What fun we had in Watatunga!

In September 2024, we paid a visit, along with our friends from Swaffham Rotary Club to the Watatunga Wildlife Reserve, near King's Lynn. To be fair, hardly any of us had even heard of the place before we were given a talk about the work of Watatunga earlier in the year.

Watatunga is set in a beautiful area of grassland, woodland and lakes spread over 170 acres, and it is dedicated to the protection of some of the world's most endangered deer, antelope and birds. It felt like an African game reserve, as we headed out from the headquarters in a convoy of self-drive buggies. We were led by  our knowledgeable guide Ellen, who provided us with an excellent radio commentary throughout the expedition.

Some of the animals are very shy, and we needed to be patient to see them. In fact water buffalo managed to hide from us throughoutnourntour. We still saw plenty of wildlife, including an eland, Africa's largest antelope, and several other handsome deer and antelope, such as the handsome Mountain Bongo, the Roan antelope and many others whose names I can't recall. 

Birds can also be seen in abundance, including Storks, Cranes, and the amusing Helmeted Guineafowl. One of the highlights was a sighting of a Great Bustard, a bird that was hunted to extinction in the UK during the 19th Century, but is now being slowly re-introduced.  Provided we stayed within our buggies, the animals allowed us to approach quite close, as we didn't look threatening unless we got out.

Our safari lasted 90 minutes, and the time flew by in the company of such exotic and memorable wildlife, and we are grateful to Rotarian  Keith Thomas, who organised the trip. We would recommend a visit to Watatunga, which can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities. It really is one of Norfolk's best kept secrets!