Luxury Camping: I haven't embarked on some luxurious African safari yet, perhaps because the idea of the open African terrain, with its rhinos and cheetahs, and me housed in a flimsy tent is a tad unsettling.

Fortunately, a lovely and more secure way to experience the mystic and majesty of Africa's creatures is at the San Diego Wild Animal Park's "Roar and Snore."

A perfect snapshot of Africa's sounds and sights, the Roar and Snore allows adults (and kids, on separate nights) to sleepover at the Park in lux tents and hear the cacophony of calls, cries, and robust roars of the Park's diverse animals in the Africa Field Exhibit.

Park guides welcome you to the Park and assign a tent in the early evening, and following a camp-style dinner, lead small groups behind the scenes of tiger, elephant, lion, and condor exhibits. I've never heard a tiger snore nor seen two baby elephants play tag, but such experiences are common when one's cloaked in darkness and guided by expert Park staff.

At sunrise, our group was in for another treat: up close peaks at unusually playful rhinos, spirited cheetahs, and lions tromping around their enclosure's "toy" Land Rover.

I'm not confident I'm ready yet for the African savannah, but I'm certainly enchanted by it's creatures and for that matter, all of the animals that call the San Diego Wild Animal Park home.

Katherine Sutton
Freelance Writer
JustLuxe Contributor