Fabulous Five find freedom

15 June 2026 we got the call we had been waiting for! We got the go ahead that 20 June 2026 would be perfect for our penguin release…. 5 days notice from Ocean Sailing Charters who always keep an eye on the weather for us for the best date, let us know it was going to be a good day for the release with great weather for another 10 days after that.

 

So it was all hands on deck!! Natures Valley Trust, BirdLife Plett, Plett Stranding Network, SANParks, Cape Nature and Tenikwa knew we had to let the Plettenberg Bay community know that there was a penguin release on just a few days away. Penguin posts with names and faces of the Fabulous Five were shared all over social media and the excitement started to build.

NVT arriving early at the beach to put the crowd ropes up, Birdlife Plett setting up their speaker system and fundraising members getting in place, Robberg Vets & SANParks putting the Penguin enclosure up ready, only then waiting for the VIP’s (very important PENGUINS) to arrive.

As we pulled up to the beach we were blown away by the support of our wonderful town. Even though the weather was chilly it didn’t stop everyone coming to see  Penny, Lucky, Thai, Easter and Minke off.

And the penguins didn’t disappoint either…. As soon as the little pen gate was opened, their natural instinct kicked in and off they went straight into the ocean. There were tears of joys, rounds of applause and great excitement for yet another successful release.

And with African penguins now being critically endangered, we all have to do whatever we can to make sure that African Penguin releases are something that your great great grandchildren get to attend

 

 

6 May 2026 ……… As most people along the Garden Route know, this day was the start of a very difficult 3 weeks for most of us. With winds picking up to over 100kph, driving rain fall of 300mm causing severe flooding in some areas, thousands of trees of all sizes being blown down across roads and taking out hundreds of power lines in the area we knew we were all in for a tough time.

Although the strong winds, torrential rain and very poor road conditions didn’t stop two heroes from saving a life. With ALL communications down and no way to contact us or Cape Nature, On 7 May 2026 Michael Bridgeford (BirdLife Plett) and Christo arrived at Tenikwa with a tiny, cold soaking wet bushbuck, that by the signs we could see was only a couple of days old.

The waters had risen and he had become separated from his mother and nothing could be done to immediately reunite them, so Michael and Christo intervened as they had no other choice. We hoped the rain would stop and the water level would drop in hope they would come across the mother again, but the water levels were just rising daily, the winds continued to bring trees down and we made the difficult decision that the safest place for the baby bushbuck was with us
where he was getting his milk, and being kept warm and out of harms way.

We called him “Bridge” after Michael who is a massive supporter of Tenikwa. Bridge is now in an outdoor enclosure browsing on all the natural vegetation he would normally eat in the wild and is still getting his bottled milk. Once he is old
enough and has had a little more time to re-wild then we will release him back to the area where he was found so he can live the life he was always meant to live.

We have had quite a few interesting releases this year in 2025, but there are four that we wanted to share with you

We raised and released four female caracals this year, all of them orphaned. They came to us as tiny kittens that should have been raised by their mothers, taught to hunt by their mothers and taught to survive without their mothers, but these four never got that chance. They came to us from 4 different areas in the Western Cape over a period of 3 months.

We do our best to educate people how to live with predators in their areas and how to keep their domestic and farm animals protected against attacks and loss. However we can’t educate those that don’t want to be educated or those that perhaps don’t have the opportunities to be educated, so when education fails us we turn to conservation. We raise, rehabilitate and release these cats so that they can go on to live a life that they were meant to live, in the wild, where they belong.

Sometimes they can’t be released in the same area they came from for several reasons, so we work with Cape Nature to make sure they are released in a safe area where they can hunt and survive away from livestock and humans. And thankfully they assisted us with the safe release of these four girls.

Sometimes people find a caracal kitten under some bushes where more often than not the mother has left the kitten/kittens so she can go hunt. If you do happen to find these kittens, please notify Cape Nature, Tenikwa or another local wildlife centre or authority so that they can assess whether the kitten has been orphaned or not. They do not make good pets.

A caracal kitten is very aggressive and is actually one of the easier cats to rehabilitate in the right rehabilitation environment due to their natural aggression, however, the challenge is retaining their natural fear of humans whilst in rehabilitation. It is against the law to keep any indigenous wildlife without the correct permit from your local authority.

