When staying in a hotel in South Africa, expect company. I don't mean the kind that knocks on your door. But expect wildlife on the property. At least in some locations. That's what I experienced here in the eastern part of the country.
Free roaming zebras were ubiquitous here:
Tennis anyone?
Now these were not penned in on the property. They were free roaming. I suppose they enjoyed grazing on the property and perhaps held hopes someone would donate an apple or two. They were not the animals of concern though. There were two others that I was leary about.
The elephant. I was warned at check in not to wander out at night on foot. I was told the elephants are more likely to come into the town at night and elephants are unpredictable. As I've mentioned before, the elephants are what I feared the most. They're so big and you never know what's going on in their heads. I've heard enough elephant attack stories in my travels to warrant them premium respect.
I never saw them in the towns, but I never ventured out at night. I took them at their word they were present at least occasionally.
The monkey. I never trusted them. As cute as they are I only enjoyed them from a distance. They often came on my balcony during the day.
Sitting on my balcony
Video:
No doubt they're cute. But they're also thieves! I could not leave anything out or they'ld take it. Food or otherwise. I wonder how many cell phones are in the jungle now? If they knew the passcodes those little monkeys would probably be trading stocks with people's money!
I never lost anything of value. Just a hat once. But I was vigilant when they were present.
Overall I enjoyed the presence of wildlife at the hotels. But I did approach with caution and respect.
I enjoyed having the animals at the animal kingdom at Disney just roaming around