Of Monkeys and birds

Monday 2/10/17

Today we travelled from Knysna to Port Elizabeth continuing up the east coast of South Africa on the Garden Route.

Some beautiful scenery en route














Our first stop is the Monkeyland Primate Reserve which is a rehab unit for monkeys who have outgrown homes,  been maltreated at zoos etc and need rehabilitation back into a more natural environment. Many different types of monkeys including capuchins, limas and  a few rarer kinds which one day I may tell you about.  in the meantime....


lima






monkey








gibbon





monkey





monkeys





monkeys




monkeys








gibbon








lima




?



monkey








monkey








gibbon





again-more monkeys






























We were warned about one of the biggest dangers of the park. Thieving monkeys. Yes they were very keen on swinging down and stealing glasses and anything not tied down. It was suggested we not wear sun glasses or hats. Well that  is great as I cannot see without mine so I was advised to hold on to them the whole time. And then we crossed a suspension bridge made of what looked like branches tied together with gaping holes on a swinging bridge.  With my great balance, the need to hang onto my glasses whilst trying to hold the cable thing on the side of the bridge,  it was pretty stressful.  I ended up scraping my arm and it bled. I started to think about rabid monkeys and what I might catch from the wire. People said helpfully not to worry as you have had your tetanus shot...... No I didn't 
have a tetanus shot. I hate needles. So I poured water and the antibacterial wash all over it and kept 
doing it. It appears to be healing and I probably don't have rabies.





and then we went to the neighbouring bird park.





















That night we stayed in Port Elizabeth in the Beach Hotel which was right on the beach and very quaint. 

On the way we stopped at the lookout at Port Elizabeth:



the end of a hectic day





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