Before moving to Tanzania I stumbled upon a blog post written by a teacher who was working in Mwanza, about how her whiteboard pen had been thieved mid-lesson by a cheeky monkey.
I remember thinking that this would be one of the best teaching anecdotes ever which I could only dream of experiencing first-hand and subconsciously, I added it to my never ending bucket list.
After moving to Mwanza, I realised that interaction with Vervet Monkeys was not only a common occurrence but was pretty much a mandatory part of every life, and in fact a group of them regularly visit my school, classroom and even my garden.
But then all my dreams of funky monkey encounters were surpassed – our shipping arrived from Sweden, containing a large trampoline. And this happened…
Now we regularly have a barrel of Vervet Monkeys who come into our garden to enjoy a 15 minute workout of jumping and tag team wrestling on our trampoline.
So if you have a couple of minutes and like a laugh, then watch this bit of footage I captured of them in action and share and enjoy.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbXNGVLjfPc?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315]
Monkeys and sketches of monkeys
- Vervet Monkeys on the roof of my house, Mwanza.
- Vervet monkey poised in a yellow oleander tree, ready to jump on the trampoline in my garden.
- Paintings of Vervet Monkeys from my Tanzanian sketchbook.
My children – monkeying around in the back garden too
- My children monkeying around in our back garden in Mwanza, Tanzania
- My children monkeying around in our back garden in Mwanza, Tanzania
- Frida pretending to be a monkey in our back garden in Mwanza, Tanzania
- My children monkeying around in our back garden in Mwanza, Tanzania
ann curran February 28, 2015
Huge fun and joy for all Ali, continue to enjoy all your African experiences. (Remember Oleander is poisonous)…I’m enjoying travels with my art….Thanks
alidunnell February 28, 2015
It really has been a highlight for all of us! Thanks for the advice about Oleander Ann… I’ll let the children know. Much love, Ali x
Naomi Baltuck March 6, 2015
So funny!
alidunnell March 7, 2015
Thanks Naomi… they are regular visitors to our garden. I shouldn’t really encourage them, but they really make me laugh so much.