Ten luxury lodges plus a guesthouse within Taronga's Western Plains Zoo, in Dubbo, in central New South Wales, Australia. The complex has just undergone a A$2.1 million (HK$15 million) makeover and was opened by British comedian John Cleese (a patron of the zoo) a couple of months ago. In fact, we can now say we've slept in Basil Fawlty's bed.
It's like visiting the Serengeti without having to worry about malaria. The lodges are situated along the edge of a quasi-savannah, so you wake up and see zebras, giraffes and these big buffalo-looking beasties right outside your door.
Nil. Thankfully, there's a wire fence between you and the wildlife, which is just as well because, apparently, giraffes have a kick like Lionel Messi.
We took the behind-the-scenes tours included in the "Zoofari experience". It works like this: you check in at 2pm, relax in your lodge for a bit and then head out in the safari bus at about 3.30pm. That's when you get to watch the African hunting dogs get their chicken dinner, take a nice long look at the cheetah and have a chuckle at the meerkats. On the way back to the lodge the bus stops and you can feed the giraffes by hand. Did you know a giraffe's tongue is blue to protect it from sunburn?
It just happened to be World Giraffe Day when we visited.
A buffet-style dinner is served in the guesthouse. You eat at communal tables, so you can mingle with the other guests. There are no giraffe burgers or zebra steaks on the menu but the South African bunny-chow (curry served in a cob of bread) is a delicious starter.