African Savannah in Brittany, France

The African Plain

We are having a sneaky five-day holiday… no school on Wednesdays. Thursday was a bank holiday and all the schools are shut today – why go to school for just a Friday? More about May Bank Holidays and ‘Le Pont’.

So today we went to Branféré Parc, near Questembert (56190 LE GUERNO – Morbihan). What a fantastic place. Branféré Parc was originally opened to the public in 1965 but was later turned into a wildlife preservation project by Nicolas Hulot, a well-known French environmentalist, and ecologist. Today, Branféré is involved in the preservation of 24 protected species.

Absolutely no cages here, the 1,000 species are kept in relative freedom within the 40 hectares of watering places linked together by cascades, wide meadows, islands, and undergrowth.

Suddenly we came upon “The Plain of Africa”. It looked exactly like the African savannah and as we looked we saw giraffes, ostriches, zebras, kudus, pygmy hippopotamuses, and wildebeests all grazing together in total harmony. Amazing.

Treetop Adventure in Brittany

Treetop Adventure in Brittany

We turned a corner, and in front of us were nets, huge nets in the trees… an aerial trail in the trees made of 1700 square metres of acrobatic nets. Wow, what an adventure! We climbed onto the nets, no harnesses required, and from high up, in the trees, we could see over the African Plain…

Bird flying display at Branfere in Brittany

Bird flying display at Branfere in Brittany

To finish our visit we watched a remarkable high-flying show where a collection of 120 birds (storks, pelicans, flamingos, eagles, vultures, kites, hawks, and multicoloured parrots) fly literally just a few inches above your head.

We had a fantastic day… and if you do come to Brittany this summer, it is well worth a visit!

Editors Notes about Branféré

We can concur with Nicola. Branféré is a great place to spend a day outdoors in Brittany. We have been visiting for many years, and there always seems to be something new every time we visit. Entry prices start at 10 euros. If you’re looking for other places to visit in this part of Brittany, you might also be interested in the Gardens of Brocéliande, the submarine pens at St Nazaire, or La Gacilly (the home of the Yves Rocher company).

Please help us!

If you found this useful, please let your friends know by sharing it here...