Accommodation near Monkeyland - 10

The Garden Route is renowned for its excellent and consistent weather, the stunning beach, the gorgeous mountain and the indigenous forest. There is a lot of eco-tourism in the area too, and Monkeyland falls into this category.

Located 16 kilometres from Plettenberg Bay, Monkeyland is a sanctuary in every sense of the word. It takes up a 23 hectare section of the forest, where primates from a variety of different origins dance through the trees, living the life of riley and intriguing visitors to the centre – young and old alike.

Primate species found at the centre are diverse and come from all corners of the earth. There are gibbons from Asia and lemurs from Madagascar as well as a host of indigenous primates. What they all have in common is a history of living in cages. The sanctuary’s goal is to rehabilitate the monkeys – teach them how to fend for themselves and get passed the torment many of them suffer as a result of previous maltreatment.

Monkeyland operates within a sustainable tourism niche, where the environment is as important to the organisation as its profits are. The sanctuary’s main driving force is conservation, but it is not immune to the necessity of money.

A member of Fair Trade Tourism, the South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance and in partnership with Birds of Eden, visitors to Monkeyland will not be able to avoid the conservation ethos of the place. For starters, all the primates are free to move about the full 23 hectares of forest, without being hindered by any form of barrier. Visitors can explore the forest via a series of suspension bridges and spotting the various species is as much down to the luck of the draw as if you were viewing them in the wild.

The best way to experience Monkeyland is on a tour with one of the game rangers, who will teach you about the primate species and their main threats, as well as about the ecology of the forest and its other inhabitants like the birds and insects. In all, Monkeyland is an informative, fun and exciting outing for all age groups.

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