Stanley The Giraffe Says Simply:

“Get your wine on. In the WILD…”

When I saw that ad, I knew I had to see the Malibu Wine Safari in person – and meet Stanley. Yes, THAT Malibu…

You see, Malibu is so much more than a beautiful beach – it’s also a rugged, hilly area just inland that hides an incredible collection of wineries!

So, to celebrate Alex’s birthday, we drove up in the Malibu hills to Saddleback Ranch and Vineyard – for a Wine Safari!

Here is how the company describes their business:

“Explore the 1,000 acre Saddlerock Ranch and vineyard in Malibu. Your trusty guide and driver team will lead the adventure on custom-built open-air Safari vehicles. You’ll make stops along the way to take in the scenery, taste local wines, and get up close and personal with animals you never knew were Angelinos too: zebras, camels, alpacas, bison, and even Stanley the Giraffe!”

Well, count us in – so we climbed aboard our uncovered Safari Shuttle and hit the road for an adventure with wildlife and wine!

The Shuttle takes you throughout the ranch, with lots of wide open spaces – and animals!

Alex and I got to meet Barbie, given that name because of her free-flowing mane…and then our Guide introduced to a number of other animals – and we fed them all, including this Zebra, who showed off his teeth and surprised Alex as he reached for some lettuce!

As you can see, the animals were friendly – especially knowing we had fresh lettuce to share! The tour stops many times along the way to make sure you are refreshed as well:

Not all of the animals were friendly: we saw the Water Buffalo, and were advised to stay away – they were fun to watch but not to pet!

More wine joins us on the next part of the safari, as we head over to meet Stanley The Giraffe!

Stanley was so much fun to meet, feed and pet…he’s a “movie Giraffe”, used in many TV shows and films, so he knows how to command the spotlight!

The end of the tour takes us back to the ranch house, but not before a last stop to get a spectacular photo, and also to see some of the remnants of last year’s dangerous fires in the area:

This vintage fire engine actually had damage to the back – that’s how close the fires were! Luckily, they didn’t have to evacuate the animals from their areas, but the surrounding hillsides do show evidence of fire damage, as these blackened vines attest to…

The Malibu Wine Safari is a blast, the entire staff is terrific, and if you are planning to be in the area, make a reservation as it’s very busy!

Of course, if you are Malibu then you have to watch the Dolphins slide by as well – along with Pelicans, Seals and more – see that story by clicking here:

https://johnrieber.com/2019/04/23/malibus-watery-residents-dolphins-seals-fish-pelicans-hanging-out-with-nature-at-the-pacific-oceans-edge/

so much wildlife in the hills and the water off Malibu! Stanley says stop by soon!

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