Feb 17 2020
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It’s a slithery business – Eastern Green Snake @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

***Harmless Snake*** – A beautifully-marked bright green snake that is active during the day… Every night we take our pups for a walk in the garden to let them do their business before we go to bed. We have this tree close to the house that grows these green pods that look almost like pea pods… On this particular night, Tom decided he wanted to play a little joke on me, his plan was to grab one of the pods and yell snake. Well I am so glad he didn’t… Why??? Because the really was a snake in that exact tree!!! In fact it was sitting right next to the pod that he wanted to grab. The snake is a perfectly harmless Eastern Green Snake (a constrictor), but still has teeth and will readily bite when threatened. The next morning we thought it had left its tree to find a more private tree to live in, until a family member pointed out that it looked like it was still in the tree. It wasn’t exactly where they said it was but when we went to check again we saw its head sticking out of the tree. It was almost perfectly camouflaged with its environment, except it’s gorgeous big golden brown eye. It posed for us for a while, got quiet a few nice shots of it, and then it decided it was tired of the spotlight and started to sway from side to side as if to tell us “leave me alone now please”… A few fun facts about our pretty Snake here in Sibaya – Sodwana Bay: They are day snakes, often hunting for geckos and frogs, I guess they like to catch their prey while they sleep, as most frogs and geckos are nocturnal… They are excellent climbers and often found in very high trees to escape the attention… They are super shy and not very fond of attention. If you wanna pick one up, you might want to put a pair of gloves on, although not venomous they are still ready to bite when handled, and I guess like any snake their teeth could be super sharp. Although I wouldn’t suggest handling a snake until you are absolutely sure what snake it is, and even then rather get a snake guide to approve of the snake. Eastern Greens are often needlessly killed, they are often mistaken for a green Mamba or a boomslang, since these venomous snakes also live in trees. Before killing a snake you might wanna do your homework, our team is very pro-life… Don’t get me wrong if you find a venomous snake on your property that is highly aggressive, you might not have a choice but to kill it, especially having small kids or pets and livestock. But try to rather re-home the snake before going to such extreme measures. The Eastern Natal Green Snake has keels on the belly as well as the underside of the tail and tends to be bright green with some light yellow on the belly. They can grow on average up to 90 cm, but some are known to grow up to 130 cm So next time you see a green Snake, don’t assume the worst, do so homework quickly before needlessly killing a harmless snake… All fact base information Source: https://www.africansnakebiteinstitute.com/snake/eastern-natal-green-snake/

Jan 31 2020
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We swerve for moving rocks – Leopard Tortoise @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

So as you should know by now, if you have followed our blogs so far, we are extreme animal and nature lovers. So we swerve for “living rocks” who wanna cross the road. Especially when they rushing to find shelter for the night. What do we mean by swerving “living rocks”? Of course we mean the tortoise… As far as research goes I guess the most common tortoise around here is the Leopard tortoise. So the other day when we were coming home from Sodwana Bay. We saw this little rock racing towards the road, we luckily saw it in the nick of time, just as it stepped into the road.   Leopard tortoises are common pets in Africa, they can handle immense heat and chilling temperatures which makes them quiet hardy and easy to keep, just don’t let them drown in your pool! They can grow up to – 40cm (16in) and weigh up to 13kg(29lb) making them the fourth largest tortoise in the world. Although oddly enough The leopard tortoise will grow bigger the further north or south they are living in. At the far sides of the northern of Southern parts of their habitat areas they can grow up 70 cm (28in) and weigh up to 40kg (88lb). Juveniles and young adults are typically vividly  marked with yellow and black markings, often resembling leopard spots. But as they grow older they may start to loose their color and start to change color to brown, I guess this could be due to the sun. They typically love the savanna regions and are complete herbivores. They will eat just about any fruit, vegetable or plant provided to them in their environment. Mating maturity can start from 12-15 years of age. But thinking about it they do live between 50-100 years in the wild, so it makes sense that it takes so long for them to mature.

Jan 28 2020
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GO SODWANA BAY @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Go Sodwana! “Our love of the ocean just grew so much that with time we could not silence the soft whispers… She kept calling – calling – CALLING.” Sodwana is a quaint little village located just outside the iSimangaliso Wetland Park on the north-eastern coastline of South Africa in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Loved for her rural rusticness Sodwana lures many tourists who enjoy her untouched beauty and timeless days on the beach. She has got many things to offer like Scuba Diving inside a protected marine area, Snorkeling in the rock pools & Fishing for that perfect Mahi-mahi with one of many fishing charters. You could also go view hippos and crocodile @ Sibaya Lake or visit one of the Nature Reserves close by. “She offers much but asks little…” No one plans on living an unhappy life – but most of us do! It’s just the way our society and our world work today. We have become slaves to the system. Work –Traffic – Eat – Sleep > REPEAT! So why are we doing this? We just got fed up with living a life without meaning – without a purpose… the burden of living in a busy city were starting to take its toll. Yes, we made money but weren’t real happy. This was of course a big step to take for us but we had too… In our soul we were drained by the senseless “coma” We need your help? Please follow us on our journey as we explore our new life living in Sodwana and explore surrounding areas – South Africa. Help Us? Besides reading articles and watching video’s you can support us by making a donation    

