Things to Do in Wesley Chapel

The husband and wife owners of Giraffe Ranch wake up each morning to the squawks, chirps, and growls of rhinoceroses, hippos, ostriches, and a menagerie of other exotic animals. After feeding their giraffes, they tend to the cattle and collect eggs from their free-range chickens that cluck across their 47-acre combination of a working organic farm and a wildlife preserve accredited by the Zoological Association of America. Encompassing four ecosystems, the preserve sprawls under 400-year-old oak trees and across native orchards into wetlands filled with nesting sandhill cranes. With the aid of their son, the owners lead tours through habitats for endangered or otherwise extinct African and South American animals, walking past pens of African crested porcupines, guinea pigs, fossa; as well as lemurs that guests can feed by hand or T-shirt cannon. Their tours never follow the same path, instead changing to skirt around grazing goats or to meet a brood of newly hatched baby ostriches.

Not content to simply lead guests on relaxing strolls, guides also load passengers into four-wheel-drive safari trucks—custom built by the owner after vehicles used in Africa—or onto the backs of camels for extended preserve tours that showcase larger game such as Indian rhinoceroses, pygmy hippopotamuses, llamas, and antelopes. Guides also steer tours toward feeding times, encouraging passengers to pass leaves to the preserve's namesake giraffes from the truck. An onsite shop boasts shelves of glass art, plush lemurs and giraffes, and T-shirts—many designed by the owner's wife—alongside handcrafted African decor. Shop staffers also proffer organic fertilizer, organic free-range eggs, and grass-fed beef harvested on the farm.

When youngsters from a nearby school for disabled children visited his old Halloween store in Indianapolis, Don Surenkamp happily walked and wheeled them through the aisles and explained the holiday's traditions. After he relocated to Florida, Don remember those children and created a handicap-accessible haunted house whose proceeds support The Angelus, a group home for cerebral palsy, reports the Tampa Bay Times. What began with a dozen spooky rooms now lures intrepid guests with 25 rooms occupied by skeletons and demons. Spines continue tingling on a haunted hayride down a 1-mile haunted trail and through the outdoor pirated-themed haunt, which includes a spooky 40-foot pirate ship. Don lets the fainter hearted pass through until 8 p.m. with glow sticks in hand to keep away scary monsters, pirates, and photocopies of failed spelling quizzes.

Situated in the cool shadows of cypress trees and home to glistening ponds, Northdale Golf & Tennis Club's 6,824-yard course reflects architect Ron Garl's vision to sculpt a layout that capitalizes on natural beauty without spoiling it. A former dairy farm, the emerald expanse challenges golfers with tree-lined fairways, water hazards that appear on multiple holes, and white-sand bunkers, which greenskeepers procure in bulk by trimming Zeus's beard every spring.

Globetrotting tennis pro Chris Cary presides over the club's nine lighted tennis courts, grooming forehand strokes in lessons and ensuring an even-spread layer of dust over the clay surfaces. The Compass Grille awaits hungry visitors and tennis balls that have lost their bounce at the end of the day, serving up deli-style fare and drinks from a full-service bar with a variety of imported and domestic beers.

Course at a Glance:

• Designed by Ron Garl
• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 6,824 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 72.8 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 129 from the farthest tees
• Link to scorecard

Piercing drives resonate across the verdant grounds of Zephyrhills Under Par, providing sonic evidence of golf balls advancing through the 18-hole, 5,054-yard course. The par 68—sculpted in 1978—presents a relatively open layout, with extensive landing zones that encourage golfers to either test the limits of their driver or charter a last-minute plane for their swing coach.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 68 course
• Length of 5,054 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 70.0 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 113 from the farthest tees

Overseeing an air-conditioned, eight-lane range, the marksmen behind Plant City Gun Range enforce house rules, maintaining a secured environment while sportsmen shoot targets up to 15 yards away. NRA-compliant instructors from VIP Security Training organize the facility's classes, from beginner safety courses to advanced tactical shooting. Beyond the range, the facility extends into a pro shop, where two gunsmiths with decades of experience repair, restore, and customize firearms with services such as mounting scopes or by engraving lyrics from Les Misérables into the stock.

David Morejon has completed three Ironmans and more than 90 triathlons, but arguably his most impressive feat has been bungee jumping from 150 feet—in a bull costume. David's passion for fitness, adventure, and animal outfits shines through in The Hog Wild Mud Run, which he co-owns with Adam Morejon. Participants are encouraged to wear creative costumes during the events, which pair tests of strength and endurance with slogs through waist-deep mud. Each mud run closes with a party where a DJ spins while athletes celebrate with beers, rather than by drinking leftover mud with festively colored straws.