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Looking at the calendar, I decided that we should make use of the well laid out public holidays at the end of April and that we should head for Addo this time! Firstly, it was close enough to drive from Cape Town, secondly, we hadn't been there since 1981 when we went as day visitors and left just as quickly when the first ellie we saw came shoving its way out of the bushes (taken at that stage as a "charge") and thirdly, Ronnie had posted so many lovely reports about it, that I just had to try and visit.

Well bookings were made and I then filled SO in on the plans! Problem!! He wanted to go to KTP rather!
Now what? I looked at the availibility in KTP - nudder, nothing, zilch, no chance! Well then, you see, my decision was for the best....but I will try and see if I can get a cancellation.

I asked GavinW, whom I knew had made a booking, but may not be able to get leave at the right time, I posted a request on the thread and also posted a swap on that thread.....no luck, so it was off to Addo we would have to go!

We opted to leave on Thursday evening and overnight in Swellendam where friends of ours have just purchased the "Blue Mountain Inn". We wanted to see it before and after the proposed upgrades so this was a perfect opportunity.
Leaving later than we wanted, we ran bang slap into evening, pre public holiday traffic and so our journey began. We crawled along with the other "holiday makers" and listened to the traffic reports as they reported accident after accident. We would have to change routes to try and avoid them, but everybody seemed to have the same idea! There were over 2500 cars per hour travelling on our route - wonderful!! Where was everybody going to?

To top it all, it had started pouring and visibility was down to a couple of metres. Our 2 hour journey eventually took us nearly 4 hours. Patience is not the SO's strong point in the first place and this was really pushing all the wrong buttons and was not the way I wanted to start our trip, especially seeing as he was hanckering after KTP instead!

I am sure that everything will look better in the morning after a good night's sleep.

April 27

Well the day dawned, just like it does everyday and regardless of the frustrations of the previous night.



So my photo doesn't really do the sight justice, but when you are flying along at 120 km/h, eager to get there, you take what you can get!

The rest of the journey was uneventful and we stopped in Plett for a quick convenience stop, but my SO doesn't believe in meandering or dilly - dallying when he is on his way to his destination. We have spent many happy years in Plett with friends and can't believe how much it has grown.

With all the unhappiness surrounding e-tolling at the moment and toll roads in general, I want to say that I am ever so happy to pay the toll on the section of road between Plett and PE as it is one of the best maintained sections of road anywhere in the country. I don't know what "recipe" they used for the surface, but they should try it in other parts of the country as well. OK, soapbox packed away now!

We arrived at Matyholweni and checked in efficiently. The receptionist welcomed us as first time visitors, gave us the map and explained all the rules and gate times etc. She also told us where the lions are normally found.......I think they had gone away for the long weekend too.

We hastily unpacked and were very impressed with our accommodation.



I wasted no time heading out into the park and true to form, the first animal we met was this really friendly elllie.



He was not concerned with us and we had lots to look for in a very short space of time, so we left him to his munching.

We then saw a birdy that caused us much consternation...is it a Robin....no, it doesn't have a white brow....is it a Shrike........no, it has a russet chest....so we hastily paged through our trusty bird book and eventually decided that it was a Southern Boubou! We were very pleased with ourselves (and ticked it off), took the evidence photo, but it is not the only one we would end up with and others were infinitely better.



As we made our way along the road, we came across the first of MANY Pumbaas! They were everywhere and were a lot biger than I remember them.



We turned along the Mbotyi loop and didn't get to see very much in the thick Spekboom bush. It was a case of "if it doesn't step into the road, then we ain't going to see it", so we made this a bird loop due to the shortage of animal sightings.

This BSK was hovering, looking for his supper



and I was stopping for al the LBJs, which actually turned out to be the pretty Cape Longclaw

.

I have to admit that for every fairly reasonable photo, I have about 50 "blurreds", but that is the great advantage to digital photography. Maybe if I waited until the car has actualy stopped before I try taking the photo, I may have more luck - especially when I am driving! There were a lot of these birds down south and I really got to enjoy watching them flit from bush to bush as their colours were so pretty. At one stage, there was one flying next to our car and keeping up with the speed we were doing with absolutely no trouble at all. I was quite amazed.

Another LBJ was this little guy, siting fluffed up on the branch. The photo is not the greatest, but as people who have tried to photograph this little fellow, will know that they do not sit still for very long, so I took what I could get. Now my knowledge of LBJs is extremely limited, but I have put it in the Cisticola or Lark family and if anybody can be more specific, then please help out.



