Monkeying Around in The Crags

Africa, Garden Route, South Africa, Travel, , , , , , 22 Comments

I freaking love monkeys. So when I was presented with a free day in The Crags, with no plans and weather that was too crappy to go to the beach, a trip to the nearby Monkeyland seemed like a pretty good option.

I had been staying nearby at an awesome hostel called Rocky Road Backpackers. Rocky Road has dorms and private rooms, but the real appeal is the tents that can be barely be described as tents. These “tents” had electricity, lights, beds and electric blankets. If you looked up ‘glamping’ or ‘flashpacking’ in the dictionary, I would not be surprised if there were pictures from Rocky Road in there. Plus, as added bonuses, there is an unbelievable outdoor shower, a huge party and braai night every friday, dinner cooked every night and staff that are more than willing to go out of their way for you.

So it was unsurprising that two of the lovely young lads working in the hostel were more than happy to drive me to and from Monkeyland. Plus, as an added bonus, I nabbed a discount simply because I was staying with them.

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Once I arrived at the park, I had seen about three different breeds of monkeys within two minutes of arriving. The tours are fairly short, but the guides are informative, funny and seem to genuinely care about the monkeys.

I spent most of my time though straying from the group and trying to catch the monkeys unaware so I could get some decent photos of them. I must admit, most of them seemed pretty amenable to having an impromptu photoshoot.

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THE LOWDOWN
Hostel: Rocky Road Backpackers
Camera: iPhone 5 and GoPro Hero
Budget: R180 ($18) per night in a luxury tent or R140 ($14) per night in a 3-4 bed dorm
Remember: Insect repellant and a camera
Monkeyland: R175 ($18) for an adult or R280 ($28) when combined with the nearby Birds of Eden, visit the Monkeyland website for more info
Get There: R100 ($10) for transfers to and from The Crags

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30-something year old Australian backpacker writing her way around the world.

22 thoughts on “Monkeying Around in The Crags”

  18. Your travels are so inspirational! reading about your journey is definitely helping me build courage for my solo driving trip that i have been planning for a very long time. thank you and all of the other lovely Muses at BYOM.
    ps. how can you not love those LEMURS!!!

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