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.

This is a relatively easy hike, which starts at the top of the valley and decends gradually down to the Saltriver estuary, along the coast and then up (more effort) past a beautiful viewpoint of Nature's Valley.

Driving from the N2 National road (coming from Plettenberg Bay side), take the first R102 turn-off towards Natures Valley.

Follow the road for 7.9 kms until you see a picnic spot with chairs and tables on the right of the road (You'll see a sign saying "Feeding of Baboons prohibited" on the left side of the road right opposite it) 

Park your car here, remove valuables, 

grab your gear and duck underneath the boom  (err chain) you'll see in front of you to get onto the path. After a short walk (10-15 mins) you'll reach a fork. Follow it to the left towards Saltriver. You'll pass by many species of Fynbos and have beautiful views of the Tsitsikamma mountains to your left.

This gives way to the forest with Keurboom, Candlewood and some Yellowwood trees. You'll notice many bird species and might see bushbuck or see evidence of bushpig.

Between the Tsitsikamma forest and Keurbooms river on the Garden Route, lies the community of the Crags.

The Crags is inhabited by a group of very artistic and creative individuals.

Here you’ll find lots of arts and craft markets, a monkey, elephant,  bird and snake sanctuary, as well as a rehabilitation center for wild cats. You can go on many pristine nature walks and indulge in the excellent cuisine on offer in the area.

Accommodation comes in all styles from top end hotels, bed and breakfasts, country lodges to backpackers and camping. You can get a variety of cheese, home produce and farm milk at the Nature’s Way farm stall or taste the local wines at the Bramon Wine Estate.

For adrenalin junkies there’s the world’s highest bungee jump at 216 meters and polo for the aristocrats. The Barnyard theatre has regular shows, with South Africa’s finest  showing off their talent on stage.

33º South Backpacers is situated smack bam in the middle of the suburb of Observatory in Cape Town. Observatory got its name from being the location of the first Royal Star Observatory by the British in 1820. Throughout apartheid years Observatory was always known as a very liberal 'grey' area with a mix of all colors and races as its inhabitants.

Today it is very popular with students and seems to attract a very creative bunch of individuals. You will find arts, music and culture to be the key idol in this area. It is laced with coffee shops, bars, rustic little restaurants and many art and antique stores.

33º South used to be an old student house in Obs (as locals refer to it) and got transformed in 2007 into a boutique backpackers, by founders Kim Whitaker and Cindy Taylor.

It is conveniently located within close walking distance to all the entertainment and nightlife Obs has to offer. The backpackers mirrors the artistic approach of so many things in Observatory and therefore also seems to attract those with artistic incline.

Serendipity comes in strange flavours. After a whole day of filming the release of a wild caracal, Martina and Paula Keane an amazing musical Irish Duo (without a name ), arrived at Wild Spirit Lodge. Therefore I shall name them by what they sing ... Gentle Hearts

This song, really touches the heart.. Its depth ponders on the blindness of us all as gentle beings...and hearing this change a teardrop into a crystal...

Besides for the Kruger National Park and Cape Town, the Garden Route is probably one of the most known and popular tourist destinations in South Africa. The Garden Route stretches for about 200 kilometres all the way along the Southern Cape Coast, from Mossel Bay in the West to Stormsriver in the East, although there is still dispute as to its exact borders. It includes towns such as Mossel Bay, George, Wilderness, Oudtshoorn (although this town is considered to be in the Klein Karoo), Sedgefield, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Natures Valley and Stormsriver Village.

 It is nestled between the Tistsikamma and Outeniqua mountains and bordered by the Indian Ocean. Many lakes, lush indigenous forests with yellowwood trees (some thousands of years old),  beautiful fynbos, flowers, prestine beaches and abundance of wildlife give it its deserving name.

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.

Nature's Valley is a little town, which is situated on the Garden Route of South Africa and is the only town that is completely surrounded by a Nature Reserve, the Tsitsikamma National Park. Its got the Indian Ocean on the one side, the foots of the Tsitsikamma mountains on the other, and is tucked between the Groot River lagoon and Saltwater estuary on its flancs.

About 10,000 years ago it was inhabited by the San hunter gatherers, but they got displaced later by the KhoiKhoi herders from the interior. After colonisation, the woodcutters of the Dutch East India company, in the late 1700's were the only ones in the area, causing devistation to the forests. In an attempt to stop the destruction, Sir Thomas Bain, a famous engineer responsible for constructing many passes in the area, by following the elephant trails through the mountains, constructed a road in 1880 to the coast which made Nature's Valley easily accessable.

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.

Hello from Lebo's !

---

Overview

Whilst being a craft seller at the Hector Pieterson memorial in the township of Soweto and interacting with tourists on a daily base, Lebo went on his first backpacking excursion with fellow craft sellers to the Drakensberg, and got  first hand knowledge as to what a Backpackers really is.

Lebo started hosting the random guest in 1999 at his grandmothers house in Orlando West, as there was nowhere for travellers to stay in Soweto. Realising the need for a backpackers in Soweto, Lebo founded "Lebo's Soweto Backpackers", the first black owned backpackers in South Africa in August 2003.