Mondiala Square. That is the new name of the entrance area (formerly Kompasplein) of the Emmer zoo Wildlands. After almost three-quarters of a year, the work behind the extensive metamorphosis is over. More greenery, animals and the atmosphere should immediately give visitors the right feeling, says zoo director Erik van Engelen.
A few hours before the opening of the new square, a shovel with material drives in and out. Near the brand new monkey enclosure, three zoo workers polish the glass of the surrounding aquarium until the glare hurts the eyes. The tapping of hammers sounds in the distance.
These are the last dots on the i of the extensive job that started in January. At that time, the entrance area was still called Kompasplein. A huge space with a centrally located kiosk, in the shape of the navigation instrument.
From there, visitors fan out to the underlying theme worlds of Serenga, Nortica and Jungola. “We were not really happy with it ourselves,” says Van Engelen, who uses the words ‘not warm’ and ‘little atmosphere’ for the Kompasplein. In addition, the old kiosk obscured the view of the entrance towards Serenga. “I would describe the old look as cold.” With the facelift that has been applied, the director thinks he has struck the right chord.
Because a lot has happened. In the first place, the compass kiosk was removed and quite a bit of piping was relocated. The terrace at the Traveler’s Taste restaurant is more decorated and a new terrace has been constructed near a completely new, stylish catering point that mainly serves ice cream.
Subsequently, a completely new enclosure for the clawed monkeys (the smallest monkey species in the world) was realized, including a water feature. Finally, a considerable amount of greenery has been added to the new Mondialaplein. “The result is a warmer, atmospheric entry, says Van Engelen. “People immediately get the right impression.”
For the new name, the Emmer zoo asked subscribers for suggestions. “Three persons, separately from each other, contributed Mondiala. “We thought that was very appropriate, since this part of the park serves as a meeting or departure point for the three themed worlds.”
Wildlands hoped to complete the completion of the square before the start of the high season. “We did not achieve that. We worked with an ambitious time frame. Corona played tricks on us, just like the war in Ukraine. It meant that some materials were not available or were only available later.”
The hot summer didn’t help either. The hot temperatures would cause the concrete to harden too quickly, which caused a delay, says Van Engelen. “So the responsible team had to stop earlier and earlier because of the heat.” The work came to an end last month.
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