London Zoo Late Admission

Last week I bought 2 tickets to visit London Zoo. I like animals and always enjoyed visiting the zoo. My only concern is that the animals are kept in good conditions, which here at London Zoo they really are being cared for.

This particular visit would turn out to be quite a unique experience. London Zoo currently offer a late admission (6pm-10pm) on Fridays during the months June and July. What does this mean? Well, the late night admission means you can explore over 750 different species the zoo has to offer, just as if you were a normal visitor. However, on top of that there is additional entertainment such as funfair-rides, face-painting, picnics, penguin beach, twisted cabaret, a silent disco and a range of bars located at Barcleys Square serving champagne, Pimms, mojitos, wine and beers.

On the night, I was joined by the beautiful Shannon and upon arrival we decided to get ourselves a drink. This in itself is very unique, cool and different ... It’s not often you get to walk through an Aquarium while enjoying a cold beer. And I saw some cool fishes too.
After the water tanks, I made my way over to the picnic collection, grabbed a seat in the Amphitheatre and got stuck into the Gordon Ramsey packed dinner picnic baskets. While having dinner, the twisted cabaret acts started their show. I had no idea what it was about (at the time I was very hungry and focusing on my dinner) but even ended up being an active participant in the show. Very embarrassing but thankfully all I had to do was draw a line on a piece of paper. The show also included a burlesque strip act, a male striptease, a fire show and a lesbian scientist. All in all, the name ‘twisted cabaret’ sums it up very well!

Well fed and entertained by the cabaret we decided to check out some animals. I saw the lions, met the monkeys, walked past the parrots and straight into Butterfly Paradise. Butterfly Paradise features butterfly and moth species from several major regions including Africa, South-east Asia and Central and South America. Very cool!
Afterwards, we headed straight to Penguin Beach. The penguins were a highlight and I was particularly impressed by one. As I approached the beach, there were 20 something penguins in the water and another 20 or so relaxing on the beach. Then, I noticed 2 penguins in the distance, isolated from all the others. One of them jumped into the water and decided to dive the entire length of the pool before attempting to climb out onto the beach. He must have been both disorientated from the extra dive laps he pulled around the swimming penguins as well as tired from his exertions as he barely made it up onto the rocks on the beach. He didn’t give up and at the third attempt simply collapsed onto the beach.

At this point, the weather turned and it started to rain but I was about to experience my first ever silent disco. I got my headphones (which provide a choice of 2 stations) and walked into the centre of the ‘club’. Silent discos are strange but fun – I now consider myself a fan.

Here I was raving away in the middle of London in a zoo, surrounded by 200 something people all wearing headphones with the rain pouring down us. Everybody was relaxed, dancing and enjoying themselves. As the rain came down heavy, there was a strange sense of togetherness even though everybody was in their own little world. And to think this was all happening so close to these rare species and creatures from around the world was very cool. Needless to say, there was no noise pollution and we did not disturb the animals.

To sum it up, late nights at the zoo are different compared to your usual night out in London and provide unique experience. Go check it out, it’s fun!