We drove an hour and a half from Toronto to spend the day at
Peterborough. We have seen the lift lock before but decided that the system is
worth seeing many times.
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| Peterborough Lift Lock |
The Peterborough Lift Lock is the highest hydraulic boat
lift in the world, raising boats 65 ft (20 m). It is always a marvel to look
at. It is Lock 21 on the Trent Severn Waterway. While of course, you would need
to pay if you are going on the lift lock cruise (yes cruise boats actually go
on the lift) or if you have any other watercraft that passes the lock, you have
to pay lock fees. There is no admission to view this engineering wonder.
The Visitor Centre is also free and there you can learn
about Trent Canal Superintending Engineer R.B. Rogers, who led a team that
built the giant lift lock over eight years beginning 1896. Apart from the
exhibits, they also have videos, demonstrations and a gift shop!
If you plan it well enough (or if you were lucky like us),
you can catch a boat race, which you can watch for free! By the shores of
Little Lake, hundreds of spectators cheered as the power boats raced courses
for Ontario Power Boat Racing Association (2017 was the first time they put the
race back on from 1992!). Truly a sight to see!
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| Power boat race @ Little Lake, Peterborough |
A few kilometers away, we went to the Riverview park and
Zoo, a member of Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums - Aquariums et Zoos
Accrédités du Canada. CAZA-AZAC is an organization that promotes the welfare of
animals, and encourages the advancement and improvement of zoological parks,
aquariums and related animal exhibits in Canada as humane agencies of recreation,
education, conservation, and science. Best of all, it is free!
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| Riverview Park and Zoo, Peterborough |
They had a snack bar, splashpad, gardens, a
mini-train ride, trails, and how amazing is this: they had a playground which had equipment for physically-challenged children! They thought of
everything!
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| Accessible play equipment @ Riverview Park and Zoo, Peterborough |
Of course, the main attraction was the zoo which featured over 25 exhibits and more than 48 species. They had a cute potbellied pig and
porcupine.
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| our favourite, Vietnamese pot bellied pig @Riverview Park and Zoo, Peterborough |
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| we truly found this porcupine adorable, despite quills, @Riverview Park and Zoo, Peterborough |
Plus they had many other interesting species like the bobcat,
serval, various reptiles (python, tortoise, etc) and birds (ibis, macaw, etc).
They seemed well-cared for.
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| Meerkats @ Riverview Park and Zoo, Peterborough |
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| Peafowl @Riverview Park and Zoo, Peterborough |
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| Giant slide which the kids enjoyed @Riverview Park and Zoo, Peterborough |
It was an amazing gem so close to downtown
Peterborough! Did I mention it was free?
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