SANParks.org Forums

Well, just got back Tuesday eve ... I'm gonna say it..... I LOVE ADDO. Totally different to KNP as I was told, but in a good way. Its just to tranquil and different. Really really enjoyed it

Unfortunately, we didn't see the black rhino at the waterhole....went every night for about 30min, but to no avail....

So, I had a great night sleep after getting back after a long day. that plane trip home really took it out of me....the turbulance was terrifyingly bad. I'm a very nervous flyer when it comes to turbulance, so it really took it out of me. i was glad to just sleep and relax

but, now its time to start my TR....first trip to Addo...and loved every minute

Day 1.... Johannesburg to PE:
We left home, packed relatively light, off to the airport. Our flight was at 11am...but unfortunately, we were delayed a while, so got to PE around 2pm. We got our hired vehicle, packed the luggage, all six of us, and headed off towards Addo in the cold, misty rain. It was cool though, cos the closer we got to addo, the clearer the sky got

We arrived at Addo main camp entrance....we didn't go through Colchester.... and our main stop first was to get some meat and rolls for dinner braai. unfortunately, the shop was very low on meat and rolls . lucky enough, there's a little shop 6km out the gate that had some meat, rolls, crisps, all sorts of little goodies. so, we got what we needed for 1braai, and one breakfast. We eventually managed to settle into our chalets at around 4:30, and met up with the rest of the family who came in from Durban.

I was so excited to look around camp . I quickly unpacked, grapped my torch, my jacket, and my brother, and the 2 of us walked up to the hide. We sat there for about 30min, til it got really dark, and after watching an ele for a while, headed back to where the family had started the braai . What a lovely lovely walk. i really enjoyed walking around camp...especially at night with the sounds of the jackal in the distance.

So, we got to the braai spot....which was next door to us. unfortunately, due to our late booking, we were all scattered around camp... but i had not worries about that.... enjoyed the walks . The men were all chatting around the braai, the girls were all cooking and chatting in the chalet, and the kids were watching tv (one thing i dont like in the bush) half way through cooking some of the wors, the rain starting coming down.... it finally caught up with us from PE.... some loud thunder, beautiful lightning, and then 20min later..... gone it was really nice though, however, not during braai time. luckilly, we managed to get most of the chicken, etc cooked inside, and then the men continued outside as the rain subsided.

after dinner, family all went their separate ways to turn in for the night. it was a long day for everyone.... and i for one was looking very forward to travelling the park the next day

To be continuued.....


(This guy welcomed us to our room )

Day 1:

The evening before we discussed how we would go about starting our first day in the reserve. I was told by many that the best thing to do in Addo is to be out the gate ASAP in the morning, and head back for breakfast around 9:30 – 10 am. So, I discussed my thoughts with the family, and it was decided….we’d be out at 6:30am

Since the 6 of us sharing one car were all scattered around camp, we had to do the shuttle pick-up thing, where we had to be ready and waiting at a said time, so with all the shuttle stops, we managed to get out around 6:40 . Still good time


All night the hyena and jackals had been doing duets (I love that sound), so of course, we kept our eyes open, hoping to bump into them . However, to no avail. We headed (while trying our hardest to make heads and tails of the map) to Spekboom hide for coffee and rusks. I was so surprised at it….nothing like I expected… not like a normal hide….but it was really really nice . We got there, and there was very little activity, but a pair of beautiful African Shelducks (never seen before, so I was really excited). While we were having our rusks and coffee, we also had a little visitor….a Southern Boubou Shrike, who wanted to steal our rusks . Cheeky little thing.








After about 30min, we headed toward Hapoor dam…hoping to see some Ele’s . We took a slow drive up there….there was only 1 other car there. We got there and there was one ele drinking water…until 2min later a big bull came walking down the hill behind us. We watched him come down and he and the cow said a few friendly hello’s, played a while, and then went their own ways again










With time getting on, we decided to continue back to camp for breakfast, but we went via Rooi dam. It was a very quiet morning…seeing only ostrich, kudu, a few spotted thick-knees, Warthog, and some gorgeous Bokmokierie’s. I don’t think I’d ever seen one since this trip, so I really really enjoyed seeing them . We also, just before entering camp, saw a few Yellow mongoose....adorable!!!!










