OK, OK, I know that this has been said at every zoo with a giant panda but I definitely had the panda fever. I was so excited to see the giant pandas that I could hardly sleep. Our plan was to wake up early, have breakfast, and get to Ocean Park early to avoid the crowds. And, it worked out perfectly. It opened at 9:00 am and we were there by 9:15 am.

Super pumped to see the giant pandas!

We headed straight to the Panda Adventures exhibit and had the place practically to ourselves. There are two giant pandas – Le Le and Ying Ying. They were in separate enclosures and it was their feeding time.

Ying Ying

Le Le

Chris with Le Le

Krystal with Le Le

Here are some videos that I took (Facebook friends – these are the same ones that I posted to my wall)

There were also two red pandas who really don’t look like giant pandas but a cross between a cat, a fox, and a raccoon. They were more active than the giant pandas and very cute.

Feeding time for the red pandas

Red panda on the move!

Cutie pie!

After I watched the pandas eat, poop, and begin their nap, I was ready to explore the rest of the park. This place is huge! There are basically two different parks – The Waterfront and The Summit. We took a cable car to The Summit which was pretty cool. We lucked out and didn’t have to share a cable car with anyone. We saw great views of the park and the surrounding bays. It was another cloudy, hazy day so the views weren’t great.

White knuckling in the cable car

View from the cable car, hence the white knuckling. View below is The Waterfront

The Summit had all the rides and we weren’t in the mood for roller coasters, so we took the express train back down to The Waterfront. The Waterfront had all the animal exhibits. I had to see the pandas one last time before we left and Chris obliged. We left around 11 am – just as the crowds and lines were growing.

Nap time for Ying Ying

Le Le - just chilling

Back to the hotel to finish packing before we check-out at 3 pm. Our flight to Auckland doesn’t leave until 9:30 PM tonight so we’re just hanging around the hotel until we head to the airport. So glad that the hotel gave us a late check-out!

-kb