Then the rest of us got off the bus and Fred gave each one of us a salute and said, ‘WELL DONE TROOPS, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.’ I started thinking that perhaps he was more like an ARMY SERGEANT than a pirate bus driver.

Múinteoir Emer asked him if he’d like to join us on the tour of the wildlife park but Fred said, ‘NO THANKS,’ because, again, that was not part of his scheduled plan and he would be quite happy waiting for us in the bus with his flask of tea and his cheese and Tayto sandwich, reading his EVENING ECHO, which was part of his scheduled plan.

Then Múinteoir Emer looked less impressed and starry-eyed and said, ‘Suit yourself so’ and we headed off towards the entrance gate, where two people dressed in green combat pants and polo shirts were standing waiting for us, with a big sign that read:

The two people introduced themselves as Katie and Seán. Katie told us that she was the Head of Education at Fota Wildlife Park and was looking forward to showing us the 100 ACRES and 135 SPECIES at the park. Then Aidan asked whether we would get to see any animals as well as all the acres and species. And Seán, who was the Park Ranger, had to explain that the species WERE the animals.

Then we were given a park pack with a map and a quiz to fill out and we were ready to go.

I was super excited because the first animals we got to meet were the meerkats and question number one on the quiz was:

1. What is a group of meerkats called?

I spotted the answer on the sign next to their enclosure, so I quickly scribbled it down. I was delighted that I was off to such a good start.

We walked further around the park, and everything was super cool and the sun was SHINING down on us and we got to meet the ostriches, zebras, lions, rhinos and big hairy bison, as well as the cheetahs who were running and chasing each other.

Me and Laura helped each other find the answers to the next four quiz questions, which I also thought I answered really well:

2. Can an ostrich fly?

No it can’t. Although if it hopped really high, it might look like it could.

3. Where are zebras native to?

Zebras are native to Africa, but some of these zebras were born here so they are Cork natives too.

4. Does the male or female lion grow a mane?

The male lion grows a mane because he likes to take pride in his appearance.

5. What is a female rhino called?

Everything was going great, and I was totally being very good and not getting into any mischief, except for the fact that my face was getting very hot and my nose was turning really RED. Laura told me that I was starting to look like a tomato and then I realised that I had totally forgotten to put on the SUNSCREEN that Mam had left out for me, and I had also totally forgotten to bring my SUN HAT, which Mam had told me not to forget. But sure, who expected it to be this sunny at the start of May?

I didn’t want to get into trouble, so I went and asked Múinteoir Emer if she had any sunscreen I could borrow, but she didn’t. Instead, she rolled her eyes and said, ‘Here, Milly McCarthy, you’d better take my hat because I do not want to have to bring you home to your mother burnt to a crisp.’