November:
The countdown is underway! We’re just a few weeks from the completion of our part of Heart of Africa. Working to a deadline of before Christmas, it’s full steam ahead with the finishing line now in full view.
The last touches are being applied. We’re busy with external works – putting tarmac down, adding top soil to borders and banks, gravel laid on paths and fencing is going up.
Naturally, when you visit the zoo you’d expect to see some big paws. We’d like to draw your attention to The Big Pour! The dry start to November allowed us to apply lots of printed concrete round the food and beverage area, situated near the education centre. We do hope you won’t spill anything on it!
Now, just because you’ll be walking around the ‘African Savannah’, this is Chester after all. We’ve been working on that all-important wet weather option – a shelter! You’ll find a few of them dotted around the savannah as viewing points. Decked out with thatched roofs, they look rather splendid.
Jason, ‘The Themer’ joined us early in the month to work on a mural above the fake block work, which you’ll see in mixed taxa area within the main indoor habitat. If you’d like to know more about Jason’s work you can read all about it here.
Did you know that vultures can sometimes get cold feet? We’ve fitted a heat mat in the vulture shelters to keep them nice and toasty. Each shelter reaches an impressive height of 5 metres; you won’t miss them whilst you take the tour.
We handed over 4 buildings to the zoo. The hoof stock, wetland aviary, meerkats and aardvark are now complete. Once handed over, the zoo’s team move in and start creating their own theming.
Meanwhile, the overnight stays project is coming along nicely. Work on the roof of the welcome building is about to commence, we’re also building the metal framework to hold the cladding. The lodges are also progressing well, we’ve now started on the west side, which is quite a milestone in the scheme of things.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our diary and that you have a super time when you visit Heart of Africa.
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