Disgusting Pretoria Zoo!

SANBI does it again, ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE HORRIBLE...even DISGUSTING Pretoria Zoo! I'm ashamed to ever step foot in there again! On national woman's day, yesterday, my family and I arrived to find a dull atmosphere from the once vibrant and lively Pretoria Zoo, I use to frequent regularly (perhaps due to Covid-restrictions)..regardless that did not excuse the woman at the ticketing booth from not wearing a mask, being extremely rude and then only indicating to me after I had paid for an adult ticket of R120 that a student rate is R90 when I requested to speak to the manager she first ignored me and then told me there's nothing she can do to refund the difference because I had paid using my debit card and not cash, even though I showed her my valid student card. I then went to ask the lady who was sanitising patrons at the door for the manager's office she directed me to his office, where he also refused to refund me the difference citing the same as his colleague. I requested to lodge a formal complaint against them both, he refused to give me any information stating I must go to the sanbi website and get the email address for my complaint. Meanwhile still refusing to refund me, he then stated he would escort us to the relevant place where I will get an email address, just so that my ticket is scanned upon entry, once I got the handwritten email address on a piece of paper; he refused for me to lodge a formal complaint in writing with him...as the manager, insisting I must email. After that, he says to me "now that my ticket has been scanned it is not possible to do anything I can't even get a refund because I have now entered the Zoo" and he won't even give me my R30 difference as I initially requested.

Oh.. did I mention that THERE ARE NO ANIMALS AT THE PRETORIA ZOO, don't even waste your money, you are paying R120 to see a few birds an old sickly elephant, two hippo's, sickly-looking camels and sickly ******s... with 2 sleepy leopards. The Pretoria Zoo is ****ky and scary with a pungent smell of sewerage that loams in the air thanks to the dirty unkept Apies river that runs through it. Oh yeah, some people where throwing their garbage into the river..that may have been the only thing that may entertain you besides staring at the unkept dilapidated heritage buildings, the dirty and un-sturdy unkept benches that frighten you to not sit down....and the fact that there were absolutely no staff on the grounds (to ensure people are wearing masks and sanitising...which they are not..most people entered, took their masks off, and had picnic's on the very little grass that was there while drinking alcohol. None of the restaurants were open, just 2 stores selling ice cream...***!?! Both the aquarium and the reptile park are closed, the cable cart is still not operational and it is clear that they replaced the live spiders and tarantula's with plastic figures. WHAT A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME & MONEY! Clearly, SANBI is more interested in selling photo's of visitors at the door and selling them back to us at exhorbitant price's (while we all have smartphone's) and hiring out golf carts to tour the Zoo..with virtually no animals.

They clearly don't care about the upkeeping of the Zoo's animals and plants, it's heartbreaking to see the once vibrant and beautiful zoological gardens of Pretoria become this dilapidated, smelly, run-down joke.

After a sad, disappointing tour of the zoo, we went to request a FULL REFUND due to my unhappiness with the condition of the zoo and the very limited animals as well as the disgusting lack of activities... the manager was conveniently gone for the day at 5 pm. I'm disgusted, and I want my money back!