A Day on the Bay: Oh, Buoy! : It’s a jungle on land. So Balboa is zoned for monkey business.

Touring Newport Harbor can be a positively electric experience. Then once you’re off the azure waters, check out the Emerald Forest. There’s a reason they call it the Balboa Fun Zone!

AFTERNOON: 1

You can rent sailboats, motorboats and offshore boats, not to mention wave runners and kayaks, at Balboa Boat Rentals, next to the Balboa Ferry on the Balboa Peninsula. But for a distinctly Orange County experience, you can’t beat the electric boats, those small, surrey-fringed vessels of fiberglass that seem stuck in another era--but no telling which one.

The electric boats were invented a quarter-century ago by Duffy Duffield, who continues to manufacture them and operate Duffy Boat Rentals across the harbor in Newport Beach. They’re quiet, simple to operate and cruise the bay at 5 knots; eisenglas panels offer protection from cooling breezes. Eighteen-footers seat up to eight people; 20-footers accommodate 12.

Unmoor, enjoy the salt air and be nautical looky-loos. Check out slightly larger vessels, including the 123-foot yacht P’zazz docked at John Wayne’s former digs at the tip of Bay Shores, and the Pride of Newport stern-wheeler, once the Reuben E. Lee restaurant and now the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. Plus see the homes of developers!

Even when the weather is beautiful, you can have the harbor practically to yourselves in winter. The only other boat we passed on a recent weekday outing, in fact, was Freelance, out of Davey’s Locker.

LATE AFTERNOON: 2

See where you’ve been from atop the Balboa Fun Zone’s Ferris wheel. Young kids might also enjoy bumper cars, the merry-go-round and the pirate-skeleton-themed Scary Dark Ride.

And if electric boats aren’t high-tech enough, try Lazer Tag at the LazerZone. Vests and “guns” are allocated in a suit-up room. Players try to zap each other’s flashing target in a dark arena. The object is to “escape with the most lives”! A 10-minute session ($5) is sure to work up a sweat.

Cool off with frozen bananas or Hawaiian ices such as Kihei cotton candy and Mikiki bubble gum at Heiberger’s Candy. A dozen house-made fudges include amaretto chocolate swirl and top-selling peanut-butter chocolate at $7.77 per pound.

Among the bric-a-brac at Balboa Gift House are rice necklaces ($9.95), featuring a grain of rice with the name of your choice written on it (and enclosed in heart- or lightbulb-shaped glass) while you wait.

How?

“With a very fine-tip pen,” said Tia Johnson. “You just hold your breath. I can only do 10 letters” on a single grain,” she added modestly. “Our supplier can do 12.”

EVENING: 3

Jaguars and gorillas and toucans, oh my! There’s no missing the Emerald Forest restaurant. The endangered species jungle motif covers the exterior of the three-story building, and there’s more--a lot more--inside.

By the time you enter, you’ll know that of 600 elephant species, only two remain, and that more than half the parrots smuggled for sale in pet stores die in transit. Tabletops at dinner booths (each dedicated to organizations such as the Jane Goodall Institute) note sobering statistics such as the life expectancy for a captive African elephant averages from 11 to 13.9 years--it’s as long as 70 years in the wild--and that a rain-forest area the size of New York state is destroyed each year.

Oh--there’s food too. Appetizers, salads and sandwiches range from $5.50 to $11. Entrees include Florida rock shrimp tacos with a hint of mole ($7.50) and pan-seared swordfish coated in a Parmesan-thyme crust and served with a sweet pepper aioli ($14.50).

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

1. Balboa Boat Rentals

510 E. Edgewater Ave. (next to Balboa ferry), (714) 673-7200 Eight-seat electric boat $45 per hour (Mon.-Fri. winter special, 50% off second hour). Boxed lunches ($8-$10) and “cruise and dine” packages for four or more available from Newport Landing. Other vessels include kayaks ($10 per hour) and 16-foot motorboats ($30 per hour); 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Thur., 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.

2. Balboa Fun Zone rides

LazerZone

Heiberger’s Candy

Balboa Gift House

600 E. Bay Ave., Balboa, (714) 673-0408 Noon-8 p.m. Mon.-Thur., noon-10 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun.

3. Emerald Forest

309 Palm St., Balboa, (714) 723-5000

11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Mon.-Tues., 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Wed.-Thur., 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Fri.-Sat., 9:30 a.m.-midnight Sun.

Buses: OCTA buses 53 and 65 make stops along Balboa Boulevard, northbound at Palm Street, southbound at Adams Street

Parking: There is metered parking in a lot at the corner of Bay Avenue and Palm Street, and along Bay and other streets, or $10 valet parking in a structure at 309 Palm St. ($5 with Emerald Forest validation).