The white lioness was only two inches away from me, observing my every move. I was amazed by her majestic appearance and the green surroundings of the place.
As she roared loudly, the other lionesses and a lion approached us. My heart jumped out of fear as they ran towards me. Luckily for me, a thick glass wall stood between us.
I was not in the wild, but at the new Dubai Safari in Al Warqa 5 on Al Aweer Road.
Although the much anticipated Dh1 billion worth new attraction could pass for a traditional African-styled safari – I felt like I was really in Africa!
Spread out across 119 hectares, the media was invited on an exclusive tour ahead of the Dubai Safari’s grand opening for the public. A train picked us up at the entrance and took us to the giraffe feeding area, which we were told was just a little teaser of what was about to come.
There were cooling fans installed all around the safari that sprayed cool water and air, meant to help keep the animals and humans from feeling the region’s intense heat (we’ll learn to be more appreciative of this feature in the summer!). As we watched, four giraffes that came out to play. Even though they were a tad bit shy, they observed us sharply from afar. Three of them were brought from the Dubai Zoo, so they were used to humans gawking at them, maybe.
Free entry for all
In a late night post on social media on Tuesday, Dubai Safari announced free entry for all visitors during the soft launch period – starting from December 12 – daily from 9 am until 5 pm for two weeks: More
By Sarwat Nasir/Dubai khaleejtimes.com
