MONKEYS!

We recently visited a monkey sanctuary called Bushbabies.  It is a strikingly beautiful place that is set up like their natural habitat - wild and open. No cages! We walked through a jungle-like scene as monkeys crossed our paths, jumped from tree-to-tree, stared at us and went about their daily routines. It was both peaceful and exciting at the same time.

This sanctuary acts as a respite for monkeys who have been in captivity for most of their lives – either in labs or as pets. All monkeys at Bushbabies are donated or rescued. Monkeys are difficult to care for and we learned they become particularly hard to handle when they reach sexual maturity. Thankfully, centers like this exist so these monkeys will not be abandoned and unable to care for themselves.

Being unable to release them in the wild once they are “domesticated,” the monkeys can roam freely here for the rest of their little monkey lives.

{mom & baby}

{ringtail lemurs from Madagascar}

{feeding tables with fruits and veggies}

{check out this guy's eyes}

{suspension bridge over the treetops}

{Matty being a monkey}

{ringtail lemur}

{to the right - ladders for the monkeys to climb up to main walkway. how cool!}

{another view of suspension bridge}

{monkeys hiding in the treetops}

Love,

Jess & Mat

Themba the Olifant

Olifant is the Afrikaans word for elephant. Why am I defining this word, you ask? Well, this past Saturday we got to WALK an elephant. Trunk-in-hand. What did you do?!

Can you believe it? We got to touch, feed, and walk a 13-year old male African elephant named Themba at the Elephant Sanctuary in the Hartbeespoort Dam area of Brits, ZA. Being next to such a huge animal (with no fences in between us) was an unforgettable experience. We interacted with elephants for TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Oh yeah, I also got sloppy elephant trunk kisses from him! It was a-mazing.

{our first glimpse of the elephants}

The Touch:

For the most part, elephant skin feels just like you think it would – tough and leathery. I think it feels a bit like a pencil eraser. The “elbows" and "knees" were very rough and calloused and looked like tiny rock pebbles had been glued to his skin. Themba’s trunk felt rubbery and his tongue felt like a cold piece of meat! Not at all like ours. By far the biggest shock was his ears – they felt like very, very soft leather.

{feeling Themba's belly}

{Themba's ears are so soft!}

{Themba was smiling for the camera}

The Feeding:

We fed the elephants some pellets, which they LOVED. They couldn’t get enough! When you feed the elephant via their trunks, you drop the pellets directly into the trunks; you don’t hold the pellets in your hand and expect them to suck it up. The handler tried to get Mat to eat some pellets after he asked what was in them. Mat politely declined. Ha!

{stretching his trunk for pellets}

The Kisses:

Themba kissed me with his trunk! He put his trunk on my face and blew air out. It was such a cool feeling!!! I didn’t realize until afterward that my face was covered in dirt. Mat may or may not have gotten little jealous that the elephant smooched his wife J

{my face is priceless!}

{post-smooch}

The Walk:

We were instructed to walk in front of Themba and hold our right hand backward in an upward C shape. The handler also said to “keep walking and don’t stop even if the elephant takes its trunk out of your hand.” Themba, the smartest olifant in the world, placed his trunk in my hand so that I was holding the tip of his trunk. I thought I would be scared because, let’s be honest, he could crush me at any second but he was very gentle and walked calmly behind me.

{how cute is Mat's face!!!! he was so happy!}

We also learned a lot about elephants:

 -  Their ear canal is in front of their large ears. I always thought it was behind. Oops!

 - They have super long eyelashes

 -  The trunk is 100% muscle (no bone, no cartilage)

 -   Unlike Asian elephants, African elephants have two finger-like features at the end of their trunk to help them pick stuff up

 -  Tusks are used to dig for food and water, rip bark from trees, and males use them to fight

- Like humans, they are either “right-tusked or left-tusked” and favor one side the most

 -    They can eat up to 300 lbs of food in a day and spend 18-20 hours eating and drinking

 -     They only sleep 3-4 hours a day and it is typically not consecutive hours

 -     They are endangered and, sadly, are STILL poached for ivory

 -    They are highly social and form deep family bonds. Females often “adopt” abandoned elephants into their herd

 -    The oldest female leads the herd. Males are kicked out of the herd when they are around 14 years old and they lead a nomadic lifestyle until breeding time comes around

-     They are extremely intelligent and they have a better memory than humans (maybe not Sheldon Cooper’s memory…)

I hope you enjoyed seeing our Elephant Sanctuary experience. If you ever come to South Africa, this is a MUST DO adventure.

Love,

Jess & Mat

table mountain

The next stop on your virtual tour of the Western Cape is Cape Town…

Even though we did not want to leave Stellenbosch, we packed our things and headed to Cape Town. We stayed at the Cape Royale hotel near the Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront. The V&A Waterfront is a touristy area with lots of shops, restaurants, and endless entertainment. It is also a harbor and working wharf so there is always something to watch. Next time, however, I would prefer to stay on one of the beaches because they are absolutely gorgeous.

{actively restoring a fishing boat}

On our first day, we decided to take the hop-on-hop-off red bus for an easy way to get acquainted with the city. We saw some cool places but we were really looking forward to one stop in particular: Table Mountain (and Lion’s Head).

You may not remember off the top of your head, but you’ve definitely seen a photo of Table Mountain. It’s one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature! It is a flat-topped mountain that overlooks Cape Town.

Here are our obligatory tourist photos of Table Mountain from the Waterfront...

Going to the top of Table Mountain is arguably the #1 activity to do while in Cape Town. You can hike (if you’re crazy) OR take a cable car (if you’re lazy) to the top of the mountain and get an unparalleled view of the city.  Can you guess which option we chose?! Either way, once you get to the top it truly is spectacular. I could have easily spent half a day up there taking in the view while sipping a glass of vino.

Here are some pics from our Table Mountain adventure.

{cable car, our preferred way to get to the top}

{look closely and you will see the 2 cable cars}

{view of coastal highway}

{daredevils preparing to repel down Table Mountain}

{dassies (aka rock rabbits) gave us an X-rated show}

{high winds create huge whirlpools in the ocean}

{Lion's Head}

{Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned}

{Cape Town Stadium, built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup}

Love,

Jess & Mat