Al Ain Paradise Garden

This expansive park – the size of four football pitches – is home to approximately 10 million flowers, a 12 metre tall replica of the Eiffel Tower and it holds the Guinness World Record for the most hanging baskets, having 2,968 in total.


 http://forum.xcitefun.net/the-garden-city-al-ain-paradise-t63017.html
 http://visitabudhabi.ae/en/what.to.see/attractions/al.ain.paradise.garden.aspx

Murjan Splash Park

This entertaining children destination in Khalifa Park features no less than seven water-based attractions, all for children up to the age of 12. Its main feature - the ‘Water Play Structure’ - is a shallow pool with four small waterslides, a giant tipping bucket, a crawl tunnel, water guns, a water umbrella, small tipping buckets, a water wheel, and water showers.

Murjan also features a 257 metre long, 0.6 metre deep ‘lazy river’, ready for kids to float on. The more adventurous ones can try their hand at the ‘Water Balloon Wars’. The Lili Pad Hop features four trampolines with harnesses where children can jump and flip on. For kids off 11 years and under, the park offers the ‘Surf Wrangler’- an attraction inviting kids to try their balancing skills by riding a mechanical surfboard and the ‘Bumper Boat Lagoon’ - small steerable, battery-operated boats for kids to drive around and lightly bump into each other.  http://visitabudhabi.ae/en/what.to.see/attractions/more.attractions/murjan.splash.park.aspx

New Waterpark

Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi

Opening End of 2012
Spread over 15 hectares, the waterpark will feature a thrilling range of 43 rides, slides and attractions. Four rides will be one-of-a-kind rides that have never been seen in a waterpark.
Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi's theme is based on a legend that represents local Emirati culture and heritage. Visitors will be able to enjoy attractions that follow the adventures of the waterpark's main character Dana – a young Emirati girl in search of a legendary pearl that brought prosperity to her village.
Building on the legend, the park will have a unique pearl diving attraction that showcases the role pearl diving played in the UAE’s rich history.
Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi on Yas Island is developed by Aldar Properties and will be operated by Farah Leisure Parks Management LLC. 

Building on the legend, the park will have a unique pearl diving attraction that showcases the role pearl diving played in the UAE’s rich history.
Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi on Yas Island is developed by Aldar Properties and will be operated by Farah Leisure Parks Management LLC.  http://abudhabiliving.net/page/yas-waterworld-abu-dhabi

3 Years in the Sand

I am just writing about our 3 year Anniversary because it just came to me that I never wrote anything about it.  It is hard to believe that we have been here for 3 years this past July.  I still remember like it was yesterday getting on a plane and moving clear across the world to what I thought would be nothing more than sand boy was I wrong.

I asked Sydney one day about moving back to the US and she said she doesn't want to live in the US she wants to stay here.  I guess she sees the US as a place she visits and not her actual home and she said she would miss her friends.  Oh when we do move it will be hard on her.  I am glad she has found friends in our home away from home and I have to say we all have adjusted well here.  I never thought I would call the Middle East home, but we have made it our home here.

Fog

October weather some call it haze, but I call it fog.  It has been really been foggy for two days now and it always brings in the cooler weather.  I am looking forward to being able to enjoy being outside and taking the girls to the play ground.  I am however glad it burns off otherwise we would have crazy traffic all day long.


The UAE woke up to a foggy morning on Wednesday with reduced visibility causing traffic snarls, accidents and flight delays in various emirates. — KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd.

… The UAE woke up to a foggy morning on Wednesday with reduced visibility causing traffic snarls, accidents and flight delays in various emirates. — KT photo by JuidiBernarrd

White Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros born at Al Ain Zoo

Anna Zacharias

Mar 14, 2012 

       

 

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AL AIN // Al Ain Zoo is seeking the public’s help in finding a name for their new baby rhinoceros.