Helping wildlife is sometimes as easy as leaving wildlife where they belong. If you have concerns we are always here to advise, or find someone who will be able to help you.
Luckily these four girls got to grow up and be released ….. and one day might become mothers themselves. We can only hope that they get to raise their own babies the way they should have been raised.

 

 

2025 Tenikwa went through a lot of changes, and we are pleased to say they were mostly all good ones
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We have always believed that nature, wildlife and wellness always go hand in hand, so instead of just believing it, we made it happen.

We converted the beautiful Homestead  into a relaxing day SPA, making sure we never took away any of the decor and charm that the guests who stayed there loved so much. The outside however got quite the makeover, including a hot tub and a private swimming pool for the SPA guests.

Now we couldn’t let the SPA get the only upgrade. We know Plettenberg Bay can have hot summers and cool winters. So for the hot summers we installed a second pool for our accommodation guests and for the cool winters we installed a second hot tub next to one of the Lion Cabins.

Now when you stay at Tenikwa, you can go on wildlife tours, forest walks, swim in the pool, book a SPA package that suits you, shop in our souvenir shop, have a coffee and cake in Chesters coffee shop, order a snack platter, lunch and or dinner whilst drinking a bottle of bubbly watching the sun go down.

Sometimes you just want to stay in one place for a few days, and now you can. Our accommodation, tours, SPA and treatments are all available to book via our website or you can email, call or WhatsApp us directly.

We are looking forward to meeting new guests and seeing old friends.

 

YOU HAVE A FRIEND IN ME

This is not the usual  story of wildlife rehabilitation. Read on to learn about Beans and Sausage…

In April 2025 we received a kitten that looked very much like an African Wildcat and he needed our help. He was paralyzed in his hind legs, but was feisty and active and wanted to play. We took him to Robberg Veterinary Clinic.  X-rays revealed that his spine was broken, but due to his age they said there was a possibility he could heal enough to be able to walk and be pain free. According to the x-rays and what the member of the public had told us when they dropped him off, it seemed he had little to no sunlight and his bones had become brittle “like honeycomb”
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He had pitch black pads on his paws and they looked just like little beans. So that was how Mr Beans got his name. He needed just the right nutrition, physio and exercise that would help him to heal and not do more harm. The vets put him on Hills Kitten food and it was remarkable to see quickly he was starting to get a little more movement in his hind legs on a daily basis. The vet made it clear that he would never be releasable due to his injuries and although would not be in pain, he would always be a little wobbly.
Of course Kitties like to climb, but until his bones were less brittle he wouldn’t be allowed to jump and climb and play like a healthy kitten, so he was in an enclosure that had tunnels and soft toys to keep his mind active without climbing and possibly falling and injuring himself.

We realised he needed some company as he was so playful, so we contacted Sunshine Animal Rescue and enquired if they had any kittens that were in need of a home. They very kindly donated a little tabby kitten to Tenikwa who was smaller than Mr Beans, but very bossy! Mr Beans was so excited when he saw his new friend…. We called his friend Sausage, as Sausage always goes with Beans!

Beans went from strength to strength, Hills Pet Nutrition kindly donated a few months worth for food for Beans, which Sausage loved as well and it proved to be amazing food, as soon Bean’s X-rays showed his bones were no longer brittle and he was able to be moved into a massive enclosure with Sausage with trees, rocks, shrubs and so much natural enrichment where they could play all day and we knew they would thrive. It was around this time we got his DNA test results back that Mr Beans was indeed 100% African Wildcat

African Wildcats are often mistaken for domestic tabby cats so when they are seen next to each other it is great for people to see differences between them. So not only will Mr Beans be a very important ambassador for his kind, he is also an inspiration to us all to never give up.
Come to Tenikwa and Meet Sausage and Beans and learn more about conservation and how you can help us help wild animals in need.

Thanks to Robberg Vets, Hills Pet Nutrition and Sunshine Animal Rescue, for the important roles they played in making sure Mr Beans and Sausage will both grow up and grow old.

 

This is the heart-ache story of two penguins we fondly know as Dublin and Flipper, whose fate is intertwined.

