In June 2019, Nataliya and I went on an “African safari” and came face to face with a rhino!

The best part – the safari park was only 3 hours from Cincinnati and tickets are only cost $30 per person. In reality, we visited The Wilds – a non-profit conservation center near Zanesville. I first heard about The Wilds a couple years ago and it has been on my “life list” (as opposed to a bucket list) ever since. The Wilds covers encompasses more than 9,000 acres of reclaimed coal mine land and houses several dozen different species of African and Asian wildlife, including giraffes, cheetahs, rhinos and zebras.

Nataliya and I booked a regular safari tour on an open-air converted bus. Our driver served as our guide as well and offered lots of insightful commentary. He was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Almost immediately, we came face to face with a rhino! Our driver said she had only ever come so close to his bus once before. We could have reached out and rubbed her leathery hide! Her lumbering approach certainly inspired a sense of fear and respect in her mighty presence. Later, a few Przewalski’s wild horses came alongside the bus, but they were not nearly as interesting as a rhino. Our driver warned us against petting the wild horses since they might try to munch anything that came within reach.

The Wilds also includes an area with several enclosures where predators, such as cheetahs and African Painted Dogs, are housed. The enclosures are quite spacious and give the animals a lot of room to roam. There is also a small bird house that visitors can enter and be swarmed by tiny, colorful birds. Otherwise, the animals tended to keep their distance so don’t expect to have close encounters the entire time!

However, a Wild Side safari is the best way to guarantee a tour filled with close encounters. We saw one Wild Side safari in action and, although they cost $125 per person, they are worth it! Instead of large converted buses, you ride in a converted pickup truck for Wild Side safaris. The driver took the Wild Side group off-road and stopped right next to a giraffe while our bus stuck to the road. The Wild Side safari guide gave one participant some sort of treat to feed the giraffe which gobbled it up, licking the benefactor in the process with its big purple tongue! Participants get to pick where they go and what they do on a Wild Side tour. During the winter, Wild Side tours are available for a buy one get one free discount.

There are a variety of other specialty tours, including zipline, horseback and fishing tours.The ziplines connect a series of observation platforms that tower above the pastures. Prices vary from $54-$84 depending on what type of zipline tour you pick. The fishing safari is 4 hours long and costs from $75-$100. Horseback safaris are $30 and last an hour. However, a guide at The Wilds told me the horseback safaris are more about riding than seeing the park.

The weather was very pleasant in June, but the buses are almost totally exposed to the elements. There is a roof, but if it’s cold or wet you need to dress appropriately! The park is very remote and cellphone service is very poor. You need to book a tour ahead of time – at least several weeks ahead during the peak summer season. Despite using GPS, we still got a little lost on the backroads.

We stayed on the east side of Columbus the night before and drove over in the morning. It took about 75 minutes, so it might be a good idea to stay in Zanesville. You could also drive up and back on the same day, but that’s at least 6 hours on the road!If you want a true safari experience, you can stay overnight at The Wilds in their cabins; however, they are obscenely expensive – more than $300 a night in the off season with a membership discount! Members also get a discount on specialty tours and free open-air tours.

Nataliya and I opted to make it a weekend trip by staying in Columbus. The day before visiting The Wilds, we stopped at the Columbus Museum of Art. The museum is a little small compared to the Cincinnati or Cleveland art museums, especially considering the $18 ticket price. The museum is housed in a beautiful Second Renaissance Revival building constructed in 1931. However, the back of the building is a rather ugly modern façade. I’m usually not a fan of modern art, but the “driftwood” horse was actually very interesting. Upon closer inspection, a docent showed us the horse is made from bronze. Even when he showed us some of the welding seams, it was hard to believe it wasn’t really wood!

After spending the day at The Wilds, we went back to Columbus for dinner and a show at Shadowbox Live. Shadowbox is the largest resident ensemble theater company in country and produces an array of rock musicals and sketch comedy performances, with lots of sexual innuendo and crude humor.Shadowbox operates with a very interesting model where performers are also the waitstaff. We shared a table with another couple, and it took a while for them to get their food. However, I had a steak salad and it was very tasty.

Overall, it was a great weekend, and we look forward to returning – especially for a Wild Side safari!