The southern white rhino calf, born on February 19, loves mud baths and shaking his budding horn.
It is the first birth for his eight-year-old mother and nine-year-old father.  His parents are unnamed, semi-wild rhinos who were moved to Al Ain in November 2007 from South Africa, the home of most white rhinos. The calf sleeps indoors with his mother and a heater to help keep him warm since the temperature has been low in recent weeks. “In the morning when he comes out of his room he is very playful,” said Dr Arshad Toosy, the zoo’s manager of veterinary operations. “He is doing all the normal things that rhinos do. He has a mud bath every day. He loves playing in the mud and the water.”  Despite the calf’s penchant for muck, he is known for his cleanliness – he urinates in one spot and covers his mess, a habit shared by cats. “He was doing it from the first day,” said Dr Toosy with pride. At times, the calf nibbles treats straight from Dr Toosy’s hands. On other occasions he shows “the normal aggressive behaviour” of rhinos and butts the air.  But overall, the calf is a mummy’s boy and has yet to be weighed because it will not stray from the mother’s side. “We still cannot separate him – she will not let him go beyond a few metres. He’s always next to her,” Dr Toosy said. The rhino weighed between 40 and 50 kilograms at birth, which is considered a healthy weight, and is gaining about 5kg a day. As a newborn he was fed every 30 minutes but he is now fed every hour. “They grow fast so they can protect themselves and stay away from predators,” Dr Toosy said. “He has put on about 50 per cent of his weight. He’s a mini rhino, he’s not a newborn anymore.” The rhino’s horn will start to appear when he is five or six months and will be fully developed when the animal reaches maturity at age seven or eight.  The calf and his mother are being attended by two carers.  Al Ain Zoo has two groups of rhinos – one male and one female, and one male and two females. The calf will soon join its father and “aunt”. “We are doing some soft introduction so they can see each other, they can sniff each other,” Dr Toosy said. At that point, the public will be able to meet the calf.  The zoo will offer more information about how people can suggest names soon.

azacharias@thenational.ae

Hippos

Rare hippos set to draw visitors to Al Ain Zoo

    

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A special exhibit is set to draw visitors to Al Ain Zoo during the Eid holidays - rare hippopotamuses.

• From the first day of Eid Al Fitr, five hippos can be seen in an outdoor setting, including greenery and a water pool, similar to the species' natural environment.

Shaded areas and water showers will reduce the effect of the summer heat, while trees and shrubs will provide additional shade without obstructing the clear view of the animals and their setting.
"We are pleased to offer a new exciting experience for our visitors. Hippos have been part of our animal collection for many years, but have not been on display for the public," said Muna Al Dhaheri, acting director of life science and education at the zoo.
"Now, with the new exhibit being launched, visitors will be able to watch this extraordinary species enjoying their new home."
Wild hippos are naturally found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list of threatened species because of a significant decline in their population over the past three decades.
Primary threats to hippos include illegal and unregulated hunting for meat and ivory from their teeth, and habitat loss. It is estimated that there are only between 125,000 and 148,000 hippos remaining.
The hippo exhibit will be between the Mixed African display and the giraffe feeding area opposite the Arabian wolf exhibit at the zoo.
Al Ain Zoo will be open during the Eid Al Fitr holiday from 10am to 10pm. After the holiday, the zoo will be open from 4pm to 10pm.
mismail@thenational.ae

The Dubai Fountain

The Dubai Fountain is a record-setting choreographed fountain system set on the 30-acre manmade Burj Khalifa Lake, at the center of the Downtown Dubai development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was designed by WET Design, the California-based company responsible for the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel Lake in Las Vegas. Illuminated by 6,600 lights and 25 colored projectors, it is 275 m (902 ft) long and shoots water 240 feet into the air accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music.^[1] It was built at a cost of AED 800 million (USD 218 million).

The Dubai Fountain in the United Arab Emirates (2009) is currently the largest and tallest musical fountain in the world.

Al Majaz Waterfront in Sharjah

The newly named Al Majaz Waterfront is located between Jamal Abdul Nasser Street and Khalid Lagoon Corniche, a vital residential and commercial district and an important part of the city.

The popular park, which lies next to Buhaira Corniche, has been undergoing Dh100 million renovation work since July 2010.  The amenities include restaurants, cafes, open and covered children's play areas, entertainment and cultural areas, the Sharjah Fountain, a waterfront mosque, jogging and bike tracks, a sculpture park, children's art area, mini golf course, splash park and 1,000 parking spaces.  Sharjah's musical fountain is the Waterfront's star attraction with the ability to shoot water up to 100 metres high and 220 metres wide, and which is also equipped with sound, light and laser techniques.

"The 4,700 square metre food court, situated on the banks of the lagoon opposite the dancing fountain, will house outlets and restaurants.  By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter