Apenheul (Ape Hill)

This past weekend hubs and I visited Apenheul in Apeldoorn. This is their website.

It's an interesting place that is only open during the warmer months and where 1 can view and walk among a variety of primates. There was little chance we'd actually be walking among the primates as there were many children at Apenheul and since the children were busy chasing the animals, none of the apes got particularly close to hubs or I. I actually felt sorry for the animals, and wished a couple times that they'd bite a child (not severely, of course) to teach them (their parents?) a lesson about following instructions.

It was definitely worth the 2+ hour travel time (remember, we don't have a vehicle and rely on public transportation for everything). And the weather was spectacular. No rain. Not too hot. We definitely lucked out with that.

Some ring-tailed lemurs watching a plane pass by overhead

They did have a few other animals in addition to primates. There was a rhea, a capybara (hubs was impressed with their size and thought they should've been used as the RUS's in "A Princess Bride"), and some Northern bald ibis which are apparently extremely endangered.

Northern Bald Ibis

There were signs in several places informing guests to not feed the primates, to not lure the primates and to not touch the primates. The signs also warned that the primates may bite. What did we witness within 2 minutes of entering the park? A woman luring a primate with some food so she could touch it. Sigh.

There were several parts of the park that were under construction: adding new exhibits or expanding existing ones. If we're still here next summer we may go again to see what's been added.