We got back to camp at around 9:45am, and met up at my mom’s chalet for bacon rolls and coffee. They had a boundary chalet, so we had breakfast on the verrandah, watching the kudu and bulbuls…all 8 of us (rest of family went to Knysna for the day). It was a lovely morning….and a great start to the Addo experience.

Please can we have some more very soon.

Pikkie, Dankbaar and Vlekkie....glad you all enjoying
PJ....this was my first time to Addo, and i really enjoyed it. I definately reccomment you make a plan to go

Day 1:
Part 2:

After a lovely breakfast, some steaming coffee, and some pure relaxation on the balcony, we decided to head off again. First of all, however, we spent some time planning a route. Unfortunately, the map we were using, was a little deceiving with regard to the Colchester section. On the map, it shows that this section borders the coastline, and we were told that one could go whale spotting there….well, for those of you who know Addo, we were highly disappointed. No such thing….and we spent half the day getting there, and half the day getting back . Unfortunately, something we didn’t know, is that the Colchester area has pretty much no game…so it was also a very quiet afternoon ….but luckily, we are the sort of family who enjoy the trees, the birds, and the plane sweet beauty of the bush, so as disappointed as we were, we enjoyed exploring Addo.

When we reached Colchester, and realised there was nothing but a little town, and a little spar, we popped in at the spar for some lunch. Was a bit of an odd thing to do, but no one seemed to be able to tell us how to get to A coastline view….never mind THE coastline view we thought was waiting for us.
You gotta laugh at these situations

Anyway, we decided we’d head back and hopefully see some game as we approached main camp. It really is beautiful out there though….i especially loved the wild prickly pears and the cacti growing in the Colchester region….they were just too beautiful.

As we entered back into the main section of Addo, no more than 5km from the gate, we were surprised by a very cocky bull elephant LOL. Cheeky boy refused to get out the road and took great pleasure in making us reverse just over 1km before he decided he had had his fun for the afternoon. A beautiful boy…but cheeky.




We made good time, and decided to stop at Spekboom hide to see if there was any activity. We got there and decided we’d have a coffee break at the same time . There was, unfortunately, no activity…other than the cheeky Boubou’s again. Such nosey birds but really pretty.


My grandparents decided they were really tired after the drive, so they took the little car of the two and headed back to camp. The rest of us, however, didn’t quite have enough yet, so we stayed a little while longer, finished our coffee, and then decided to take a longer route back to camp.

(view from Spekboom hide)

We decided to take the main road the whole way up, but via Domkrag dam, as we hadn’t yet seen that road. Not long after the hide, we were caught up in a traffic jam….our first herd of ele’s . What a beautiful herd too….little ones, a really big boy, and of course the cheeky teens. I was very surprised to see them all so calm, as I’ve come to understand by many that the Addo ele’s have a reputation of being rowdy and cheeky toward vehicles. I didn’t notice this at all though .












We spent quite a while with them before heading on. We came across quite a lot of kudu and warthog on the way back to camp, as well as the odd Bokmokierie and Fiscal shrike. Nothing much more to report however.






We made it into camp around 5pm, and decided to freshen up before dinner. Not me however Got to my chalet, cleaned up, grabbed my jacket, and my brother and I decided to head to the hide before meeting the rest of the family for dinner at the restaurant. This time, there was nothing at the hide….not even a sound. But it was so nice just sitting there, surrounded by the clean smells of the bush . We then went up for dinner with the rest of the family, where we really enjoyed a wonderful meal, and friendly staff.

