When my wife and I plan trips together, there is a lighthearted tug of war over one topic. My wife will ask “can we go to the zoo there?” and I’ll reply “you only get one zoo trip a year.” We share a laugh and continue on with the trip planning. Sometimes the zoo is a no brainer, like in San Diego. I think technically, I didn’t even count that as the year’s zoo. I’m not dead set against zoos, per se. I’m an animal lover, but with some notable exceptions, once you’ve seen one zoo, you’ve generally seen all zoos.

When we planned out our trip to Kelowna, there were two places my wife wanted to visit that looked suspiciously like zoos. We laughed a lot at exceeding the year’s quota in 5 days and I may have requested 2018 to be a zoo-free travel year. The first “zoo” was fun and had me snuggling with a baby walaroo.  The second “zoo” wasn’t even really a zoo at all, and it was probably my favourite part of our Okanagan trip that didn’t involve wine.  The Arion Therapeutic Farm, a short drive from downtown Kelowna, was in essence a small working farm and conservation park for animals. Before even meeting any of the four-legged inhabitants, the place had me hooked with its sheer beauty.

For the ridiculously low admission of $5, you get a tour guide and ample time to walk around and meet all of the animals.

Many of them were very friendly and happy to come right up to you for a head scratch. This one appears to have had some time modelling and posed perfectly for my camera.

As we toured the farm, our guide told us about their mission, and I kept falling more in love with the place. They say they are “A farm that caters to people of all ages and abilities” and I think that also extends to their animals, many of whom are rescued from bad situations and given a wonderful place to live out their years.

There’s a wonderful variety of animals roaming free here and being in the fields with them you got a sense of their unique personalities. I liked this guy, whose picture I took to try to convince my niece that I had met a unicorn.

Our lovely guide, shown below, gave us some background on each of the animals, including this llama, who if my memory serves me correctly, is named “mamma” as she rules this field and looks out for all of the other animals. She’s a little standoffish with the humans, but that’s ok with me.

Without a doubt, the animal that stole my heart was this guy. I’m a sucker for old animals in general, and those who show their age through faces that go white or grey in particular. This old donkey had a rough life and his beautifully greying face had me wondering how I could take him home with me to love for the rest of his days.

Although I’m an animal lover, horses and me don’t seem to get along. That might date to a childhood incident in norther New Brunswick where a horse terrified me while he was trying to get to an apple I had in my jacket pocket. I let my wife say hi to this guy and stood safely back to observe.

This farm is a beautiful place in all aspects. They welcome and run programs to support people of all abilities, in particular, children. They adopt and rescue animals in need. And they offer a stunning, idyllic location to learn about animals and nature from people who volunteer their time to support this amazingly wonderful operation. This was truly one of the most heartwarming and beautiful places I have ever visited in all my travels.