While holidays are traditionally time to unwind, pet owners will know it’s hard to leave their fur-babies behind. If your trip is taking you further away from your furry little friends, not to worry, we have dug up four destinations that are doing their bit for the animal lovers out there. And who knows, maybe you’ll find a new friend for life?
1. Golden Retriever Festival – Inverness, Scotland
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This festival of cuteness is everything you’d expect it to be. Big, happy Golden Retrievers, and lots of them. The first ever “Guisachan Gathering”, as it’s officially known, was held in Scotland in 2006 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland, and it has since grown to accommodate owners from all around the world.
The festival includes a week of events, a grand dinner and a GRC of Scotland Open Show where you can meet like minded Golden Retriever owners as well as play around with the pups themselves. Forget Disneyland, this has to be the happiest place on earth.
2. Yellowstone National Park – Wyoming, USA
While our other selections may see you feeding and frolicking with the animals in controlled environments, there’s nothing quite like catching an animal chilling in its own hood. If you stay in Yellowstone National Park only a few days, you might even get used to the herds of bison, sheep, bobcats, elk, coyotes, mountain goats, moose, deer, and of course, the bears that set up shop in these parts.
But it’s not just the animals that make Yellowstone impressive, the beautiful array of geysers and unforgettable camping grounds will have you feeling more at one with nature than you’ve ever been.
3. Arashiyama Monkey Park – Kyoto, Japan
At this Monkey Park, it’s the people that sit in the cage while the monkey’s roam free. After climbing to the top of Mt. Arashiyama, you’ll be greeted by a troop of over 170 Japanese macaque monkeys doing their thing in the wild.
The animals may be wild, but visitors can still purchase small bags of fruit chunks, nuts and biscuits to feed the monkeys from within a caged hut at the peak of the mountain. Don’t stress though, the bars are only there to stop them pestering you if you choose to feed them.
4. Rottnest Island – Western Australia
Rottnest Island (or ‘Rat’s Nest’ in 17th century Dutch) is an island off the coast of Western Australia, named after the Quokka’s who inhabit the island. This cuddly creature has built a reputation for itself as something of a social media connoisseur, after sending the #QuokkaSelfie viral in the past year with the help of their friendly human pals.
This island haven is the only place quokkas still come together in large numbers, with as many as 12,000 of the total 14,000 living in the wild taking up residence at Rottnest. Despite their sparkling personalities and unphased attitude to humans, feeding the Quokka is a bad idea – so let’s just stick to selfies.
Main Image: ©Julie Lubick/shutterstock
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