Of course after dinner, I was not ready to go up, so I managed to persuade the family to come see the hide (they hadn’t been down yet), and we all sat there for about 30min. Still no activity however…other than the sound of Jackals howling in the distance. Such serenity.

Well, i'm glad i know the real story of the addo ele's now Next time i wont be so wary of them.

Day 2:
Part 1:

This morning everyone decided they needed a good sleep in. We decided 7:30 would be a good time to meet for breakfast. Since we flew to PE, we didn’t buy too much food, and decided on having breakfast at the restaurant. Feeling refreshed and ready for the day, we all had a wonderful breakfast, followed by a quick squizz at the waterhole. Unfortunately, very quiet again . We all headed to our chalets to pick up our essentials (cameras and binocs ), and waited for the shuttle pick-up. Waiting and waiting, they weren’t coming . So, we decided to give them a call. Don’t joke…..a flat tyre???? Wonderful . So, my brother and I headed to the petrol garage to see the damage, by which time the attendant had managed to fix the tyre puncture . Thank the Lord, because all we had in our hired car as a spare was a silly marie-buscuit tyre….and that definitely would not have been great to have to drive on. So, after all the fun and games, and all 3 cars now ready to go, we finally got out at 10am.

We decided to head towards Hapoor dam, via Rooidam, because lions had been sighted there that morning.


Along the way we came across kudu, warthog, ostrich, a few Bokmokieries, a few crowned lapwings, spotted thick-knees….and suddenly, out of nowhere, a lone jackal. I’m telling you.... the animals in Addo are on some sort of steroids I couldn’t get over the size of the warthogs, the kudu, and especially this jackal. Really lovely to see them in all such good condition though.






We made it to Hapoor…no Lions . But, never mind. Hapoor was crawling with ele’s…playing, bathing, drinking. We sat for about 30min just watching and enjoying.














We were about to pull off towards Spekboom hide for coffee when all of a sudden from behind us, this kudu calf was running towards us . Not until it was quite close did we notice the jackal hot on its heels. This continued for about 15min, until another jackal appeared. I was very excited…I thought this was my chance to see my first kill, however, I felt really really sorry for the poor baby. Suddenly, it all stopped. The 2 jackals were tired out completely, not to mention the baby. She found a bush and sort of cuddled up in the middle of it… regaining her strength. The jackals watched from a distance, until, after about 20min, got bored and moved off. It sure was exciting.














We got to Spekboom hide, thinking about the baby. Wondering if her mommy was taken down during the night, or if she’d just got lost. Felt very sorry for her…couldn’t imagine how frightened she must have been . The hide was relatively empty with only a couple there, and the waterhole, too, was not very busy. Only a lonely warthog and a hadeda…which eventually disappeared into the bush. After all our bathroom stops and coffee was finished, we decided to head back to camp for lunch and an afternoon rest.




On the way back, we encountered only general game, a few birds, and a beautiful jackal buzzard. A good end to the morning.







Part 2 continued....

We all got back to camp, and everyone was feeling really relaxed and lazy, so the decision was to rest and relax until 2.30pm. my brother and I on the other hand, as much as we also wanted to relax on the deck, felt we’d rather grab one of the cars and go see what the outcome was with the baby kudu and the jackals .

It was about 1:15pm by the time we left after lunch, so we didn’t really have enough time to dawdle….but we really just wanted to go to Hapoor. So, watching our watches very carefully, we headed toward Hapoor.

We got to Hapoor and were amazed. I’m sure every single herd of elephant in the park was there , or making there way there. There were just ele’s scattered everywhere… in every direction. It was so awesome to watch. While waiting for one of the herds to make their way, I noticed a tiny movement on the passenger side of the car. Meerkats!!!! Finally, I saw them. However, there was only one in sight, and he was so busy chasing and jumping around after a butterfly that I just could not get a photo of him . The cutest little guy though.

As he disappeared out of sight, we were awoken to the realisation that the herd was now directly in front of us, crossing the road, amidst all the cars . I was so thrilled we decided to go out… the rest really missed a lovely sighting.
















