The first Hungarian car safari reopens close to Budapest!
The Hungarian car safari is going to be a unique attraction not only in the country but also in Central Europe.
First opened in 2020
On May 20, 2020, after the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the first and still the only car safari park in Hungary was opened in Szada, just a few kilometres from the Hungarian capital, Budapest. However, the operation of the park was soon overshadowed by nationally known scandals, making the park infamous. Two elephants died on the same night, then the animals were buried without permission, and their tusks were cut off. The news dominated the national press, so even though the park created by the Richter family started out successfully, it had to face serious difficulties already on the first summer of its operation, writes 24.hu.
Problems in 2021
Although the family and the operators of the park carried out continuous improvements, the municipality of Szada rejected the application for zoo qualification. In 2021, the safari park could not be opened. At that point, it became obvious that the park cannot be kept at this location, but the owners did not want to hear about giving up their dreams, and closing down was not an option: they tried to find a new location, which was not that far from Szada: namely, Nagykőrös, another small town in Pest county, less than a 1-hour drive from Budapest.
The new location opens on 14 April
The new area in Nagykőrös is much larger than the previous area, more than thirty hectares. The wild animals of the Hungarian National Circus will move here, so they will be able to spend their ‘retirement years’ in this safari park, leaving the previous circus work behind following international animal protection regulations. One of the key tourist attractions of 2022 will be open from the 14th of April.
Amusement park
However, car safaris are not everything. In addition, the owners have also created an amusement park with various programs awaiting visitors throughout the day. From the 30-metre Ferris wheel, the Safari Eye, visitors will be able to admire the view of the exotic Safari in front of them, while getting out of the car at the petting zoo will allow them to meet smaller animals, such as kangaroos or llamas, says kulturaonline.hu.
According to the owners, the primary consideration in selecting the venue was to provide an ideal environment for all wildlife where they could live their daily lives in a close-to-nature, spacious area while maintaining contact with the public.
Source: 24.hu, kulturaonline.hu