Abby is one of our star attraction at Areena Riverside Resort. He is a hand reared male Giraffe, and as a result he is very close and comfortable with humans. He has free reign of the 350ha property that is Areena’s Private Game Reserve and of course being a rather large creature that is designed to eat off trees. He and his herd of female giraffe roam freely over a large distance browsing on a variety of trees, shrubs and bushes.
Abby came to us from a near by game reserve at just a few months old, we were tasked with bottle feeding this relatively large baby, OR Abnormally Big BabY… A.B.B.Y and this is how he got his name. During this time he lived in Areena’s Animal Touch Farm and became good friends with the goats and the people who came to feed and touch him, this is how he became so tame.
Later Abby was released into Areena’s Private Game Reserve, where he sired many a giraffe calves, but still Abby gravitated towards the entrance of the Resort and the main road in the hopes of encountering people to give them kisses and get some treats.
His kisses are legendary and many a Facebook profile picture consists of an individual getting a sloppy kiss from Abby.
Abby is so popular that he has his own blog section on this website. We would love to receive your pictures taken with Abby or hear about your interaction with him so we can add your story to his blog. Of course the #abbykiss can only grow from here.
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Thank you, the interaction was amazing. Tarzan our guide was great, maybe a few more facts about Giraffes and the other animals that were also in the area would be nice, just making it a bit more informative for international visitors. I was the only South African in our group or 4. Thank you so much, to be that close to one of God's amazingly beautiful creations was a real blessing. - Paula
My aunt and I really enjoyed feeding Abbie. She is from England and it was the first time she has been so close to a "wild" animal and then to still feed him was so exciting for her. It was also the first time she drove in a game vehicle. Thank you to Tarzan our guide, he made the experience so enjoyable. His knowledge of the different animals we saw was amazing. Thank you Tarzan for your patience with us 2 ladies asking so many questions. Esther - Esther
As "locals" in East London, visiting Abby is a highlight when taking guests on an afternoon outing and dinner - Abby loves the attention, guests love the experience, tour guides are well equipped and give great teaching about the animals - and the food is great! Well done Areena for being a constant, reliable asset to our community! - Colleen
We all had a lovely experience and the kids enjoyed being able to see and touch the giraffe - Tayla
Brilliant experience! Tarzan is a guide in a million, being so interactive with us , offering to take photos, telling us Abby's story, being patient while we all took hundreds of photos!! We really came away with another thing happily ticked off our bucket lists. Thank you for the experience - sharon
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