Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness & Rehabilitation Centre

Wildlife awareness and rehabilitation on the Garden Route

von Janine Avery Juli 13, 2021

When you mention the Garden Route most people think of seaside towns, beautiful mountains, forests beaches, and lagoons but there is also so much more than first meets the eye.

We recently spent some time on the Garden Route and were lucky enough to visit the amazing Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness & Rehabilitation Centre which is situated just outside Plettenberg Bay.

Tenikwa is a little bit different to your normal wildlife sanctuary in that they are first and foremost a rehabilitation centre which caters for all kinds of wild animals, big and small. This includes rescuing caracal ensnared by farmers, to even caring for injured sea birds.

They take the work that do very seriously which is why the rehab section of their centre is not open the general public, giving the animals there the best chance of release back in to the wild by limiting human interaction.

Now you may be asking so what is there to see? Well there is lots! A trip here will yield sighting of everything from lions and leopard to caracals, storks, blue cranes and evens some penguins. All the animals you will see on one of these tours are not able to be released back into the wild as they were ether captive bred or they would not be able to survive on their own in the wild.

Another interesting thing about Tenikwa is that this is purely an NGO, run by a husband-and-wife team and they do not have any corporate sponsorship. So all their funding is generated by the tourism trade.

Apart from their tours they also offer a variety of accommodation from individual rooms that can sleep one to two guests to a large farmhouse for bigger groups. They also offer meals on site which are set up in an outdoor boma located next to the cheetah enclosure and are hosted by the passionate husband and wife team.

During our tour we noted they there was some construction happening a few meters back from the fence line of the lion enclosure. We had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners how who explained to us that they are currently building four new bungalows. These new units will offer an all new experience to travellers along the Garden Route who wish to spend a few nights sleeping with the lions! These bungalows will be self-catering with their own bathrooms and braai facilities and should be available to book in the coming months.

All in all, Tenikwa is definitely a place to visit and even a place to spend a few nights. It is for sure a must do destination on the Garden Route! Book your accommodation or tour at Tenikwa with Tours Africa today.