Plettenberg Bay and the Great Whites
The next stop of our great South African discovery was Plettenberg Bay, a beautiful coastal town along the Garden Route where once again, nature reigns supreme. There are endlessly long beaches with perfect waves, nature reserves knocking at your doorstep and about one million flowers and succulents in every direction you look. However, all the great whites that were driven out of Scarborough seem to have fallen in love with Plett as well, and with two people having been snacked on in the water in just the past months we decided it was smartest to keep to the land. There were shark flags flying high at every beach and not a single soul venturing into the water, and as much as we loved our daily Wim Hoff dips in Scarborough, they would have to wait. We attempted to rekindle our routine of homeschooling, but it was one of those weeks when everything seemed wrong–we were all butting heads and hating learning and teaching alike. It was honestly so horrible it made us question all that we were doing this year. After too much stress to continue on we abandoned school and opted instead to visit the three incredible sanctuaries in the area to learn about monkeys, birds and big cats. All a part of a non-profit collective, SAASA (South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance), the three blew us away in the way they created space for the animals, took pride in their care, the education they provided their visitors, and the experiences they shared. Honestly, a complete surprise from what we expected pulling in. Our first stop was Jukani, dedicated to big cats that have been rescued from people’s homes, hunting lodges and closing zoos. It still boggles my mind that in this day and age people buy wild cats like Bengal Tigers and white lions as house pets and then are forced to give them up after some sort of mauling or injury takes place. Human stupidity will never cease to amaze 🙄. Jukani was home to lions, tigers, leopards, pumas, and, most exciting of all for Holden, jaguars. Holden has been focusing his non-fiction writing course on jaguars and the obsession with them is palpable. These big cats were behind a fence unlike our previous safari adventures, but we still got to be within 5 feet of these beautiful, majestic, massive powerful animals and Holden was smitten. The boys loved sharing knowledge and information with the guide and were so obsessed that we ended up returning 2 days later to see them all again. Our next stop was Birds of Eden, the largest free flight aviary in the world with 3 acres of netted wild space and over 3,500 birds of 220 species. Huxley, who loves parrots as much as Holden loves jaguars, had his dreams all come true as we saw dozens of different types of parrots, flamingos, cranes and dozen of birds that we have no idea what they were but were wild and crazy and beautiful. He was adamant with his little digital camera, framing every bird and every shot and taking hundreds and hundreds of photos, all with eyes so wide that they could barely focus on the camera in front of him. Last, but certainly not least, was Monkeyland to see the primates. We saw baby ring tailed lemurs riding on their mamas backs, hilarious baboons and yellow squirrel monkeys. Just as we were getting ready to leave a mama howler monkey and her baby perched on a branch just above the exit walkway where the mama proceeded to pee and then poop. Shortly after the baby followed suit. Then another Howler joined them and joined the party adding to the ever-increasing puddle and pile in front of us. About 6 more Howlers joined in and the boys were keeled over laughing as our guide explained that it is a funny random Howler monkey trait that when one decided to go to the bathroom, all of the members of the clan will stop what they’re doing, come over and take care of business. We’re pretty sure that counted as homeschool for the week 🤣
On our last morning we did a giant hike in the Robberg Nature Reserve, originally all a part of a huge family estate, now one of the most beautifully rugged coastal parks one could imagine. Add to that, as we walked the ridgeline trail you could look down and see great whites swimming in the ocean down below 😳🦈. Needless to say, we were stoked we’d decided to stay out of the water for the week! South Africa is starting to feel a bit like being in the garden of Eden; you’re surrounded by beautiful trails that you can’t go run as you’ll likely be mugged, beautiful peeling waves that you can’t go surf as you’ll be eaten by a shark... 🤣 Regardless, we continue to love the beauty, food and people we’ve encountered and are so grateful to have such a significant amount of time here!
RANDOM RECS
Visit Jukani, Monkeyland and Birds of Eden
Hike in the Robberg. I would spend multiple days, one doing the big hike all around and another packing a picnic and doing the half-way hike and spending an afternoon picnicking and playing on the beach.
Le Fournil De Plett Bakery for croissants
The Space Between for good yoga
The Pilates Difference for a pilates fix!