Mark, there's a monkey on your back

This past weekend we traveled to the Haartbeesport area to visit the Bush Babies Monkey Sanctuary.  A little more pricey than most of the adventure we take, but worth a visit.  Guided tours run every hour and last about an hour.  We had the most knowledgeable guide, who would point out monkeys by their name despite the fact that the entire place held about 110 monkeys currently.  Before entering the huge enclosure we were advised to not bring food and to watch our pockets as the monkeys are quite smart and know where to look.

The entire enclosure has multiple walking paths lined with huge trees and a few streams.  It did not take long to see our first monkey and though most of the monkeys are not friendly to the point where they come up to you, they don't scamper away either.

The guide gave detailed info about each type of monkey and how they are taken care of in the sanctuary.  Most of the monkeys are donated from those who tried to raise them as pets but failed along with a few abused monkeys.  All are roaming free together in this huge habitat and feed mostly on the items they would normally find in the wild with some supplemental food given as well.

As we made our way down the track, the guide would have us change courses if he saw a larger grouping of monkeys ahead.  Around a bend and there was one particular friendly monkey who walked right along the path with us.  They the monkey got curious and started to reach into people's pockets before it noticed that Mark had a bag on his back.  In the matter of seconds, the monkey jumped on Mark's back, unzipped the bag and started rummaging around.  The monkey was not too thrilled when the guide came over and made him get down.

Down a few more paths and across some beautiful swing bridges we saw some lemurs high in the trees.

 I was surprised that with about 110 monkeys we did not see more, but of course they are constantly on the move too.  Some great views could be seen through the sanctuary and given that most of it was shaded by the trees, it made for a good walk.  Adalyn ejoyed spotting the monkeys and running ahead to explore the area.

The guide kept mentioning how they are not getting as many visitors as they would like and are having to come up with new ideas on how to increase their income.  I will say that for about an hour and a half of fun, $20 per adult was a little high compared to most of the activities we have done in the area.  It was a nice morning and something different to do.  I hope they are able to stay open as their whole concept of allowing the monkeys to live in as normal of a habitat as possible is inspiring.