We finally made it to the River Safari. I am sort of not sure about its space. Singapore Zoo, Underwater world, Oceanarium,Butterfly Park, Bird Park, Night Safari and then there is the new River Safari. I love the concept of showcasing the rivers but aren’t we getting tad repetitive Singapore?

The River Safari still has a lot of blank spots to be filled. It is functioning but without all the displays being active.

Green – the way to go and educating people! yay for the River Safari

Pros:

The covered areas (it was pouring the day we were there and we did not get wet)

The amazing fishes (these are ones you cannot see in the Aquarium) – alligator gar and tiger fishes

The story boards (very creative and attention seeking)

The spider monkey display – free range monkeys are always fun

Cons:

While fishes are the main focus the displays are not as great as the Aquarium (inevitable comparison)

A boat ride along the river (is supposed to be the star – it is not yet open but the zoo has a rather boring boat ride)

The River Safari focuses mainly on animals and not the surroundings (vegetation and pollution issues along rivers). As the focus is quite specific to rivers I feel that there needs to be more awareness and information on plants and the reason why rivers are important.

Recycled animals (many of the animals are found in the zoo – gharials and now call the River Safari home)

The gharial – one of the many of the family that seem to call the zoo/river safari/night safari home

Personally the giant pandas are getting a little boring.

Watching the red pandas is more fun than the giant pandas for us

The Amazon Flooded Forest – too dark, too many blank wall space and too little information.

As I mentioned I am still not sure where the whole River Safari fits in. It is interesting but not captivating. It is quite small – we spent a little over two hours there on a Sunday including a quick break for snacks. I will recommend the place for anyone with a child between the ages of 3 and 15.

Will I go again? I am not sure – I will probably give it another chance when it is fully open but I do not see myself getting a membership or being a regular at the River Safari.