Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre

Tawny frogmouth.

On Sunday 17 January, I visited the Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, with a group of photographers. The photographers gathered in the gravelly car park before walking to the main entrance, where we were warmly welcomed. After a short talk and video about Kanyana, we were taken on a guided tour.

Our adventure started with a quick look at the animal hospital, before making our way to what looked like a five-star restaurant. It's the place where volunteers prepare delicious, nutritious food for all the animals. The ingredients were definitely fresh, you could tell because some of them were alive and moving. The food smelled so good that it would make even the fullest person salivate. There were also recipe cards which would make a top-selling cookbook. The quality of the recipes and the execution were so fantastic that they would make any Michelin Star chef look mediocre.

We left the kitchen and strolled outside to visit the enclosures. It was an electric atmosphere because there were electric fences everywhere. The first animal friend that we met was the echidna. I had a sensational shot ready, but the echidna licked my camera. Seriously. Who would have thought that echidnas had such long tongues? Fortunately I had some camera wipes to clean the drool off my lens. While I didn’t get amazing shots, I did get a photo of a plant which looked just like an echidna.

The echidna that licked my camera.

Echidna plant.

Following our echidna encounter, we were guided to an owl enclosure where the photographers were invited to go inside. There was a padlock on the outside and it would have been very easy to lock everyone inside. Oh, the temptation!  I stayed outside and the other photographers told me that the experience was a hoot.

A very tempting lock.

Our next stops were the enclosures with cockatoos, tawny frog mouths and a possum. I went inside and took an amazing shot of a possum.

An amazing photograph of a possum

​As we neared the end of our tour, there was a dramatic turn for the worst. Things became very scary, very quickly as we walked towards to the snake enclosure. On the way we walked past some toilets, which had warnings to keep the doors closed. YIKES! Imagine what would happen if a snake got inside!

While everyone headed towards the snakes, I ran far, far away. If it wasn't for COVID I probably would have headed overseas. Our guide took one of the snakes outside and placed it on a tree. I took a photo from a long distance through my zoom lens. No more tongues were going to slobber all over my lens!

Warning sign on toilets.

Snake photographed from a long, long distance.

​Speaking of tongues, the final animal that we met was a blue-tongued bobtail lizard. Fortunately it was slow to move and my camera was safe.

Overall, our visit to the Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre was both an enjoyable and educational experience. The Centre does wonderful work for the animals and it's well worth a visit. 

For more information, please check out their website. ​​​​