Amazona Zoo — Attraction in North Norfolk

Our visit to Amazona started off on the wrong foot, we have two disabled children and the lady who was on the entrance told us we couldn't have two carers, to start with she thought we were trying to get two carers in for 1 child as she didn't understand we had two disabled children. Then because the youngest is under 4. I offered to pay for the child to get free carer in, to which I got given a funny look and a comment of, I am not supposed to. Its hard enough having two disabled children !!

We then visited the cafe, to see a sign saying children must be seated at all times. Very odd for a family friendly establishment. By this point it didn't seem like they were family friendly. The ladies behind the checkout in the cafe were having harsh words with each other about how things should be done in the cafe and one mentioned the fact customers were wondering all over the place. We were wondering because we were confused by the fact we had to make our own hot drinks !! The food was ok, the hot drinks were awful.

Then we went to go see the animals, the paths were not great with a buggy and wheelchair, at points it just goes to gravel. Some areas are closed off too. The whole park seemed very run down, to us it seemed like a lot of the enclosures were small. 4 tortoises and 2 iguanas in a small enclosure together seemed a bit too much. The water in the crocodile area looked like it needed clearing out. ( I know crocodiles like swamps but this was bad). Crocodiles have wounds on them and missing toes. The animals all looked bored, no signs of enrichment for them. No staff around to talk to ect about the animals. Also bird flu prevention at the front before entrance, no one enforcing it and the pads were bone dry.

This zoo ( I wouldn't actually call it a zoo myself) would have cost us over £60 as a family of 4, it is definitely not worth that amount of money. We were done within 90 minutes and that includes us going to the play area and the cafe. The gift shop is overpriced. One of the most expensive we went to during our...

Experience: Not as big as other zoos, but very well worth it. All the monkeys and the ocelot were my favourite. Tapir was very silly, sniffed everything! Cafe and play area were decent - 6.5/10. Animals 8/10, some looked bored - like the capybara and crocodiles.

My rant about the monkeys: SO ADORABLE. White headed marmosets was so silly and small, little tongues made everything so much cuter! Definitely a favourite for everyone who comes to visit! Geoffroy's spider monkey was very active and social - so goofy & silly! Loved them. Capuchin monkeys were so silly, not very social but an amazing sight.

Play area: Decent. Children have lots of fun bouncy around and going down the slides - baby had fun on the swing. Enjoyed this area quite a bit - bouncy area is for children for 6-12 for safety reasons (children could hit their head at the hard bottom or get upset as other children bounce, making them fall). In my experience, the children were careful and made sure to encourage other kids to play with them. Might not be same for everyone though.

Gift shop: Lots of pictures and fridge magnets - had trouble picking which monkey magnet I wanted! Squeezy toys to bracelets, to pictures and magnets - so hard to pick what I wanted!

Cafe's hygiene and food: LOVED. Had to go back for more ice cream - bit expensive though - £2.50 for a small tub (which was absolutely delicious though, especially the mint chocolate chip one and chunky chocolate one.). Quiet, no children running or screaming like usual cafes. Everything's under control. Very clean - nothing seemed dirty or unhygienic. Recommend sitting outside, as you get a lovely view of the duck's and birds. Only down side is the flies - but it depends where you sit ! Middle tables outside don't have many flies.

8/10 overall. Good experience (if you're not the one paying for it because you can get addicted to buying...

So as a kid I went to this zoo and I was impressed because it featured animals that I had never seen in zoos before like the tapirs, the capybaras. Plus the 3 types of South American cats, Jaguars, Ocelots and Pumas, and I loved that about it.

However, on a recent visit and after having done 3 years of animal studies, learning about the suitability of accommodation for animals, their behaviour patterns and what meets the needs of animals, actually kinda surprised this place is still open.

It's got good attractions there still, don't get me wrong. However, nothing has changed, in 15 years nothing has changed. Hamerton zoo in Sawtry started so small yet has been able to expand every few years, I feel like Amazona would be able to do this and make itself even better if it tried harder to raise its budget.

Most of the enclosures are in this circular cylindrical shape with nothing but mesh and a large metal pole to support them, and not many of them cover a large area either. It is literally like someone just plonked the animals down in one space, measured the minimum amount of mesh required for an enclosure, went 'yup that's cool' and dumped this pre-made cylindrical shape over the top.

The polytunnel is great, but some of the spacing of the enclosures and the pathways to get around the zoo as well (not all of which were clearly marked IMO.) Honestly, after 15 years of not seeing the place I expected more, I really did, and I am sadly disappointed with a lot of what I saw.

Sorry amazona but the only reason I would return here would be to see the cats, and purely on that basis I would request that my entry fee have at least a quarter taken off it cos that sure as hell isn't worth £16. If people would like a zoo experience that is definitely worthwhile, Thrigby hall and Banham zoo I would...