Karpaz's wild donkeys - real apple gluttons!
- Päivi
- Nov 11, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 19
I have never been the so-called horsegirl, and horses have in no way been among the animals that would arouse in me greater feelings, for or against it. Instead, there has always been something about donkeys that moves my mind. The wild donkeys of Northern Cyprus move me to an even higher level, and I can tell you that seeing and meeting donkeys is something that everyone visiting Northern Cyprus should experience.
Donkeys live wild in nature at the tip of the Karpaz peninsula. Driving from the Esentepe area to the tip of the Karpaz peninsula takes about 1-1.5 hours, depending on e.g. from the driver's gas pedal and the stops that you feel like making along the way, the landscapes and white sandy beaches are so stunning.
We set off with the children in the mood for an excursion and, of course, with snacks. We had also received good information advance about the preferences of the donkeys for treats, and we knew that they would literally wait for something to eat when they see cars and people arriving.
Carrots probably taste good for these fellows, but they are said to be especially greedy for apple blocks and nuts. So we prepared a big bag of nuts at home and also bought a bag of nuts to bring along, in case we were lucky and actually saw donkeys during our trip.
The trip along winding roads and changing landscapes went smoothly, and even surprisingly quickly we started to approach Karpaz. Of course, we took a lunch break in the middle of the rugged mountain scenery and stopped to admire the white sand of Golden Beach and the blue rippling Mediterranean Sea, and we promised the children that on the way back we could visit at the beach, and if they even dared to swim in the sea, that's all. And yes, Finnish children can go into pretty cool water, to the amazement of the locals.
Finally, we arrived right at the tip of the Karpaz cape, and we started to drive, to put it mildly, on a bumpy dirt road in a barren, dry terrain. Compared to the landscapes of Northern Cyprus in general, this area looked really dry and barren. The sand road was bumpy and dry-looking bushes grew along it. A little disappointment started creeping into the minds of the whole group, when not a single donkey could be seen anywhere. Fortunately, due to the bumpy nature of the road, our speed was maybe 10-20 km/h, because suddenly a big donkey's head peeked out from a bush.
And oh the joy (especially for me) when we opened the car window and the donkey greedily poked his head inside, immediately checking if we might have some treats with us. And we had. The donkey started munching on the apple blocks, and I can tell you that it wasn't the neatest thing to do, because apple juice was gurgling out of its mouth, and I almost panicked that the guy would mess up the entire interior of our rental car with apple juice...
So we had driven almost all the way to the top of the cape before we met this first guy. We were able to turn the car back, and continued on our way, meeting a slightly smaller donkey by the side of the road. However, the largest group of donkeys was yet to be met.
When we approached the parking area, where the donkey area starts when you reach Karpaz, and where cafe is located, donkeys started to appear from somewhere, as if they just came out of nowhere. We parked the car in the middle of the parking area. The apple blocks were delicious for every mouthful, and it was starting to get a little scary when there were suddenly so many donkeys begging! My son and I also took out a bag of nuts, because it seemed that there would be nothing left of the big bag of apple blocks in an instant.
Then something happened that we have laughed a lot about afterwards, but which was also a little scary at that moment, in the middle of all those big gluttons. One of the donkeys would literally tear the bag of nuts out of my son's hand with his head, drop it on the ground and stomp the bag with his hoof, so that the nuts spread on the asphalt of the parking area, and were thus easier to devour. This donkey also prevented others from coming to his apis, and crammed the nuts into his own mouth with great speed. At this point, my husband started to think that now the hustle and bustle is getting so greedy that we think we're going to rush towards our car.
There was nothing threatening or dangerous about the behaviour of the donkeys, but we found that they are clearly used to the fact that people visiting Karpaz have different edible delicacies with them, and they know how to come and beg for them, and you could even say that in their behaviour these guys could have a little to improve. 😊 And you have to respect such a big animal and behave, of course, calmly and kindly in their company.
Even as we got into the car and carefully started to drive towards the gate of the area, some donkey came right next to the car, trying to stick its head inside the car. At that point, however, the apple blocks and nuts had already gone to better lips and we said goodbye to these wonderful animals. It was an adventure, but also such an exciting experience that our whole family thinks that we must definitely come here again one day.
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