Dec 19 2019
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Rabies Vaccine and Nail Trimming @ Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

On Saturday 14 December 2019 Candice, the owner of Sharklife and the State vet sponsored a free Rabies vaccine and trimming event. For those of you who do not know this yet, Rabies is a real threat to society all around the world and for South Africa one of the most plagued provinces is Kwa-Zulu Natal. Not only is Kwa-Zulu Natal the largest Province in South Africa it is also one of the most rural Provinces. Meaning lots of uncontrolled wild animals and domestic animals that will come in contact with wild animals most probably at least once in their lives, which means if your lucky the animal won’t have rabies, unlucky they bite your pet and they end up with Rabies. Candice and the state vet have teamed up to help fight the battle of the ever growing threat of your pet getting  rabies by encouraging pet owners to get their pets vaccinated and prevent this terrible and deadly disease from spreading. Unfortunately the vaccine only lasts 1 year. So it is important to keep your pet up to date every year on this vaccine and save more lives. Candice volunteered to give Sodwana Bay locals their pets a free vaccine and for those who needed it a free toe nail cut as well. Just wanna give a special thanks to Candice for giving up her Saturday and Volunteering to keep our pets safe and Rabies free for another year. Next time you visit Sodwana Bay, check out the Shark Museum, they have real cool and interesting things to see and learn about and don’t forget to keep up to date with your Rabies shots.

Dec 16 2019
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Sodwana Bay January 2019 @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

  The change to our souls… Took a while to get this finished – whohooooo finally it is done! Yes, it took a whole year but we still sharing… hope you enjoy!     This was our holiday trip from January 2019 @ Sodwana Bay. Honestly thinking back on it now, I would say this was the breakthrough point for us, we got engaged (unfortunately was to excited for the camera to catch anything), we missed our dog and cat a lot and hated going on vacation without them… Then there was the biggest problem of all, we were 600km away from the sea when we go back home. We were real unhappy and over worked. We knew it was time for change and it was welcomed! So, we made a pact – We were gonna work as hard as humanly possible, save up as much as we can and move to Sodwana Bay with in that year. We also promised our animals that we won’t go to Sodwana if they can’t go with – as Im writing this they are all around us – living in Sodwana Bay… Whooohoooo! Although this video took a year to create I think it was uploaded at the perfect time and in the right environment… at Sodwana Bay! So thanks for all the friends, family and Clients who have supported us in our dream coming true… Follow our Adventures?

Dec 05 2019
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Were homeless?! – Abandoned Dogs @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

We recently relocated to Sodwana Bay (if you wanna read)… Might it be a blessing in disguise that we found 2 abandoned pups at our new home close to Sibaya Lake.  Commonly known as AfriCanis, these are special Indigenous South African dogs specifically well adapted to hunting. We are so grateful for all the kind hearted people who could help these amazing dogs survive and who tried so hard to find them a good home. Unfortunately, these pups have not really been humanized like we are use to. Basic training was also thrown out the window for these pups, luckily they are still young enough to be trained and at least get some kind of house training. Sometimes it feels like we have three little kids in the house that you constantly need to stop from eating the wrong stuff or try depleting their energy levels so that you can have some peace and quiet. But hey that’s the price you pay being an animal lover. But I would never trade it for the world. Our family has grown with 2 extra which makes the world 2 x extra exciting and worth living. More about the breed: Although the world does not classify this dog as a real breed, I think most South Africans will make a special exception for these extraordinary dogs. They are one of a kind special breed. Internet short version of these dogs: Africanis. Not recognized as a standardized breed by any major kennel club. The Africanis is a landrace of Southern African dogs. It is believed to be of ancient origin, directly descended from hounds and pariah dogs of ancient Africa, introduced into the Nile Valley from the Levant. Pics Below of our new family members: We are proud to introduce you to Female (Left) and Male (Right) ***Just a small word of advice. Don’t ever get a pet because you think its cute as a baby. There is plenty of research to be done on the internet to tell you exactly what you will be getting yourself into before getting a pet. Don’t get a pet that you might abandon when they grow up or you finally get bored of it or have to move!