Things To Do in Shelly BeachPure Venom Reptile Park
Animal Sanctuaries South Coast
Where? Just outside Shelly Beach, South Coast, KwaZulu Natal
When? Daily from 09h00 to 17h00
How? Call +27 (0)39 685-0704
How much? Falls into price group R1 to R100 per person. Confirm with the provider.
Overnight? Stay at accommodation in Shelly Beach, in KwaZulu Natal
Touted as the biggest reptile farm in Africa, Pure Venom Reptile Park lies just inland from the town of Shelly Beach on a beautiful, old estate in Izotsha, surrounded by huge wild olive trees that date back to the 1800s. The reptile park, as its name suggests, has an incredible collection of indigenous and exotic reptiles and it’s an ideal way to get up close and personal with a series of snakes, iguanas and crocodiles on the Hibiscus Coast.
At the Pure Venom Reptile Park one comes face to face with a whole range of interesting snake facts about which one knew little before, including the fact that egg-eating snakes have teeth in their necks and mole snakes have up to ninety five babies! You can have a photo taken holding a python, mamba, cobra or a viper (if you’re brave enough) and the park includes nine species of rattlesnake, the largest variation of this species outside of America, as well as five species of crocodile.
Pure Venom Reptile Park just happens to be set on the part of the country’s coast that supports the most unique live reptile collection in South Africa. At the park you’re also able to get a bird’s eye view of the mating and courtship rituals of gaboon vipers, boomslang and mambas, and, despite their reputation for not breeding easily in captivity, the park has bred the highly threatened giant sungazer lizard. There are guided tours, daily snake demonstrations and on Sundays the highly fascinating crocodile and alligator feeding, should you enjoy such enormous displays of appetite.
