David's Diary: Friday, July 13, 2001

Thoiry, France

Friday morning saw us making our first tentative steps to navigate the countryside. We decided to visit Thoiry, a chateau that has been turned into a game preserve. Created by Vicomte de La Panouse, a portion of the estate was transformed into an African Reserve with over 800 animals.

Thoiry distinguishes itself from a zoo by creating natural living spaces where animals can live in a natural habitat. A portion of the park you visit like an African Game Reserve by driving around in your car. You are not allowed to get out of the car and when visiting lions or bears, you must keep your windows closed.

While large and impressive the park still feels more like a zoo than a game park. In 1990, Karalee and I visited South Africa and spent a few days in the Kruger National Game Park. The wild open vistas that we saw there and the fresh lion kill of a giraffe gave us a taste for what real wilderness looks like and Thoiry fell short. But it was a good day outing for the family and a lot closer to where we are than South Africa.