treetops Cafe area and crossed the Bashor Bridge to go to the Skyfari Serial Tram. Moms, the bathroom at Benchley Plaza has a changing table, which is the one we used.

We ended our visit to the Zoo at the Discovery Playground in the Discovery Outpost section (Children’s Zoo area). The kids played for a while. We stopped by the gift shop for a little goodies for the kids. Before we left we took a picture with the lion next to the gift shops and restaurant located by the entrance (the picture at the beginning of this post). We went to take one last look at the flamingos and were lucky enough to see the beautiful peacocks which are usually walking around that area when it almost closing time. Outside the Zoo, the children played a little longer, they were delighted to see the huge lion structure which is a new addition located outside the Zoo.

We had a wonderful and fun time at the Zoo! Lizeth and I both purchased the Zoo membership (which also includes admission to the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park in Escondido). The nice thing about having the membership is that we can visit as often as we want to. I personally really like it because when we visit, I don’t feel rushed to see every section at the Zoo. We can go for a few hours, focus on a select section, go to the Discovery Playground so Alessandra can play and then leave. Our visits are usually about three hours, sometimes four.

If you haven’t visited the new Africa Rocks section, I highly recommend it! It is amazing and worth a special trip to the Zoo if only to see that section. You can find more details regarding Africa Rocks here. For more info on the Zoo, you can click here San Diego Zoo.

Have you visited the Africa Rocks section? When was the last time you visited the San Diego Zoo?

Hugs,

Paola

PS – We liked the Africa Ricks section so much, that last week, on another visit to the Zoo, we saw the section again! I am certain we will be back to see it many times this year!