Animal Sanctuaries

In the Crags, on the Garden Route of South Africa you will find 'The Elephant Sanctuary'. Founded by Chris Kruger, the Elephant Sanctuary is a sort of halfway house for elephants that have nowhere to go to.

The elephants all have different backgrounds. One of them was previously a pet for 11 years (believe it or not), some of them came out of Botswana, and still others were up for culling in the Kruger National Park. The idea is to re-introduce them to the wild, once they are older at private nature reserves.

Each elephant at the moment has its own handler, which it has formed a close relationship with.

Visitors can come on a one hour guided 'trunk in hand' elephant walk through the forest, where you'll get up close and personal with the elephants and even get to touch the elephans. This is followed by a feeding session where you get 'to thank' the elephants and feed them titbits like butternut.

You will also get  a 15 minute lecture on elephant anatomy and some interesting facts about these creatures.

Although there are arguments for and against close human contact, the Elephant Sanctuary maintains that nobody really knows for sure.

The Elephant sanctuary is open to the public every day of the week, weather permitting.

In 2001 founders Len and Mandy Freeman bought an undeveloped 46 ha piece of land in the Crags, on the Garden Route of South Africa. They started out with one little hut on the property, taking in their first injured and problem animals and nursing them back to health. Their ability to heal and rehabilitate animals quickly became known and before long they were receiving injured wild animals of all kinds.

This lead to Tenikwa registering as a fully fledged rehabilitation centre with Cape Nature Conservation. Subsequently more animals including birds, penguins, bats as well as wild cats started ending up at Tenikwa. One of these species, the cararcal is particularly persecuted in South Africa, with numbers declining at a rapid rate. Len explains that it is due to ignorance that these cats get killed and that there are in fact many alternatives to killing.

Hence, the awareness centre came into existence, with the objective of making people aware and educating them about the true nature of these animals and methods of conserving these species for future generations to see.

Founders Mike and Emily Caithness started Lawnwood Snake Sanctuary as a hobby due to their passion for snakes. People would call from all across the country when they find snakes on their property, and ask for it to be removed. Thats how it all started.

Today, Lawnwood boasts over 200 snakes and has been turned into a commercial venture, offering one hour guided tours to visitors.

The tour is designed to educate people about snakes, dispell irrational fears that people have about snakes. Visitors will also get the chance to touch a giant tame leguaan and see it feed on chicken pieces.

Mike and Emily have a wealth of knowledge about snakes, so that at the end of the tour you would be able to identify different species of snakes, understand the difference between the different types of venom (proteolytic, cytotoxic, neurotoxic and hemotoxic), and what to do if you get bitten by these snakes.

Birds of Eden is the world's biggest free flight aviary. It is in essence a sanctuary for unwanted birds from all over the world. Many were shoulder pets before, like most of the parrots you'll find here. Others were donated by zoos and even companies like Disneyland. The aviary is over two hectares in size and netting stretches 34 metres into the sky above.

Birds of Eden is located in the Crags right next to the primate sanctuary monkeyland, on the Garden Route of South Africa, close to the small town of Nature's Valley.

Here, you can go for a self guided walk at your own leisure, which will take you on a raised 1.2 kilometre wooden walkway snaking through the forest and over an 'Indiana Jones' style hang bridge. This brings you quite high into the forest canopy, which makes it easy to see birds like the beautiful indigenous Knysna Lourie from close up.

There are over 3000 birds and more than 220 species of birds at Birds of Eden. On arrival you'll be given a booklet which has pictures and information about all the different birds, which means you can really spend the whole day identifying and observing these beautiful creatures. Birds of Eden is open seven days a week between 8 am and 5 pm.

Monkeyland is situated in the Crags, close to Natures Valley on the Garden Route of South Africa. It is the world's first free roaming primate sanctuary and spans over 30 acres of forest. There are fourteen different monkey and ape species in the sanctuary, all originating from different parts of the world.

The monkeys that get rehabilitated into the forest all come from zoos, circuses or arrive as previously owned pets. Once released into the troop, the monkeys' instincts take over and they live and act as free roaming animals again.

Although there is no active breeding program at Monkeyland, if there is enough of one specie, they will breed, as they have enough food and no natural predators.

Each day 250 kilograms of food in the form of fruits, berries, granola and even sweet potatoes are supplied to the primates, to ensure that there are no territorial fights between the different species.

There is strict policy of no human contact in the form of touch, which means the monkeys do not feel threatened by humans and won't associate humans with food or anything else, making for great viewing opportunities.