Safari at the Lazy 5 Ranch

Always looking for new places to explore around home, we decided to take advantage of a weekend visit from EZ’s sister, an animal enthusiast, and check out the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville. On a scale of one to fun, we had an absolutely, positively, amazing time.

Uncertain of the weather and when we would visit, we chose not to make wagon reservations.  The website clearly advises against this, and so do we.  They schedule drivers based on demand, so call a few days ahead. While we missed out on the wagon ride, we did make two laps of the ranch property in the car, and both were incredible and unique.

After purchasing two buckets of feed, we entered the path through the ranch, and the car was attacked by ferociously hungry animals. In the melee that ensued, a llama with good grip made off with Erin’s entire bucket of feed. This was approximately 45 seconds into our tour, and I think it made the whole thing that much more enjoyable because Erin led us in a round of laughter far more ferocious than the feeding frenzy.

We quickly learned it was safer to feed animals from our hands rather than risk another stolen feed bucket. While some of the animals seemed hungrier than others, feeding them was always more fun than fright.

The truck in front of us found a work around for one of the major differences between the wagon ride and a car drive.  With the wagon, you are out in the open, and the animals have more space to get close to you. Filling the pickup bed with passengers provides roughly the same experience.  The other big differences we noticed were that the wagons had a special route, and their drivers provided detailed information on each animal encountered. While we would reserve a wagon ride in future trips, there is something to be said for the excitement of a zebra or brahma cow poking their heads through the car window.

I think the highlight of the visit was the playful giraffe we encountered. When we first approached the giraffes, they didn’t want anything to do with us, but a few shakes of the feed bucket remedied that. This is one place were we felt constrained by the car, but fortunately, we thought to open the sunroof. The consensus after feeding the giraffe is that their incredibly long tongues felt almost like the grip of an octopus tentacle, but very soft.  We used up the last of our feed here, and headed back for the parking lot for another feed bucket and ice cream. Then it was off for lap two.

After a brief downpour and a beautiful rainbow, we finished our second lap, and had the entire area of walking enclosures to ourselves, as most other patrons left during the rain. The camels were the main draw, but much to our disappointment there were several large signs warning us against sticking our fingers through the fence to feed them. Thankfully, the camels knew an alternative feeding method, and came to the fence with mouths wide open – a sight simultaneously hysterical and horrifying. Throwing handfuls of food through the fence into the saliva-filled caverns was almost as fun as feeding the giraffes.  We also had the pleasure of seeing kangaroos, tortoises, porcupines, peacocks, East African crown crane, goats, parrots, and other exciting animals.

Overall, we had a great time, and highly recommend making the trip.  Here is our advice:

• Call ahead to make a reservation for the wagon ride.  According to the folks at Lazy 5, 2-3 days ahead you should get a spot,  4-7 days is best, and more than week out almost guarantees a wagon ride.
• Definitely do two laps. You pay for all day entrance, and can take as many laps as you like. Also, hang on to your feed buckets; we split one additional bucket between two people for round two.
• Ignore the cars behind you and you won’t find yourself waiting on the cars in front of you.

Check out our other Charlotte Adventures!

Doing the Queen’s Feast Right
Yiasou Greek Festival
Library Summer Film Series