We had booked into the Spekboom tented camp for 2 nights and we arrived at the South gate to the park which meant we had a 35km trip through the park to check in. As expected, we saw lots of Elephants as well as a host of other wild creatures... Seeing as it was spring, we were greeted (as has been the case for most of our trip), by incredible wild flowers. The whole park was carpeted in yellow and purple flowers..a real treat.
Our first sighting was of a couple warthogs.
Everywhere we went, we were greeted by Tortoises. All along the roads on our trip, they were everywhere. We had to slow down a few times to avoid them as they were slowly crossing the roads.
The majestic Elephants were plentyful in the park. Here are a couple of photos of them at play.
Man, there is nothing like the African bush, especially when you 'rough' it. Braai (BBQ) every night, listening to the chirps of crickets and the howling of Jackals. Ruth and I are so fortunate to have a love for the great outdoors. Hiking, camping, birdwatching is truly magnificent in South Africa.
Below is a photo of an almost tame Southern Boubou who I quickly made friends with!
The flightless Dung beetle was common on the roads all around the Addo.
National Parks are not only about the animals. There is an incredible amount of wild flowers to view as well. We were fortunate that this is the best time of the year to view the wild flowers.
Below is a rare sighting of a Caracal or Rooikat as he is known in Afrikaans. Unfortunately I was only able to take a shot of his tail end..
Yellow daisies was the order of the day....
Some days were a little cool, but there is nothing better than finding a nice sunny spot for a read...
After spending two days in the park, it was time to head south. First a quick visit to Jefferies Bay and then to Wilderness.
We have just under a week left of our trip. Last night, we spent at some friends of ours in Jeffries Bay or J-Bay to the locals. One of South Africa's premier surfing coastlines which hosts world class surfing competitions. We have known Ben and Joke (pronounced Yo-Ka) for many years and they have retired in J-Bay for a couple of years now.
We past through Port Elizabeth, but didn't hang around as the weather had turned a bit foul and was raining. Was a bit of a pity about the weather as PE is supposed to be a great place to stop over, but we were heading to the Tsitsikamma National Park anyway.
We checked in at the Tsitsikamma National Park and the staff were really fantastic. SANParks or the South African National Parks staff, really have improved over the years and it is always a pleasure to visit one of the parks.
The 'Wilderness' is always an incredible place to visit. The coastline is truly amazing. Rugged, wild and awe-inspiring. We unpacked our bags and headed off on a hike along the coast. We arrived a the bridge spanning the Storms River. Unfortunately one of the bridges had been damaged in a storm, so we weren't able to cross it to hike up the other side.
Below is a great shot of Ruth on one of the suspension bridges leading to the Storms River mouth.
And below is yours truly...
Here, Ruth is kicking back after hiking to the Storms River.
WTF! Looks like the grasshopper on top is lazy and is hitching a ride with his mate...
And below is where we stayed for 2 nights in the Tsitsikamma National Park. You can just see Ruth with her yellow cap on...
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