Last weekend, as part of a cheering-up exercise, the Fourth Quarter and I made a spontaneous trip out to the Auckland Zoo. I’d forgotten how much I like the zoo, delighting in the tigers with their big paws and lazy demeanor. We watched the otters scavenge for food (often using gravity to help them get the food down quickly). We saw the elephants, and a single (!) sad dejected monkey. We saw a hippo chomp his way through some hay, admired a giraffe’s long neck and the muscles it has to keep it’s long neck upright, and a single kiwi who looked a little bit mad. It was all very, very exciting.

What wasn’t so exciting though, were the signs that said ‘Keepers Only’. I did lots of peering to see what was behind them. Often it was nothing exciting, just the hidden parts that make the zoo go round. Pipes, cleaning equipment, etc etc. Still, it made me curious, and after some hunting on the web, I found this:

Auckland Zoo Zoom Tours.

ZOOOOM tours! Behind the scenes experiences! Meet the animals – and feed them! The Lions, and Hippos and Lemurs! Clean the Elephants, Hang with the tigers!

And best of all? Getting to go past the ‘Keepers Only’ signs.

I’m *ever* so excited :) Me and the Fourth Quarter have already booked our places in the next ‘African’ Tour. Can’t wait!