Some monkeys, some birds and a maze

So we are off to experience Plett.  First stop monkeyland!  We were taken on an hour long tour of the 12 hectare "enclosure" which has 12 different species on monkey in it.  

They classify it as "half wild" because they take monkeys who were kept as pets or in zoos and put them in the huge area.  It was awesome - they are fed on big tables but also forage and breed. We saw 8 different types of monkeys - squirrel monkeys, 2 types of lemur, capuchins, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, gibbons and a grey monkey called something like a vertemin...

We got so close - they came up and had a look what was going on and oh god the sounds.  Howler monkeys are the loudest land mammal - their call is louder than a lion's roar - and we got to hear it (not at full decibel but still!). No photos sorry - we were too busy taking pics on our real cameras so hopefully (if anyone is reading this and still interested!) we will upload them when we get back and the best few are sure to find their way on to our walls!

Then second stop was birds of Eden - the largest aviary in the Southern Hemisphere and by far the largest aviary either of us had ever seen and we think it is probably the largest in the world. We spent over an hour wandering on the raised walkways and bridges through the area - we sat near feeding areas and "habituated" the birds until they came close (we are becoming zoologists or biologists!). Oh they got close.

We saw parrots, toucans, flamingos, weird fluffy-headed birds that wandered around on the floor and nibbled Rich's ankle and about 30 other birds we have never seen before. Some were incredibly brightly coloured.

This photo is one of those birds - it was bright red and yellow and chased around in packs... It was the size of a pheasant or small grouse and the males worked together to heard a female for one of the lads. Slightly bad form but probably no worse than your typical 18 year olds in a nightclub. We have no idea what they were so if anyone can tell us they will win not only a mention on the blog, but also an exclusive mystery prize (no purchase necessary, terms and conditions apply, Clare's decision is final).

Clare thought she may be bored in the aviary but there was so much going on all the time it was brilliant.

Next stop was lunch (the food here is great) and then on to the stop Clare has been looking forward to the most - Plett Puzzle Park!

Rich was expecting this to be a bit dodgy. It is basically a maze made of wood, rather than the "traditional" (read: boring) tree-hedge malarkey that you get back home. There were also other puzzles on the site to solve - sort of a combination of Catchphrase and a cryptic crossword in a forest (note: the natives seem not to have heard of Bob Monkhouse and cannot tell me what Mr Chips is doing now - savages).

The maze was surprisingly difficult but VERY well done! You had to visit each corner in turn and collect a token for the next corner (the blue corner is shown in the photo) that would only be released if you had the correct previous token with you. There were also riddles to solve at each end-point. There were walkways above the maze but it was all so cunningly planned and constructed that even standing on the walkway it was impossible to cheat and the walkways were integral to solving the maze! The photo doesn't show how high the maze walls are, but even Rich couldn't see over the top.

We (obv's) completed it and got the riddles correct. Some African lad then went on about how the answers to the riddles represented Africa, which was all very lovely etc etc.

Next we were off to the EPIC puzzle challenge in the forest. Our strategy was similar but divided - we both wanted to win, but Clare disagreed with the Hakes requirement for victory at all costs (apparently booing and whistling at fellow tourists is mean and attempting to solve the puzzle before starting the timer is bad sportsmanship).

We got all 9 puzzles correct (although for one of them we did have to use a clue) which entitled us to a free drink...so we shared another creme soda!

Back to Plett before drinks on our deck (a decent bottle of red we picked up in Cape Town) and then in a bar on the beach, before a very good dinner at a restaurant called Fat Fish! Hake is very popular here. This means that Rich thinks he can make lots of really funny jokes.