The Rainforest...

Deep in the primordial forests of the mind

...where ancient civilisations lie forgotten...

...and the dragons wait to devour young adventurers

Randers is a small Danish city about half an hours drive to the north of Aarhus. Its a bit of a dump, but it does have one redeeming feature; it is the home of Randers Regnskov, and on Wednesday, we packed the kids into my Dad's car and we all drove north. I have never been to the 'Rainforest' before, so the first surprise was the size. It was much bigger than I had imagined. I'd seen it from the train when travelling to and from Aalborg (a city in the north where Mette's parents reside) and it had always seemed some what cramped. When we arrived however, and saw the domes up close (there is a third dome now, even bigger than the two originals which I knew of) I realised that the whole place was significantly bigger than I'd imagined.

The second surprise was that it was significantly more expensive than I'd imagined, though to be fair, it does have a lot to offer and had I been aware of it I could have had the tickets stamped and laminated which would have made them good for the rest of the year.

I may go back alone with a sketch book one day when the holiday season thins out the mob.

20kr for a 500ml bottle of water though is day light robbery.

The third suprise was the lay-out. I'd expected something less labyrinthine, and more zoo like, and whilst some of the animal enclosures were a tad small for my liking, lethargic animals compounding the impression, for the most part it seemed almost authentic, in a staged, Indiana Jones film-set sort of way. Having never been in a real rainforest (Italy is the closest I've been to that kind of climate and Italy is nothing like tropical, or even sub tropical) the humidity also seemed appropriate. I was certainly sweating like a sick dog within ten minutes of entering the South American dome.

Look at the size of that crocodile!

Freja was like a pinball on acid, bouncing about like crazy, constantly running off and completely disinterested in staying close by the rest of us. I spent about two thirds of my time pushing my way through hordes of shuffling families, like Bruce Cambell in a crowd of zombies trying to find her.

Part of the problem was, Freja has been quite ill of late. Early on Tuesday morning, her throat swelled up during the night and she awoke just after midnight coughing with a noise like a rutting seal. Some what alarmed, Mette and I watched in consternation as, within the sapce of two minues, Freja went from coughing, to choking, to unable to breath. Thankfully we live in a city with an excellent emergency service and within five minutes there was a doctor and three medics in the room, Freja had a face mask on and was inhaling some form of gas that counteracted the swelling. After this, Freja and I spent the rest of the night in Skejby hospital, in the childrens ward whilst she was under observation. She was released the next day and Mette and Magne came to take her home. Having not slept much during the night, I then passed out and spent the rest of Tuesday getting over the shock.

A some what appropriate sign

By Wednesday Freja was better, but still cranky. She lasted until about two thirds of the way through the Rainforest, but when we reached the Asian dome, she'd had enough and started kicking up a fuss, collapsing on the floor and whining mightily. I picked her up and sat her on my shoulders (no mean feat as now she weighs twenty kilo's and I'm not very strong any more). The Snoos rewarded my generosity by slapping off my glasses and breaking both lenses.

Thankfully I am insured against just such an eventuality

Leaf cutter ants, busy cutting leaves

The Rainforest is a great place, and we shall visit it again when Magne is old enough to actually participate in the adventures. Next time however, we shall visit during a week day, and not in the industrial holiday season. The place was packed. According to local internet news, the Rainforest is due to be enlarged again with a fourth, super dome making it the largest indoor zoological garden in the world.

There were many interesting animals, but most of the time, they were either hiding, alseep, or obscured by the mob. We saw, a manatee, lots of huge fish, some small sharks, sea snakes, piranha's, catfish, several varieties of ape, flying dogs, wild dogs, wild pigs, some crocodiles, one of which was quite big (circa 1½m), lots of colourful birds, including a macaw and something that resembled a big brown peacock with attitude. There were hundreds of moths, butterflies, spiders and millions of ants, in several sizes and shades. We also saw snakes, giant snails, some kind of giant rat that gave me the evil eye, a family of porcupines, a tribe of large tortoises, a curiously flat turtle and lots of iguana's lazing about the place.

A handsome, dynamic young fellow, and his son

Afterwards we drove back to my Dad's place to pick berries from his garden, and inspect the renovations he is doing on his house. Its odd to see the place looking so empty and sparse, and sad in a way. When my Mother was alive they were always talking about renovating the house, and it seems strange that this is only happening now Understandable though given my Mothers propensity for hording things. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rebuilding eventually turns out.

Inside the South American dome.

No sign of any revolutionaries, just tossers with Che T shirts