Staying over at Aardvark Backpackers

The day started off rather slow today. Milou had only arrived around 10 pm from Port Elizabeth and we had stayed up late catching up. Her accounts of the stay at the volunteer house were much different from my stories at the park and it was definitely fun hearing them. Unpacking our things around 10 am or so, we decided that we would not stay at Orange Elephants another night. Most of the rooms were booked and we left our packed stuff at the bar before heading out to grab a bite. We learnt of a restaurant just further up about a kilometer from the backpackers and made our way there for meal. It was rather unfortunate that my camera battery had died at this time.

On the way down to finding the restaurant, I saw a signboard for an animal rehabilitation centre just within walking distance and this was exciting since I had never had a chance to visit any just yet. Walking down we walked into the gates of the ADDO raptor and reptile centre and were greeted by the friendly staff and a rottweiler puppy. The centre accepts donations and we paid a small fee to walk around the facility grounds.

The area of the facility was spacious and much work had been done there. The centre accepts animals that were abandoned, injured or needed care and much of the inhabitants had been in much worse conditions before arriving there. The rottweiler was constantly being annoyed by a one armed monkey on the shoulders of the owner and curator and it was fun watching this interaction.

We spotted much animals there, reptiles, birds and much more. Most of the snakes were kept in glass enclosures. Birds in cages spacious enough for them to fly around seemed active and healthy. We went past several enclosures housing owls and raptors as well as even crocodiles. Many of these had been abandoned by prospective pet owners and it seemed that the exotic pet trade was contributing to so much animals being moved out of their original surroundings. We learnt that there were caracals at the site and to access them we had to walk through a cage housing a vulture.

Initially the vulture who we learnt was a juvenile seemed intimidating but apparently he was just a curious bird and posed no harm. After seeing the rest of the centre, we left and watched a procession of geese walking by. This was supposed to be a daily routine and was really loud and sweet to witness.

We had to move out of Orange elephants and decided to move to another backpackers further down where I had stayed with Milou and her friend before. Aardvark backpackers was about a kilometer away and luckily we got a lift from a couple just as we were walking back to Orange elephants. The previous time we had stayed at a dorm but decided to opt for a hut this time round to experience a different setting. Aardvark backpackers is run by a non-local who had moved to South Africa and boasts really beautiful huts set midst a quiet and idyllic site. The hut wasn't too expensive and was clean and cosy.

Appetiser with humus

Spending the afternoon at Aardvark was relaxing and lying on the hammocks tied between trees gazing at the sky lent perspective to the word peace. Evening came soon enough and we decided to have dinner at the restaurant located within the premises.

The first thing that struck us was that the restaurant had no menu but the waiter recited the entire menu by mouth. He was even accurate enough to tell us the exact ingredients used and stressed that all the spices and herbs used were mostly organically grown.

Milou was recommended to try Bes bock meat which was easy to chew on. Apparently this was a favorite with ladies and mine was impala. The food was slightly higher priced then most of the restaurants we visited but it was amazingly good. It had been a good choice to head here for dinner. It was a truly filling dinner and we went back to an early night at the hut.

A day I would remember for a long time to come and reminding me of something the owner of Aardvark told me about how the world over has watches but the Africans have time.

Life wasn't about accumulating things but about the beautiful moments spent.