Plettenberg Bay

Thursday was our last night (at least for this visit) in Grahamstown. We took Mum and spent the evening at Sue’s home. The next morning we sorted our final things out and left mid-morning with one quick stop, again, at Sue’s.

Our destination was Plettenberg Bay some 3 hours and 30 mins drive to the the west. We took a stop at Jeffrey’s Bay for lunch. We found a sushi bar looking out over the sea. More importantly it was covered, as the weather had been grim all morning.

Due to the weather we had no appetite for exploring so we pushed on to Plettenberg Bay, google maps flawlessly bringing us to our destination.
Yesterday, Saturday, the weather was only slightly improved. We stayed in for the morning and in the afternoon decided to try our luck with the combined Monkeyland / Birds of Eden attractions.

We’re very glad we did. For two reasons. The first is that they were both particularly good. The second is that the weather today is truly awful.

Monkeyland involved joining a group and being guided around a few acres of enclosed forest containing 10 species of primates. An not just monkeys, we had lemurs and apes too. We were lucky enough to see all 10 species.

Birds of Eden claims to be the worlds largest aviary and probably is. Inside there is a three dimensional pathway snaking down, up and across a verdant valley populated by many species of birds and a few more monkeys. Different areas were crafted into different habitats attracting different populations of birds. While we’re not bird watchers ourselves, we can believe this to be a twitchers paradise.

You may notice these photos are not as good as I normally take. My regular camera has failed due to a lens error – probably as a result of sand. Ironic really given where it’s been over the last few years. So these photos, taken in low light with my phone camera, are a bit fuzzy and grainy. I will have to decide soon if I should get the camera fixed or buy a new one. Any advice readers?

Today, with the weather as miserable as one would expect for the UK (joy), we’ve stayed in. We both feel as though we’ve picked up a bit of a cold – perhaps from one of the many children attracted to Monkeyland. We are hoping to go to the movies this evening to break the day a little.

The last two evenings we ate out. Friday night at a cheap Chinese which was as good as we paid. Last night we upped the ante and had a very palatable curry / pizza.