 "Photo: Erin Drew")
Golf balls? Check. Eighteen holes? Check. Live alligators, gemstones and scavenger hunts? Check, check and check.
Congo River Golf, located on East Colonial Drive just east of Alafaya, is a new miniature golf course that opened up a few months ago.
This isn’t your typical mini golf course, though — this golf course is designed to take you on a safari through Africa.
A waterfall, streams, boulders with African masks, a zebra-striped plane and a safari Jeep all help capture the essence of Africa.
“It’s really fun,” digital media major Cody Brunty said. “The waterfall named Livingstone is my favorite hole.”
With names like “Unfriendly hippos” and “Stanley starts search for Livingstone in Africa,” the 18 holes provide a putt-putting journey through Africa.
“I think it’s great,” elementary education major Tiffany Lance said. “It gives us something else to do. I love the safari setting and the scavenger hunt.”
Upon entering Congo River, each party is given a scorecard, which has a scavenger hunt checklist on the back. There are six items hidden around the course that each party must find. Those items include a shield, a hat, a mummy, a canoe, a spear and jewels. If all items are found by the time the session is finished, the party is given scratch off cards that may yield a free game at Congo River.
“No one ever gets the shield,” Stephen Jacobson, a UCF student and Congo River employee, said. “I don’t know what it is, but people always miss it.”
For people interested in mining, a bag of gemstones is available for purchase and can be placed in a pan with grates at the bottom. Dip the pan into the water and watch as the water washes the soil away and the gemstones are revealed.
There is also a party room, arcade and a pit where people can feed live gators.
People are starting to notice this new attraction near UCF. Jacobson said last Friday they had the most people in attendance out of any of the six locations in Florida.
“There’s no specific group of people that come here,” Jacobson said. “It’s pretty diverse. We get little kids, students and adults. It’s fun for everybody.”
Congo River Golf also has locations in Altamonte Springs, Daytona Beach, International Drive, Clearwater, Kissimmee and Port Richey.
Congo River is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
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