Please find the overview of my Garden Route trip here.
In the morning we had the choice between visiting the Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary or the Elephant Sanctuary. While most people of our group went to the Elephant Sanctuary, I chose Monkeyland to visit some kindred spirits. Monkeyland hosts 18 different species of primates, with the animals allowed to roam free within an enclosed forest. All of the primates in Monkeyland are unable to survive in the wild: several were pets that have been discarded or maltreated by their owners, and other animals were taken in from the wild when they were severely injured.
During the leisurely walking tour I was able to see dozens to hundreds of monkeys from up close. Throughout our walk the guide managed to point out all the different monkey species and the one ape species (some gibbons) that live in the park and answered all our questions. As it was early in the morning the monkeys’ breakfast, consisting of a mixed fruits assortment, had been laid out on tables throughout the forest. These tables would invariably have multiple monkeys on them happily munching away, but we also saw a lot of monkeys walking through the forest, swinging from tree to tree, or enthusiastically playing with each other. Although we were not allowed to touch them, the monkeys were quite curious and would often walk right up to us while loudly chattering to each other. Especially the moms with the little babies holding on tight on their backs were endearing. As I was fully complying with the no-touching rule I was completely caught off guard when suddenly one of the monkeys unexpectedly grabbed hold of me himself and used my leg to support his swing towards the nearby tree.
After all that monkey business it was time for some serious action. We were going to the Bloukrans Bungy, the highest bridge bungy in the world, clocking in at a height of 216 meters. This was an optional activity, and when I booked the tour I was rather doubtful whether or not I would dare taking the plunge. However, on the days leading up to it I became more and more convinced that I had to give it a go, and when we finally got there I was eager to do it. With the traffic on the bridge passing us overhead we walked through the bridge’s frame to the jumping spot, where one by one the jumpers were prepped and sent off. Meanwhile there was some loud music playing to create a relaxed atmosphere, and after someone had jumped the crew of the bungy company would pull them up via ropes to the beat of the music. It looked like they were having fun while doing their job and their contact with us was very genial, which helped to set some of the more nervous people at ease.
After a while it was my turn and the rope was tightly wrapped around my feet. Two crewmen helped me hop over to the jumping point, told me that I should not think too much about it, and that they would count to three and help me go over the edge. I was itching to go though and did not wait for their shove, but pushed off as forcefully as I could and off I went floating through the air! The first second I held my breath in anticipation, but this was soon followed by a long and hard scream to let go of the tension. After getting over the initial rush of air whizzing past the fall seemed to keep going on for a brief eternity and some unbidden doubts flashed through my mind. I reached the lowest point of the jump pretty quickly though, and the rope gently propelled me back upwards for a mini repeat of the fall. After the bouncing up and down had subsided I got pulled back up to the bridge, where I shook off some faint tremors in my legs as I set foot on the solid surface. What a thrill!
* Please don't snap, please don't snap, please don't snap ... *
In the afternoon we went for a hike through the lush forests of the Tsitsikamma National Park. Once again we were able to enjoy some fantastic scenery: from walking directly above the crashing waves on the rocky cliffs to finding ourselves fully surrounded by rainforest and fynbos vegetation despite being only a few dozen meters removed from the ocean to crossing the Stormsriver via a 77 meter long suspension bridge and having a rest on a quaint pebble beach. After the action of the morning this was a beautiful place to relax.
We closed off our hike in the Tsitsikamma National Park with a late lunch and set out for Jeffreys Bay. South Africans apparently really do not like to pronounce long(ish) city names in full, and similarly as Johannesburg is mostly called Joburg, in common parlance Jeffreys Bay is usually called JBay. Jeffreys Bay is one of the most renown surfing spots in the world, and I could indeed spot quite a few tall, tanned, bleach blonde surfing ‘dudes’ walking around the beach-front hostel where we were staying. We did not go into the ocean ourselves though, as the evening was falling by the time we arrived in JBay and it was starting to get rather chilly. Instead we stayed in and spent the evening with some games of pool (participating) and beer pong (spectating).