Dear Friends of Golden Sunbeams
It started on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 9 a.m.: We set off in three minibuses from the township of Asanda Village to the bird park “World of Birds” in Hout Bay, about 60 km away – which was named one of the top 5 best animal parks in Cape Town in winter 2024.
40 little boys and girls in white T-shirts and blue trousers and 6 teachers from our Bright Future Edu-Care Centre had an eventful day ahead of them…
After an hour and a half drive, unfortunately with a lot of traffic jams, all the children stood in line very politely to enter one of the largest bird parks in the world.
There are over 3.000 birds and 400 different species of small animals in approximately 100 spacious and walk-in aviaries, which creates an extremely close proximity to nature.
The bird park is located in a tropical garden with palm trees in the Hout Bay Valley and the aviaries are spread over 4 hectares of land. The green oasis “World of Birds” is framed by Table Mountain, the Twelve Apostles, Constantiaberg, Chapman’s Peak and Little Lion’s Head. A paradise for nature lovers and photographers, “World of Birds” is one of Cape Town’s most important tourist attractions.
The mission of “World of Birds” is to bring people closer to wild animals and thereby promote respect and understanding for nature. The aim of “World of Birds” is to support nature conservation on a global level by breeding rare birds and mammals in a protected environment and in as natural an environment as possible. Wild animals are brought to people, so to speak, by creating breeding centres and protected areas to show that wildlife and urban development can be compatible.
We explored the park on our own, the teachers read to the children the informative boards that were set up at important points along the tour and everyone listened attentively.
The “World of Birds” is a protected space, a hospital, an orphanage and a breeding centre where injured birds and animals are cared for and many species of birds and animals are bred. The endangered species that are successfully bred include our national bird, the blue crane, the Waldrapp, the NeNe or Hawaiian goose and several rare South American marmosets and tamarins.
Over the last 35 years, over 40.000 birds and animals have been cared for here without any support from the government.
There is also a monkey jungle in “World of Birds”. The children are always particularly fond of the monkeys – we have experienced this so many times.
There are 38 so-called New World monkeys living here, which are very agile, curious and mischievous. They live in a large walk-in enclosure where visitors have direct contact with them. Their natural habitat is thickets, mangrove swamps and the lower layers and edges of high forests in South America. They feed mainly on fruit and insects and rely on their curiosity and speed to catch the insects.
There are also squirrel monkeys, whose fur is short and dense, olive-coloured on the shoulders and yellowish-orange on the back and limbs. Their throats and ears are white, and their mouths are black. Squirrel monkeys grow to be 25 to 35 cm tall and have a tail that is 35 to 42 cm long. Young babies ride on their mother’s back for the first month of their lives and then venture out on voyages of discovery. In the wild they live to be about 15 years old, and in captivity they live to be about 20 years old. “Baker,” a squirrel monkey nicknamed “astronaut,” flew into space as part of the US space programme and returned safely – probably the most famous squirrel monkey of all time.
“World of Birds” is also home to many mammals and reptiles, such as various species of turtles, scaly reptiles such as blue-tongued skinks and other mammals.
Phew! It was a kaleidoscope of impressions, and the little ones covered many metres. After two hours, everyone had earned a break: In a shady spot, the children took their lunch boxes out of their backpacks and fortified themselves.
Afterwards, we treated the 40 little adventurers to a delicious ice lolly.
Luckily, the large green first aid kit bag that the teachers had been carrying with them all the time was not needed. Everyone arrived back in the township safe and sound at around 3 p.m. and could hardly wait to tell their families about their experiences with guinea pigs, brooding chickens, penguins, countless bird species and, of course, the much-loved monkeys.
This year we would like to organise more excursions like this for our kindergartens, which bring variety to the school routine and are educationally useful and informative. For the children and also for the teachers, such a trip is always a very special experience because their families usually cannot afford it.
Warm greetings from hot, summery Cape Town.
Yours
Britta & Claudia