Missouri Down Under Adventure Zoo — Attraction in Bunker

This small zoo is quite interesting, and I suggest you try it before passing judgment. I'm glad I did. My expectations weren't high after attending multiple big city paid zoos, but I was pleasantly surprised.

This place is a collection of 2-3 star attractions, and when considered in totality, you really get about 5 stars out of it. Here are some of the things that set this place apart and make it worth your money:

Kangaroo petting - they have an enclosure with 6-10 Kangaroos that are incredibly friendly and enjoy petting. I've not been anywhere else that allows you to do this besides a random Ren fair I went to one time, and they were restricting it to children only. While this seems like an all-day affair, you realize there's only so much time you can spend petting a kangaroo. They all look and act the same. For us, this was about 15 minutes, but they don't limit your time.

Surprisingly, they have some animals you may have never seen. They have coati, a serval, a patagonian mara, and many other animals. I'd seen a mara at the atlanta zoo, but the coati and the serval were new for me.

They have a cave with a self guided tour. This was oddly one of the most interesting experiences I've ever had. My wife and I love caves, and we've been on multiple cavern tours. This is a straight shot kind of a cave, and there are no guides. They equip you with a hard hat and a flashlight and let you go. It's a strangely intimate adventure simulation without having to commit to a full spelunking setup. This is absolutely NOT doable for people who can't bend over. You almost duck walk through much of the cave.

The staff at this place are exceptionally friendly, and you can tell that they care about these animals.

I suggest looking on Groupon for your tickets. The normal price was 20 bucks, but we got our tickets for...

We just took a family trip to the current river and we love to explore little side places and caves. When we first got there the places looked very clean and manicured. We were welcomed by a lady who ended up being our cave tour guide, her name was Sandy not Destiny lol ( she will get it). We decided to purchase the “big” package in which you get to do all of the activities they have available. The cave was fun, not terribly long, it’s a flashlight guided tour, which is always awesome. Your feet will get wet so wear appropriate shoes. I did not but I still enjoyed it and some soggy feet won’t ruin my day. Some will complain about the shortness of the cave but it’s awesome so shut up. We then panned for some gem stones and then Sandy led us to a spot, a sand pit, where we could dig for stones, gems, sharks teeth, and fossils. We go to tons of these places and never have we been able to fill a bag full of ones we wanted to keep that we dug for! The museum was also very interesting. They have collected beautiful stones and crystals and have a pretty awesome fossil collection as well. I feel bad I can’t remember the other lady’s name that gave us the tour of the museum but she was very sweet. So while digging for gems in the sand pit I dropped my e-cig straight into the sand and rocks. Sandy was so sweet, she went and got me, from her house since she lives on the property, some supplies to clean it out and fix it, since there is like NOTHING around to help me with that problem! She didn’t have to do that. So very nice. No pets allowed, and that is also understandable since she rehabs turtles, has some ducks and there were a few baby fawns nearby. Overall it was great and when we go back next year we will definitely be stopping...

I stopped here for the first time yesterday intending to use the restroom and take a quick walk while passing through the area. When letting my leashed dog out of my vehicle, a male staff member peaked his head out of his building to tell me "dog's gotta stay in the car."

He went back inside but then came back outside to watch that I was indeed following the rules (as I walked my dog to the other side of my vehicle).

With this as my first impression, I felt basic friendly customer service qualities were lacking. This individual did not say hi or welcome me to the facility. He did not approach me to provide information about the policy. Rather, he yelled from ~30' away, and proceeded to watch me and my pet until my pet was returned to into my vehicle.

Though this encounter took no longer than 5 minutes, an unwelcoming environment was provided.

However, the park was pretty, had charm, and the restrooms were clean.

Please provide online information on your no pet policy, or more friendly interaction when dealing with pet owners. Neither the Facebook page nor website cite the no pet policy (even when searching 'dog' or 'pet' via the search engine).

This post is not intended to publicly trash the facility. However, I felt this interaction warranted an...