If you love animals and wine, there is no more perfect place for you to spend a sunny weekend day than Malibu Wine Safaris at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu, California. This winery is nestled up in the mountains of Malibu and houses a vast array of animals including horses, chickens, peacocks, llamas, alpacas, zebras, bison, and the famous giraffe, Stanley.
Whereas there are many other wineries in the area, Malibu Wine Safaris offers the unique experience to hop on an Indiana Jones-esque safari truck and get a tour of the property all while making stops to fill up on vino. A tour of this variety is really reliant on having humorous and knowledgable tour guides, and our guides Nicole and Sean really heightened the tour with their fun personalities and TMZ fun facts. Apparently Robin Thicke had just hopped off a different safari truck before our tour began! Other fun facts included pointing out spots in the property that The Bachelor has used for filming and a location where Kylie Jenner has taken photos. And to continue the celebrity theme, many of the animals have celeb-inspired names including my personal favorites: Tu-paca (the alpaca) & Llama Del Rey!
Our tour comprised of 4 stops: the first wine stop by a beautiful manmade river waterfall (with access to visit the donkeys and alpacas), then an animal-feeding stop to feed the zebras and llamas, the giraffe stop (if you paid for the giraffe experience!), and and the last stop at an incredible viewing area that our guides referred to as "The Dome." The final area is where you get your last fill of wine and the tour guides bring out snacks - which really were just crackers with a variety of tapenades, but still yummy.
Stanley, the biggest icon of the tour, has had a colorful acting career. He has previously appeared in films, TV shows, and commercials - with a Skittles commercial featuring him currently on air! Stanley is now officially "retired" from his entertainment career and enjoys his days basking in the Malibu sun in his large enclosure and eating romaine lettuce given by tour participants all throughout the day. He really is a special animal and I'd highly recommend paying that extra fee to join the giraffe tour.
Overall, the entire Malibu Wine Safari experience was absolutely incredible and both met and exceeded my expectations! Here are some key takeaways if you are interested in signing up for a tour:
1. Tours are great for celebrating any occasion, whether it's a birthday, bachelorette party, or in me and my sister's case, a graduation and a promotion.
2. Get there early! LA traffic is always bad, so just save yourself the stress and get there early.
3. If you can manage the jump from the standard $65 safari tour to the $95 giraffe tour - do it! You can also find promo codes by doing a simple google search online, I found a code at the time that offered a 10% discount.
4. Don't bring too much stuff, you'll be getting on and off the truck and walking around a bit so you don't want to be lugging around a heavy backpack.
5. Wear sunscreen if it's a hot, sunny day and bring water! There is limited shade during the experience.
6. Get tipsy! And no, I'm not talking about the alcohol. The tour guides really appreciate tips - ours accepted cash AND venmo which made tipping easy.
Of course, if you have any other questions, please feel free to comment below. I hope that this post inspires you to book a safari for your next celebration or just for a fun trip out! Book tours and read more about the safari on the official website here.
Cheers!
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