Sophie Campbell went to Singapore for the city’s celebrated ‘Night
Safari’
MOONLIGHT. Out of the trees steps a tiger. | |||
Orange coat, white belly, all griddled with | |||
stripes. Sprays of whiskers caught in the | |||
moonbeams. Massive paws. He strolls down | |||
5 | to the river, files his claw thoughtfully on a log, steps | ||
over it and slides into the water. | |||
The territory is 40 hectares of rain-forest, next to | |||
the respected Singapore Gardens. The Night Safari Park | |||
opens at 7.30pm as night falls and closes at midnight. | |||
10 | Its inhabitants are the nocturnal creatures — otters, | ||
leopards, rhinos — which you never really see in a | |||
daylight zoo because they are curled up and snoring. | |||
Night Safari, now nine years old, is one of | |||
Singapore's top tourist attractions. Even so, the old rules | |||
15 | about animals still apply. On the night I was there, the | ||
Creatures Of The Night Show — with humorous | |||
commentary by a keeper with a headset — ground to a halt because the first act (a large | |||
owl) refused to come on. The mutiny spread: a leopard failed to appear on its platform. | |||
The Night Safari is staggeringly popular and since its great charm is the illusion that | |||
20 | you are out there with the animals, it really is worth aiming for solitude. | ||
You can walk — there are three different walking trails — or take the open-sided | |||
tram, which does a West Loop and an East Loop. | |||
My advice is to turn up at 9pm, avoid the show, always packed, and while everyone | |||
else is watching it, do one of the walking trails. The authentic jungle noises alone make | |||
25 | the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. | ||
You should get back just as the people watching the show rush off on the trams. This | |||
is your cue to dine at the Bongo Bongo Burger Bar and walk another trail to work off the | |||
food. As the stampede begins for the exit, you nip on to the last tram (11.15pm), and | |||
survey the creatures in peace! |