This Independence Day, dad decided to go on a trip to Subic since my cousins from Jakarta are also here. Though it was just a day trip so he chose to go to ZOObic Safari.
So a bit of history before I tour you with my pictures...
 |
| Old map of Subic bay (from Subic Bay website) |
In 1542, Juan de Salcedo, the able Spanish conquistador and dashing grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, founded Subic while collecting tributes in the area. The town's name at that time is Hubek. Salcedo mispronounced "Hubek" as "Subiq". By the time of the American occupation of Subic, the Yankees mispronounced "Subiq" into "Subig".
Later on "Subig" became "Subiq" again, but the letter q - apparently of Spanish origin - was replaced with letter c, hence the name "Subic". (from: http://www.subic.com/history.php)
Subic is known as a naval camp of the Americans until September 16, 1991 when the US had to withdraw its forces and equipment from Clark and Subic, having received the rejection of 12 senators on the earlier proposed new treaty. The lowering of the Stars and Stripes followed suit. The Navy bid farewell to America's nine decades of military presence on Philippine soil. Subic Bay was then converted into a commercial zone largely through the efforts of some 8,000 residents of nearby Olongapo City, under the leadership of their mayor, Richard Gordon, who volunteered to protect and preserve 8 billion dollars worth of facilities and property from looting and destruction. Now Subic has gained a lot of attention for weekend visitors from Metro Manila. Attractions include several beaches, an underwater aquarium, jungle survival tours, racing and duty-free shopping centers.
So having that in mind (especially the last 2 sentences) I felt excited, but bored during the looooooooong way there, especially when we reached SCTEX. Thank God I got my ipod & book to keep me company since my camera was a bit in a bad condition.Soon as we reached the Lahar site & all the mountain ranges I was so tempted to get some pictures using my tab, but it's also our GPS (using google maps) so I just took some...
So after the long ride we at last arrived at ZOObic Safari...
Here's the fees:
 |
| from: zoobic safari website (http://www.zoobic.com.ph/rates) |
It was a simple adventure day. I've been to Taman Safari in Indonesia that's why I kinda have an idea and yeah I kinda felt "bitin" (lacking) with the whole experience. Though it was also nice to have one here in our country. Just hope it could be, it's a wonderful place and probably because it is an old one and that it was not a usual peak season, but hey it was a Holiday so I supposed they would have something more than the usual show, but there was none. The place is probably great only if it was well maintained.
So we went in and the first thing for us to enjoy was a group picture... There were actually 2 shots but this is the fun one!!! :D
Then the orientation was done in the reception area near the tiger photo-op area. It was good that they give orientations & information for their visitors. Safety should always be a priority, not just for the visitors but also for the animals. Then short after the orientation we had a picture with the tiger cub taken.
 | |
| L to R: My aunt, Cuz Andre, Me & Cuz Eric and of course Jas the tiger |
Then we were asked to go to the stage area for the animal show...
After the show we headed towards the bird sanctuary...
Here we got a chance to have a close encounter with the birds, different kinds of them. Here's some of my faves...
And yeah this peacock is actually a female, the male is the one with the colorful fan. Just like other animals the male is prettier than the female & this is to attract the females.
Here's another friendly little fella joining us in our trail... He really wasn't sacred of anyone.
 | |
| And yes they also allow people to feed the birds, costs 20 pesos per person |
After the whole bird sanctuary trail, they asked us to ride the tram.They actually gave a couple of minutes break for those who want to bring snacks and have to do some bladder stuff. Since we're still good and had a hearty breakfast and some snacks on the way and a bladder break while my dad was buying the tckets, while waiting...
 |
| The loner guy! :))) |
We rode the tram to the Forbidden cave, which was filled with creepy taxidermy animals. And yeah the smell of the cave is really kinda weird. Some of the taxidermy was a bit rotten already but still most of them are in great shape.
Then there were two more stops. Then the tiger safari ride!!! They divide the guests into groups. We were fortunate that we had fun with the group we joined in. If I'm not mistaken they named their group Team Popoy (from the movie one more chance) they're a couple of young professionals.
 |
| Inside the safari ride |
 |
| The tiger, the one that went with us was the female. I think her name is Tish (or something that has -sh in the end) |
 |
| Thanks to my faulty camera this picture became more cooler! |
There were last 2 stops before we end the tour according to the tour guide. So my cousins bought more mineral water. Hehehe...
 |
| Second to the last stop, the Aetas' s trail. |
 | |
| A picture with the dancers of the show |
The trail is actually just as short walk that showcases the life of Aetas, how they live and even their daily routine of games & exercises.
The last stop of the tour was the Croco Loco.
Here we get to see the crocodiles. We actually walked above them! Hahaha...
 | |||
 | |
| The tired look on their faces... Hehehe... |
We enjoyed the tour, just really hoping that they could maintain & improve the place. It was quite heart breaking to see some of the facilities closed due to the death of some animals and also because of the lack of funds to maintain the place. I hope that the people would try to visit the place so that they could continue their operations.
After the safari tour we headed back to the front area and got our pictures. There was a restaurant inside and we thought of eating there snce it was already past 12nn. But then mom & dad kinda said the menu has little choices and they were mostly of friend & grilled, so we headed out to look for a place to eat and so I suggested to instead go to the nearest mall which is the Harbour Point Subic.
So again we tracked down the way to the mall with my handy dandy Google maps. On our way to the mall they saw several restaurants. They passed through one which has mostly grilled stuff, then on the second one they decided to check it our since they were really hungry. And so they decided to eat there, despite the expensive menu.
 |
| from: Panoramio |
 |
| The beautiful view |
 |
| A panormaic view from the resto |
 |
| My cousin doing some emo time.... |
The food was great but I think it really was a bit expensive for such serving. And since it's open air there were many, many flies & mosquitoes even the staff had a hard time getting them away from our table. We had one candle each just to prevent them from settling on top of our food. Despite this the service was good and the food was really of good quality and good taste.
That's the end of our Subic day tour adventure. I just wished we had an overnight adventure and stayed at a near by resort or something then go to Ocean adventure the next day. Hehehe...
HOW TO GET THERE:
Zoobic Safari
 |
| from: zoobic safari website |
Group I Ilanin Forest
Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Philippines
Telefax: (+6347) 252-2272; (+63) 929-7072222
Makati Office:
3/F Yupangco Building
339 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City, Philippines
Tel: (+632) 895-7142; 898-3695; 899-9824; 899-9595
Mobile: (+63) 917-8351111
Fax: (+632) 899-9829
website: http://www.zoobic.com.ph/
Rali's Grill & Bar
Malawaan Park, Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Tel:(047) 252 1147
Google maps link: https://plus.google.com/109195601762356696277/about?gl=ph&hl=fil
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for reading. Hope your feet got itchy to try this place. Feel free to express that though you have there I would love to hear from you...