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Published: August 26th 2008
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Down in the gorge...
...walking to Monkeyland Little Monkeys
We woke up to a fantastic if slightly overcast view of a forest with mountains behind it. We eventually wandered off to breakfast which was definitely a contender for knocking our Jo’burg breakfasts off their throne.
Hog Hollow is a fantastic place to stay, the main house is filled with African artefacts and wooden furniture all housed in orange, brown and black tones. Our room is in a separate building of three apartments all with a downstairs deck with hammock and comfy chairs and the fab view. It was very tempting to sit on the deck for the rest of the day sipping the home made lemon cordial provided in our room by our hosts but we had decided to go to Monkeyland and the Elephant sanctuary. We also decided that during and since Fiji we had been very negligent on the exercise front. So we decided to take the “Cat Walk” which led us down into the gorge from our accommodation, along the river bed and then back up the other side of the gorge before following a flat track to Monkeyland.
The walk down into the gorge was not so much a walk as a
A lemur
ruffed lemur, very noisy and terratorial scramble and a gingerly stepping and sliding affair. Once at the bottom we crossed the river over a makeshift dam and made our way along the bank, climbing over trees and rocks. Then it was back up the other side of the gorge which was easier underfoot but quite steep. Breathless we eventually made it to the top, having discovered giant wood lice and millipedes, and heard monkeys chattering on the way.
Once we got to the edge of Monkeyland we were catching sights of monkeys in the trees and also giant tortoises sitting by the fence. Whilst walking along one part of the fence we were accompanied by a male and female ape (possibly gibbons) that swung along the fence following us. It made us feel like we were the ones on display in the zoo not them.
On arriving we were ushered into the reception area and waited 20 minutes for the next tour. The guide was very knowledgeable and talked us through monkey/ape taxonomy biology, geography and nutrition as we walked through the forest and were introduced to all manner of simians and primate such as capuchins, squirrel monkeys, gibbons, lemurs and tamarinds. They were
Atlas the Gibbon
He was the only gibbon and didn't have any friends - aah! all very cheeky, each with their own personality quirks and idiosyncrasies. Ellie and Jack were entranced. The tour concluded with a precarious walk across the longest rope bridge in the southern hemisphere in order to see the monkeys at their own level within the tree canopy. However, the monkeys deigned to be elsewhere at the time, but we made it across intact and spent a little time back at the restaurant, eating a modest lunch of hot dogs and watching a man who seemed to be employed solely to keep the squirrel monkeys away from the tables by squirting them with water, a job we thought Jack would be eminently qualified to perform!
By this time the rain had arrived and was starting to get heavier so we decided to skip the Elephant Sanctuary and instead hopped into the car (delivered by the Hog Hollow staff) and drove back to Plettenberg. We stopped partway for a few purchases at a craft shop, but once in Plett the consumerist lure of a shopping centre proved too much: we came back laden with cheap clothes and jewellery (the exchange rate at the moment makes some things hard to resist). Also whilst
No Entry
who has stolen the road? we were driving around Plett we followed signs for a lookout and came down a road through a building site to find that the road had been washed away. Apparently 600 metres of beach, road and car park was washed away in a flood overnight last November. It was quite an awesome sight and quite unbelievable that a whole beach had disappeared.
Back at Hog Hollow we spent the rest of the afternoon bathing, reading and generally luxuriating before going down to the communal dinner. A burning brazier lit up the view deck as we chatted to the owner and some other guests, lubricated by a little wine. When dinner was called, we moved into the dining room and sat at a single large table with a number of other guests - some Germans, others English, but all very affable and pleased to engage in conversation with the kids. This could have proven a little nerve-wracking, if not for the fact that both Ellie and Jack were at their most eloquent and polite that evening. We got the feeling that most of the guests were really charmed by them, and we were very proud as they recounted many of
Bedroom at Hog Hollow
A fantastic place to stay the experiences we have had on the trip and took part in the conversation in a very mature way. The food and wine was also top notch, and we retired back to our apartment feeling satisfied in many ways. Bedtime stories for everyone prepared us for a sound sleep.
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