Monkey Business

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It is interesting, how often travel results in visiting unexpected places. Today I visited Hartsbeeport with the plan of going on the cable car. However, when I got there, there was a forty five to an hour queue, which didn’t sound pleasant in 33 degree heat. So I thought I would go back later and see what else is there in Hartsbeeport.

While driving around, I saw a sign for Bush Babies Monkey Sanctuary . I’m never too sure of the standard of animal sanctuaries but this looked quite professional from the outside and I decided to go in. The sanctuary is a 7 hectare open cage home to 75 different monkeys. The only way to go round the tour is with a guide and tours start on the hour.

Before we started our guide strongly recommended that we put our bags in the lockers they provide as the monkeys are prone to kleptomania and will open bags to see what is inside. This warning was appropriate as within thirty seconds we were greeted by a little monkey who climbed on to one woman’s camera bag and was searching inside. The little guy found a camera battery and promptly climbed a tree with it. He then started rubbing it and smashing it against a tree to check it wasn’t any food. Eventually he did give the battery back by dropping it when he realised it wasn’t food.

Once we were over the excitement of the battery theft we started walking round the enclosures in the reserve and we got to see squirrel and spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys, velvet monkeys and lemurs. The refreshing thing was that the monkeys were not in cages and were free to run around and play as they desired. Some of the more friendly monkeys would come up close and say hello, although thankfully none of the others tried to steal anything.

One final note, on the initial disclosure form it did ask people to declare if they had a fear of heights, this was particularly due to the rope bridge we had to cross at one point (see photo).

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Photos

Monkey with water bottle
The monkey hadn't worked out how to open the cap yet, so was trying to break it to get at the water inside...

Rope Bridge
They weren't joking when they said you should declare if you have a fear of heights!