On Sunday February 28, I hesitatingly decided to take a drive in the still hot, late afternoon to The Giraffe House [http://www.giraffehouse.co.za/], just off the N1 on the way to Stellenbosch. It is not that far actually. You take the N1 out towards Paarl, and then take the off ramp that you would normally take to the Zoo, Exit 39. Turn right over the N1 and continue on until the R101 and turn left. The Giraffe House is on your right just after you turn left into the R101. They will be moving in the next few months, but only to the other side of the R101.

I had never heard of The Giraffe House until I received an email from the Friends of the Tygerberg Hills announcing a picnic by starlight at The Giraffe House, with a free screening of the BBC film ‘Earth’ afterwards. I was intrigued and wanted to see the film, but I had been out in the open all of Saturday at the SAN Educational and Cultural Centre, with some members of my Writers Circle and I was tired, plus it was really, really hot on that Sunday. However, I made the effort and went, and I was so glad I did.

Hands up those who have heard of the place/visited it? A few of you, none? Well, it is not a zoo and it is not a giraffe house, although they do have a beautiful young female giraffe, called Gerry, who was orphaned and hand raised. Principally it is an educational centre aimed at children but the children are welcome to bring their parents along! It is ably owned and run by a husband and wife veterinary team, Margaret and Stephen and their partner, Werner.

I agree with the team, that it is important that our children should grow up learning about the animals that inhabited/inhabit Southern Africa, and this place has a real family feel about it. They are genuinely interested in education and the animals that they have. Each one has its own story too. The Giraffe House really is a labour of love for these people and they are always ready to answer questions. I really enjoyed myself. There is a newsletter as well which you can request, so for schools for example, an outing or visit can be followed with news updates on the children’s favourite animals.
 
Werner is into, and very knowledgeable about, snakes too, as I later found out when he gave a talk that included live snakes. I volunteered, along with others, to be part of the demonstration and talk, and apart from having a variety of pretend snakes and a large spider plunked on my head I was asked to close my eyes, whereupon a small velvety soft and warm snake was placed in my hands. A dinky little egg eater. She [?] lay curled up in my warm hands, no threat to anybody at all.  Werner also included a couple of the more dangerous snakes in his talk but volunteers were not required for this. Thank goodness. The last snake to be produced was a really beautiful Burmese Python, and I think nearly everyone queued up to be photographed with her. The talk/demonstration also included information on tortoises and there was a dinky little live one, the smallest South African tortoise. Sadly I did not have a camera with me so I cannot show you a picture of the lovely little snake I held.

There is a picnic area close to many of the smaller enclosures, with a small snack kiosk, which means families can take a picnic and enjoy this whilst their children enjoy and learn about animals. On this evening a number of families came to the event and we were able to walk around to look at some of the larger animals that currently inhabit the Giraffe House, eat our picnics as the sun went down and then watch the film. The whole atmosphere was geared to kids and families and there was nice ambience about the place.

Their namesake, Gerry, is a beautiful young female giraffe, who still looks forward to going to bed at night with her bottle. You can see more pictures of her on the website. I walked out to her enclosure to see her and managed to just touch the hairs on her chin – being short with short arms was definitely not useful in this situation. She was not overly interested in me as I had no greenery or bottle for her. They also have a couple of Water Buffalo with a young one. You do not realise how big and solid they are until you are close to them.

The Giraffe House has a number of larger animals as well as the smaller, and although education is their primary focus, catering for preschool and school groups, guided tours can be requested as well, and the place is open to the public. Obviously the larger animals cannot be moved but schools that are further away can arrange to have educational visits from the Giraffe House staff and some of their smaller creatures. In addition they have daily animal encounters but it is a good idea to contact them to find out times, particularly as it is an educational centre and they sometimes have school groups.

One other thing; the costs of running a place like this are prohibitive and many others would long ago have given something like this up. The fees to get in are not high, but the cost of upkeep is. They have applied for their NPO certification, but I would have to say that if anyone wishes to donate funds to help them with their educational work then I am sure it will not go to waste.

The Giraffe House, 021 8844506
[http://www.giraffehouse.co.za/]

Written by Corinna Turner