Every now and then you are tempted to turn two posts into one. The question is always, “do I have enough to say about each or will it start to sound repetitive?”. This was either going to be a very picture heavy post or two posts that sound quite similar.
Monkeyland and Birds of Eden are located adjacent to one another on a large property just outside Plettenberg Bay. They, together with Jukani, make up the 3 animal hands off wildlife sanctuaries in Plett.
Like Jukani, it is a no touch zone, so throw away any ideas you might have of holding the monkeys or taking pictures of yourself with birds on your shoulder. While you may feel like this is a disadvantage, once you see how comfortable the creatures are in their own environments, you will feel like all your preconceived ideas need to be reassessed anyway.
Since the monkeys don’t feel the need to “perform” for treats and the birds are allowed to fly free in the World’s Largest Bird Cage, you get to see them in their natural environment where they can behave as they want. If they feel like hiding away, they can. If they want to swing through the trees, there is nothing stopping them.
Both guides mentioned that they often find “free” animals hanging around outside or on top of the enclosures wanting to come in. The enclosures are kept as natural as possible with wide open spaces for the animals to make homes for themselves. You won’t find any small cages here. In fact, you may even get the impression that the tour guide is leading you through the enclosure so that the animals can observe humans. Instead of the other way around.
Free Flight Bird Sanctuary
We haven’t had a functional laptop in so long that I’m struggling to remember the finer details of our visit. One thing that struck me when we stepped through the doors of the bird sanctuary was how friggen huge it was! Honestly, there isn’t a lens wide enough to encompass what you look down on when you get there. Do yourself a favour and not only buy one of the Identification Guide books but request a human guide as well. It will improve your experience 10 fold (unless of course you’re already an expert bird watcher).
Let me give you an example. What kind of bird is this?
The Knysna Loerie, right? Okay, now what kind of bird is this?
Nope, not just a younger Loerie without the white markings. It’s a Green Turaco from West Africa. See what I mean?
So I hope this post encourages you to include Monkeyland and Birds of Eden in your itinerary. It is a great way to spend a day and I highly recommend that you set enough time aside, to not feel rushed. Your brain will feel so full after you’ve left that it will take a few days to process all the new information. As I shared in our last post, you can buy tickets HERE. Don’t forget to tag #TazzDiscovers on social media if you go, and take LOADS of pictures ;).
Disclaimer: We were guests of Jukani, Birds of Eden and Monkeyland but we weren’t required to write a blog post. All thoughts, pictures and words are our own.
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