Living in South Africa, we are surrounded by vast game reserves containing a huge variety of indigenous animals that live in natural harmony only a hop, skip and jump away from our city homes. There are also lots of smaller wildlife “sanctuaries” on the outskirts of the cities, where you can see and often interact with wildlife kept in captivity – offering things like elephant back riding, cuddling lion cubs and walking with cheetah.
We recently met up with Lara Mostert, avid animal rights activist and owner of Monkeyland, Birds of Eden and Jukani near Plettenberg Bay. Lara is passionately educating tourists to be discerning in their support of animal sanctuaries and activities, as not all are good for the animals.
So, what makes Monkeyland, Birds of Eden and Jukani different to other wildlife sanctuaries?
Easy answer – happy animals! Here are 5 responsible reasons why:
Read to the end to enter and WIN tickets for your family to visit all 3 sanctuaries!
When I was a young girl, my dream was to win the KTV Trolley Dash, where you would get 2 minutes to race around Toys R Us and fill your trolley with whatever toys and games your heart desired. This is exactly how it felt when we visited George with Cheapflights and spent a day dashing around some of the area’s top attractions.
George and Wilderness on South Africa’s Garden Route are literally bursting with incredible things to do – so many that to experience it properly you should spend at least a weekend, if not a week or two in the area. But this time we had just one day to suss it out.
We decided to mix things up a bit, step away from our family’s usual choice of outdoor adventure activities and throw in some history, spirituality and natural beauty for a well-rounded dash day.Continue reading…
It’s Sunday morning and I am lying in a cloud of puffy white linen, watching the mist as it wafts through the door and swirls around the room, making patterns in the soft morning light around me. I am revelling in that half-awake state of being that is midway between deep sleep and consciousness – a rare and special place that we parents seldom get to visit.Continue reading…
Cape Town has been named as the most beautiful city in the whole world, and we visited for an action-packed weekend to see if it was true.
