It seems like overnight, the overflow unpaved lot at the Codey Arena by South Mountain turned into a new attraction for Essex County residents and beyond.  The Turtle Back Zoo now has a Safari addition, complete with a huge elephant and 18 other animals.  These animals aren’t moving anytime soon, since they were installed as part of a whopping $4.8 million project to create a safari mini-golf course.

Opening night was a washout with drizzling rain on a Thursday night, but people still came – enough that there were lines for the free mini golf rounds. A band, free hotdogs and soda were also available for the determined miniature golfers.

At $5/child and $7/adult, it will take awhile for Essex County to make their money back — they estimate $250,000 in revenue a year from this venue.  The real test will be after this winter season when the Turtle Back Zoo season is back in full swing and the to-be-built restaurant will be up and running (a boat house is coming too apparently).

Essex County has another mini-golf course over by Eagle Rock in Roseland that was recently renovated with fresh carpets too (actually a fun little course to go play for $5/round too), but it is no match for this safari wonderland smack in the middle of New Jersey.

One of the best kept secrets is the NY PASS tourist card. It’s a pay-on-price ticket to 40+ top tourist sites and attractions.

Places like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Hard Rock Cafe, Circleline Cruise around Manhattan, Museums, Museums, Museums. And then there’s discounts to other places.

It’s something I’d recommend to anyone showing around out-of-town family visitors too.