Only 12 km from Kristiansand in southern Norway, Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park certainly knows how to give visitors an all-round experience. This fantastic park began as a safari park in 1966 and has gradually been extended with more theme parks so that it now offers everything a family on holiday with children could wish for.
You can please the whole family with accommodation in unique surroundings, action-packed activities in the water and amusement parks, as well as informative and fascinating expeditions in the many exciting areas of the safari park. But that’s not all, because the children will also love to spend time in the Kardemomme By (Cardamom Town) and Hakkebakkeskoven (Hakkebakke Wood), activity areas inspired by the popular children’s books by Norwegian author Thorbjørn Egner. All of this is set against a backdrop of the beautiful Norwegian mountain scenery.
Here are some of the park’s highlights:
Eldorado for animal lovers
The jewel in the crown — the safari park’s many animal enclosures are well worth a visit. Kristiansand Safari Park is Norway’s largest safari park with 700–800 animals belonging to 148 different species. The park is designed to give the animals as natural a habitat as possible, for example in the Nordic Wilderness, visitors walk along fenced-in pathways and raised bridges overlooking the animals roaming freely beneath. Park keepers hold regular daily events where visitors can watch all the individual animal species feeding at close quarters.
Kardemomme By Live
One of the main attractions at Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park is Kardemomme By, which is especially popular with Danish families. The town is a faithful recreation of the town in Thorbjørn Egner’s popular children’s book and its characters, including Aunt Sofie, Police Inspector Bastian and the robbers, Kasper, Jesper and Jonathan, can be seen on the streets.
In 2015 the park opened yet another attraction based on Thorbjørn Egner’s children’s books; the Tribune Train through Hakkebakke Wood, where scenes from ”Klatremus og de andre dyr i Hakkebakkeskoven” (Climber Mouse and the other animals in Hakkebakke Wood)—one of Egner’s most loved and well-known books—are performed alongside the tracks while the train trundles past. The train is probably the only one of its kind in the world and 35 actors help bring Egner’s world to life for 300,000 passengers a year.
Stay in a pirate hotel
Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park has completely embraced the concept of the “experience economy” with the pirate-themed hotel, Abra Havn. It has 171 rooms decorated in full pirate-style. Here, guests are fully immersed in the experience with breakfast aboard Captain Sabretooth’s ship devouring such delicacies as rat soup and skull and crossbones waffles!
During the 2016 summer season, guests can visit the theatre to see “Captain Sabretooth and the Bewitched Island” in the outdoor amphitheatre beside Grashavet lake.
Speed and excitement in the Amusement Park
No family holiday is complete without a day or two of thrills and action in an amusement park and Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park has four areas devoted to exciting rides and activities. There’s something for everyone. Why not try one of the many roundabouts; there’s bound to be one to suit you! Kids will also love the JungelBob ride where speeds can reach up to 45 km/h, or you could explore the jungle trail, Junglestien.
Next door to the safari park, you’ll find the water park, Badeland, covering an entire island. It features both indoor and outdoor pools and water chutes; right down to tiny ones for the littlest adventurers. Badeland water park has its own entrance, although it is possible to buy tickets for both the water and safari parks.
A unique and successful combination
Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park is the perfect example of how to combine many of the most popular family holiday attractions in one place.
