It must sound boring now but we had another really good day!

My aunt came with us to the zoo as I just couldn't have managed on my own with 2 children (Thanks Mandy!!). The journey there would have exhausted me before we even went through the zoo doors. From Martlesham we would have needed a bus, train and then 2 more buses to get there. We would have spent most of the day travelling.

The children were really excited this morning, for a while, and then they started arguing and winding each other up. I thought we'd be in for a grumpy day but once we got to the zoo they were fine.

It was very busy at the entrance to the zoo but we'd pre-booked tickets so collected them from The Ark shop and went straight through. There is a route to follow around the zoo that is easier for those with wheelchairs and buggies so we followed this most of the way around but at times it was too busy so we took a slight detour.

There are lots of different animals for the children to see, although some were a little more difficult to spot in their enclosures than others. The children liked the penguins, monkeys and fennec foxes most. At 11.30am we watched the sea lions beng trained and Kelly met us to film us around the zoo for a little while. While Kelly was there Charlie refused to go to me or Mandy and spent a lot of the time clinging to Kelly!

We got quite close to the lions as there were lying on the ground near to the glass. We wandered around to the Africa zone to my favourite animals, the giraffes. It was elephant feeding time when we got there so Molly, Charlie and I queued up for some leaves and stood by the gate for the elephant to take the leaves from us. It was a wonderful experience being so close to such an impressive creature and having it feed out of our hands. Molly was very brave as she'd never normally go anywhere near animals, even the small ones.

Kelly left us soon after this and although it was giraffe feeding time the children were getting hungry so we had a quick walk around the Kids Zone and then went back to the car to get our picnic. There were plenty of places to sit for picnics and we managed to find a couple of benches in the shade. Unfortunately we were plagued by wasps anytime we sat for a drink and food but there's not a lot we could do about that. We saw staff frequently emptying bins and cleaning around the park so rubbish wasn't left around for long but it didn't seem to deter the wasps.

After lunch we walked down towards the Tanganyika Road Train as Charlie wanted to ride on the train. There was quite a queue and we had to wait half an hour but the children were very patient. There is another road train near to the Kids Zone and I believe that both journeys take about 15 minutes.

By this time we were all hot and tired so we headed to the shop and then headed home. We spent 6 hours there and missed a few bits but the children saw plenty and enjoyed the day. It was very hot and there are lots of steep hills so that contributed a lot to the children's tiredness.

I would recommend Colchester Zoo to everyone. It does seem expensive at £15.99 for adults during the peak season but we certainly got our money's worth and you can easily fill a whole day. I'd recommend using Tesco clubcard vouchers or looking out for special offers in the newspapers or local tourist brochures. We took our own lunches to make it a little cheaper but on the times that we stopped for drinks and ice creams it was reasonably priced. There were quite a few food outlets and plenty of tables and chairs. All the facilities were clean and the staff that we encountered were extremely helpful and pleasant.

We all came home really tired but as I sit here writing this at 10.20pm Molly and Chantel are still upstairs wide awake, watching a film and playing. So much for thinking they'd be asleep early! Thankfully Charlie is asleep.

At least we have an easier day tomorrow. We're doing the Ipswich Treasure Hunt and having a picnic (weather permitting).