On 8 January 2024,  SanParks brought a young penguin to Tenikwa for rehabilitation. She was classified as a “blue” which is the general name for a juvenile penguin before their first moult into the traditional black and white colours. She was so weak and clearly had a broken flipper and weighed just 1.4kg. Hence we called her “Flipper”.

She was taken to Robberg Vets who x-rayed, assessed and said it would be a long road to recovery, but hopefully the flipper would heal. Unfortunately it meant that she couldn’t swim until it did. Every 3 days we changed her vet wrap bandage that kept her flipper in place, but before doing this we would rest her tummy and chest on our arm and lower her into a small bath of water so she could have the feeling of swimming, whilst it also helped with keeping her feathers waterproof. Finally on 8 March 2024 after a lot of follow up vet visits and x-rays, Flipper was bandage free and introduced to the other penguins in the large rehab pool at Tenikwa in the rehabilitation facilities. She steadily gained weight, and was doing really well.

On 1 September 2024 we admitted another penguin via SanParks. From the injuries sustained, this penguin looked as though he had been attacked by a predator. The wounds were not consistent with a seal attack, and looked more like a dog bite. It is very important that members of the public have control over their dogs and on lead near wildlife and on beaches. His tail had puncture wounds and another puncture on his abdomen. He was very dehydrated and one of the most aggressive penguins we have ever had to handle.  It was good that he was strong enough to fight, but sad that he had been so traumatised that it made helping him more difficult as it stressed him so much each time we had to work with him. We called him “Dublin”. After his veterinary assessment at Robberg Veterinary Clinic, he was kept in our rehab hospital’s high care area for a while before he could join the Tenikwa Penguins. All we had to do now was to wait for him to heal and moult so that his feathers would grow back. At that time, we were planning a release soon, but it wasn’t likely that he would be ready in time. It was disappointing as the rest of the penguins in rehab were cleared for released.

As October arrived,  we were ready to release the Penguins. Dublin had still not moulted and on a check up at the vet it was determined his preen gland had been injured when he was attacked. Penguins use the oil secreted by their preen gland located at the base of their tail, which they rub their beak over and then spread it all over their feathers. This keeps them waterproof, dry and warm in the cold ocean. So if his preen gland still didn’t work after moulting then it would be very unlikely that he could ever be released.

Some 6 days in the lead up to the release, we noticed Flipper was starting to eat a lot more fish. She started piling on the pounds and it was clear she was getting herself ready to go into natural moult. This meant she couldn’t be released with the others, but it also meant that Flipper could keep Dublin company at Tenikwa, along with another recent admission called Elias that SanParks also brought to us until the remaining penguins could be evaluated for release..

In due course, we noticed once more that penguin love was blossoming at Tenikwa!  Dublin and Flipper became inseparable. Unfortunately after Dublin completed his moult, our vet determined that his preen gland was still not functioning as it should. This was heartbreaking for us, as we knew he was now bonded with Flipper and there was a high possibility that he couldn’t be released. He just wouldn’t survive without his waterproofing, so essential in our cold waters. However the Tenikwa Team and the Veterinary Staff from Robberg Vet Clinic just don’t give up that easily when working with endangered species. So back to the vets Dublin went a few more times to have various treatments done to the preening gland, and to our absolute delight it seems the last treatment has worked!  Success at last – there is oil coming from his preen gland and it appears to be functioning correctly now. While he recovered (which was just 3 days) he could only swim for 2 to 3 minutes per day, so we kept him and Flipper in the pool area in a smaller pen together.

So here we are 1 year after Flipper was admitted and 6 months after Dublin was admitted and we are now preparing to release them both, along with 6 other penguins soon.

None of this would ever be possible without the Plett Bird club that assists us to cover some of the costs of the vast quantities of sardines that the penguins consume during their rehabilitation at Tenikwa; the fabulous veterinary staff, especially Sr Hanlie and Dr Pauline and the rest of Robberg Vet Clinic staff;  the amazingly dedicated SanParks Rangers and our generous sponsors, donors and guests who constantly help us, to save furry and feathered lives and give them a second chance at being free and wild.

Team work makes the dream work. We will update on the release date closer to the time.