We set iff on our journey at around 6 o'clock and caught the 10pm ferry with Red Funnel to the IOW. It was a nice crossing (no rough seas, thank goodness!) and it was especially nice to see Portsmouth twinkling under the night sky.
Ebony the dog was with us too of course, she thoroughly enjoyed the ferry ride and certainly made herself comfortable 😂
We arrived at our family friends house at around midnight and went straight to bed for our fun filled weekend ahead.
Isle Of Wight Zoo
We booked our zoo visit whilst booking our ferry, as you are given a reduced price which is always nice to know! Now, being the animal lover I am always very concerned when visiting Zoo's as the animal welfare, in certain zoos, can be lacking - small enclosures, not enough enrichment, illness etc. but this zoo was certainly 100% animal friendly.
All the animals living here were either brought in from other zoos due to old age, health problems, social problems (not being accepted in their packs), rescued from circus' or were taken away from people who were keeping them as exotic pets. This zoo, unlike many others, was only interested in one thing: the care of the animal, instead of the breeding side of things.
Two of the Tigers were the oldest in the whole of Europe, 21 and 22, and were happily sunbathing in their specially (and personally) designed enclosures. All of the enclosures were specifically designed to suit each and every animals needs whether it be to improve fitness, ease arthritic joints or to simply give enjoyment, like a large pool or variety of trees and bushes to give privacy to the more timid creatures they had it.
Either way I thought this zoo was really great and was very impressed. We were even given a little private tour at the end of the day by some of the zoo keepers who were very knowledgable about each and every animal living there.
You can also have the chance of feeding these adorable little things! But don't worry, only 10 people per day are allowed to go into the meerkat house to avoid stress and over eating. They were very happy and healthy balls of fur who ran about freely (literally wherever they wanted to go) and were fed meal worms, but only by their keeper. Due to the zoo not being very busy it was just myself, my mum and friend and 3 others and we all simply sat on the floor whilst the meerkats bounded about. It was so much fun and definitely a life long memory.
Medina Quay Restaurant
After our lovely day at the zoo and a quick outfit change and cup of tea at the house we headed out for dinner. The Medina Quay sits right next to the water and offers a lovely range of food, drinks and desserts. I had the Veggie Burger and then shared the double chocolate, brownie sundae with my mum (trust me this dessert cannot be eaten alone).
Exploring, walking and picture taking
We did a lot of walking on our second day, and I mean a lot of walking. We started our day with a lovely sunny stroll along Ryde Beach which was beautiful - the sandy beach, the calm sea and the perfect blue sky really made it feel like a holiday abroad!
- Mini castle -
- Giving up on getting puppy looking at the camera so I just copied her, very candid shot 😜 -
- English beach goals! -
- Me trying to re-create those "Instagram look where I am" photos (and failing) 😂 -
- The beach -
Dinner Time
For dinner we simply headed back to the Medina Quay (not very imaginative I know but after all that walking we were in need of some good food!).
- The view -
- Hot Chocolate Pudding -
Our last day was quite a short one so was a lot more relaxed. We got up, had a small breakfast and then my mum and I took advantage of the garden and sunshine and did some yoga. I then took a few outfit photos as the next door neighbour had the perfect white brick wall and then had my current favourite snack - avocados and wassabi seaweed.
We then started our journey home (after almost missing our ferry). 😅
- Picture perfect blossoms on our walk -
- Bye-bye IOW, see you soon -
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