We looked around for the jackals and baby kude…but it seemed the baby had moved from his bush of rest, and had possibly rejoined with one of the many kudu herds which were also scattered all around Hapoor. I really hope this was the case , because I could not imagine the fear that little baby was going through.

Unfortunately, with time moving really quickly, we had to be getting back . We would not have been popular when everyone wanted to go, and we still had one of the cars . We headed back, and passed a few kudu, warthog, shrikes, and Bokmokierie’s along the way….and just as we entered camp, we were welcomed by a few Banded mongoose.




I reckon we made a good decision heading out rather than sleeping in

Day 2:
Part 3:

It was 2:45 on the dot when we got back to camp, so, before 3pm, we decided to quickly go to the sightings board to locate those lions. Carols rest was a common lion sight the whole weekend it seemed, so, since we hadn’t been that way yet, we decided we’d talk to the family about considering it .

We picked up the rest of the family, and were out the gate at 3. As we discussed, we headed toward carols rest… hoping to see lion, eland and red hartebeest . If I’m not mistaken, we followed the Gorah loop toward carols rest, and around. We saw plenty plenty game, including kudu, warthog, grey heron, guiniefowl, shrikes, bokmokieries, ele’s, and ostrich. We also came across another pair of black backed jackals, who this time, didn’t stick around for too long. We then came across the Zuurkop turnoff, but as we were heading toward carols rest, we decided not to go that way….that is until we saw the blue cranes in the distance. We had to go see them, even if it meant turning around to come back….so that’s what we did. It was so wonderful seeing blue cranes in their natural habitat for a change .
















After our fill of the cranes, we turned around, and continued to carols rest, watching out for those lions. Again, we saw plenty game on the way. When we got there we saw our first lot of buffalo . Not our lions unfortunately, but the buffalo for us was a very good runner up . We enjoyed watching them a while, as well as the lone ele that accompanied them. Carols rest is such a pretty stop.








After about 10min of watching, we headed on. As we continued to pass through the grasslands, we came across the first on our list….a red hartebeest (actually a few). Never seen them before…amazing antelope. Their colouring is just so pretty. We passed through them at a slow pace….they were very lazy it seemed. Eventually, the one decided to stand and give us a good stretch. After this, the drive got relatively quiet, with only a few kudu and warthog.










As we got nearer camp, we thought a drive via Hapoor would be a nice end to the day. We got there, and again, plenty ele’s. we didn’t stay long though, cos time was getting on. We went back via Rooidam, and luckily, it was quiet, because we all seemed to lose track of time and were running really late . While we were driving, we were blessed with a gorgeous sunset…however, we were unable to stop, so, I clicked away as we approached camp . We reached the gate 5min after closing time, but luckily for us, the guard was only starting to close up .








We went back to the chalets to clean up for dinner, and again, decided to meet at the restaurant at 7pm. At around 6:15, my bro and I took a slow walk down to the hide, and waited on the family. It was really cold though, so we decided, since it was still a while, to get a take-away hot choc to take to the hide with us . Pure bliss!!!! We went for our last dinner at the restaurant, and as the night before, we really enjoyed it.

Everyone was really tired, so this evening, instead of going to the hide before dinner, they all went straight to bed. My brother and myself decided we’d have a quick check-up to see if anything was happening, however. We got there, and just as we sat down to silence, we heard an amazing Roar . It sounded really close. Now I know a lions roar can be heard up to 2km away, but one could tell this one was close. So of course we stayed to see what would happen. 10min later, we heard another one…but this one was so close we were convinced the lion was just beyond the trees. We thought this because as it stopped roaring, we could hear its gruff breathing. We stayed for up to 30min…but to no avail...not even another sound. If he was there, he was not showing his face . So we decided to call it a night….unlike the many people who were still waiting up top. it was a lovely way to end the day