Slowly cruising past the cheetahs, a giraffe taking a look at the side window or a lion lying quietly on the road. If Safari Park Beekse Bergen has made a name for itself, it is the car safari. But if it is up to former director Wim Verberkmoes, the zoo will soon say goodbye to the exciting trip.
In fact, Verberkmoes already thought so shortly after taking office in the eighties, he says in the podcast Zooinside. “When I was young, my father had an old Volkswagen. Then we went for a drive in it. Not going anywhere. The driving itself was the fun. The safari park responded fantastically to that. That way you could suddenly look at all kinds of animals during such a trip.”
But that novelty soon disappeared, according to the former director. “In the beginning there were huge traffic jams. Everyone came to it. But slowly but surely it became somewhat outdated. Even in those days, people preferred to go somewhere to park there and then even do something active.”
“In the end we didn’t dare to do it.”
Yet it turned out to be difficult to ban the iconic part from the park. Even when replacement entertainment such as the walking and boat safari were added. “We talked about it a lot at the time. But in the end we didn’t dare to do it”, Verberkmoes looks back.
The figures show that the park is also doing well with a car safari for the time being. For the past two corona years, more than a million visitors easily came to take a look at the animals in Hilvarenbeek. “The park is still doing well in its current form,” Verberkmoes also admits.
Despite this, even now, years after his departure, he has not changed his mind. “I think you should abolish the car safari at some point. It would be the best if you no longer see cars driving while walking. But yes, when do you do that?”