Pampanga | Paradise Ranch & Zoocobia: Clark Adventures Finale

Paradise Ranch - Clark's Nature and Conservation Park

Paradise Ranch is a nature and conservation park located in Zoocobia Valley in Clark, Pampanga.   It is managed by a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmental conservation through reforestation and animal and wildlife preservation.  It promotes responsible charity through "work for food" and "work for school" programs.  It is also the home to Zoocobia Fun Zoo, a zoo that features among others, "bird thrill" and "zooc ride".

Paradise Ranch was our third and final destination in our day adventure here in Clark, Pampanga.  It started with our trip to the hot air balloon festival and then to the Nayong Pilipino.  Here are some of the attractions in the park that we're able to see and explore.

Little Baguio 

This is the section of Paradise Ranch where you can find pine trees and the replica of "mines view structure" (photo above) as well as the replica of the Ifugao house.  In this section, we got the chance to see the surrounding views of the valley and enjoy the fresh air, very relaxing.  We also have a chat with a local watching the mini-store (Paradise Ranch has several mini-stores strategically located in its various sections), who actually came from Ifugao, if I remember it right.

Paradise Ranch - replica of Ifugao houses

Farmville

I'm a Farmville addict way back when the game was just introduced.  It's a simulation game where the players are able to plant and harvest plants and animals virtually.  This Farmville is the same, it's just that it's a real one.  It is the section of the park where the guests can buy animals, fruits and vegetables they chose.  My friends bought several fruits and vegetables here which include papaya, upo and bataw. Me, I enjoyed taking pictures of them, and of flowers and anything in there. I'm done planting and harvesting plants and animals eh. :D

Paradise Ranch - the real Farmville

The Prayer Garden

The Prayer Garden is the highest section of the park.  Here, you can experience some quiet moment, and you can pray and meditate.  There is also a wishing well here where one can drop a coin, ring a bell and make a wish.  Naturally, we made our own wishes there.  And I say a short prayer of thanksgiving, for letting as wander through this place, for letting us experience this wonderful adventure.

Paradise Ranch - Prayer Garden

Other Attractions/Facilities

There are several other attraction/facilities that this park offers.  There is a swimming pool (we didn't take a dip though), a lagoon with bamboo raft where we rode for free (but we're required to buy feeds for the fish), and a butterfly kingdom.  Unfortunately though, this kingdom is a forsaken one, only a few butterflies were there to see. :(

Paradise Ranch - Vista Montana Pool

Paradise Ranch - Bamboo Rafting/Fish Feeding

Paradise Ranch - Butterfly Kingdom, with no butterfly :P

Zoocobia Fun Zoo

Zoocobia Fun Zoo features many attractions that children will enjoy like birds of paradise, garden maze, the barn, giant slide and of course, the famous gravity car.  Our first stop in this zoo was at the birds of paradise where we experienced feeding the birds in the palms of our hands.  My friend's son was at first afraid of going inside but later on enjoyed feeding the birds too.

Zoocobia - Birds of Paradise

There are a lot of wild and exotic animals in this zoo.  And being a zoo, of course there's a snake there available for picture taking.  I'm afraid of snakes and I can't bear the cold and scaly feel of this creature so of course, I didn't attempt to pose with it, not even touch it.  My friend was brave enough though, and she posed with the snake...weeeeee, scary...hehe!

Zoocobia - my friend posing with a snake, she's one brave girl right? ;)

@ Zoocobia Fun Zoo

After watching and feeding some animals, we then proceeded to the zooc ride area. There were only few patrons when we reached the zooc ride section so we're able to ride just after a few minutes of waiting.  Being a newbie who really doesn't go for adventures (I haven't even rode a bump car before this), I wasn't able to enjoy my first ride in the gravity car.  The car stopped (I applied too much pressure on the car's break) just before I reached the first loop of the race track.  On the second loop, I bumped into the side barricade which made the car stopped again. So embarrassing..hehe.

By the way, we had a misunderstanding with the crew manning the zooc ride. Instead of presenting the tickets we bought at the entrance, we again pay for the tickets for the zooc ride, forgetting that we already paid for it (tsk...memory gap? hehe...).  But rather than getting a refund of our tickets, we opted to use it again and have our second chance at the gravity car.  This time, I made it through the first loop without any problem but because I let the gravity pull me through (I didn't apply the breaks this time), I again bumped on the barricade at the second loop, and that was a hard bump.  Whoa, good thing that was not a real car! The ride made me think one thing though, if I couldn't ride and control this gravity car with ease, how would I learn to drive and ride a real one? (tsk, tsk...*sad*)

Zoocobia - enjoying the zooc ride

Zoocobia - enjoying the giant slide

~oo00oo~

That was it, that's the end of our one day adventure in Clark, Pampanga.  We're all tired, hungry too, but we had fun, so much fun.  We enjoyed the rides, we enjoyed feeding animals, we enjoyed the view, we felt like a child once again,  Thanks Aimee & Mien for the wonderful day full of fun. And thanks to my ever dearest friend who gave us a free ride and let us enjoy this adventure. Thank you guys! :)

~oo00oo~

Date of Visit: February 11, 2012
Entrance: PhP200.00 (Paradise Ranch); PhP250.00 (Zoocobia), PhP425.00 (both)
Zooc Ride: PhP75.00/ride; PhP100.00 (1 zooc ride + 2x use of the giant slide)
Feeds: PhP20.00/pack (birds, fish, other animals)
Parking Fee: Free

Paradise Ranch/Zoocobia

Clark's Nature and Conservation Park

Tel. No.: (045) 890-0223

Cell No.: (0922)  860-0317; (0917) 510-8266

email: info@paradiseranchofclark.com

website: www.paradiseranchofclark.com
(got these contact info from their leaflets, can't contact them though)