We crossed the main road and headed off down the Vukani loop and hoped to have more luck with the 4 legged animals. As I was driving, SO was pulling of my stints..."what is that bir....never mind, its gone". There was a beautiful raptor in flight, but by the time I had worked out what he was talking about, it was about 100m away from us and no chance of a photo.

When we saw the next lot of animals, I had a look around for Noah as they looked like they were getting ready to board the Ark - 2 by 2!



This little Kudu calf was trying to hide behind the cacti, but we managed to snap a quick piccie of him/ her.



We were held up by this mini road block, but it was infintiely better than any of the others we had seen on the road. I love the zebbies, so was happy to sit for a while and just watch them.



It gave us an opportunity to get a picture of this Shrike, probably the best of all of them as they too didn't feel the need to pose for me during the trip.



It was now getting late and as we were not sure of distances back to camp, we decided that it was time to head in that direction.

We again came across our friendly ellie, munching his way along the verge, so I pulled slightly to one side and parked the car about 100 m away from him.



As he meandered in our direction, SO started to get a bit antsy..."don't you think you should start the car?"...."no, just wait!". Closer he came...." ummmm, don't you think you had better move now?"....."No, just wait!"....I was keeping my beady eye on him all the time and he was quite happy with us there. my SO had one of the most wonderful experiences as Mr Ellie past us about 1 m away from the car and went on his way and we could then go on ours! When I asked SO if he had got a photos, his answer was "my camera doesn't zoom out that far!" He could have stuck his hand out and touched him.

WOW, how different these ellies are to the ones we are used to in KNP!

This little family of Warties came to wish us well as we returned to camp for our first night in our new paradise.



We really knew we were in the bush when all we could see from our deck was this



and what we could see insdie our chalet was these - there were 3 of them on the wall. (I have to admit that I slept with the bathroom light on)

28 April

Today we were moving up to the main camp, but that didn't stop me getting up and going out at 06:15. It was still very dark, so the first 8 km were a bit disappointing as I could not see a thing and the birds were not even awake yet so it was very quiet. I went onto the Vukani loop and at the top, came across 4 BBJ sniffing around in the grass. I stopped to watch them as photos were out of the question and all of a sudden, they started shouting at each other. I don't know what set them off, but they were howling up a storm. I cleverly decided to take a video as the sound was bone chilling and I wanted SO to hear it. Next I came across a small herd of Red Haartebeest, with a few young ones



Stupidly, I was now heading directly into the sun, but it did give me some nice photos



With this Kudu in the early morning light



and the majestic Zebra



After an uneventful loop, I crossed over to the Mboyti loop and as I said previously - birds!

The sun on the grass made it look like snow (and it was only 9 °C, so it could have well been true!)



Cape Longclaw



Glossy Starling



Think this is a female African Stonechat



and this is definitely an Unidentified!



I was trying to make contact with RonnieL, but signal in the South was a bit iffy, so when my phone jangled into life, I stopped and was quite excited that it was Ronnie. He was on the main road while I was on the loop so unfortunately didn't get to meet up this time.

On the way back to camp to fetch SO and pack up, I came across this big old buff, but we wasn't inclined to show me his face, so this is the best of a couple of "bum" shots.



This Wartie had an itch and just had to scratch. I think it was the same family as yesterday.



Suddenly a movement in the tree caught my eye and I was teased by this beautiful Brown-hooded Kingfisher as we played catch-catch from tree to tree.



His friend, the Drongo also wanted to play, but he was not interested, so it was left forlornly in the tree.



I was happy as I headed back.

Great start to a lovely day.

I see that we are being asked to limit the number of photos per page, so I will have to post shorter bits so that the pages turn quicker. I am already over my limit for this page, but here's hoping that it won't be too much of a problem.

28 April continued

I collected the SO, packed up all the goodies and we set off northwards. We sort of felt like intrepid travellers exploring parts of our country that we have never been to.

He had spent his time photographing the Sunbirds that were feeding on the abundant orange flowers just outside our chalet. The Southern Boubou was also being inquisitive as it sat on the table hoping for some breakfast. I actually think that he secretly enjoys this "him" time as I drive to find animals and he waits for the birds to come to him. I will post some of his photos at a later stage.

One fo the things we found quite surprising was the abundance of Black Backed Jackals wandering around at all time of the day. Although they were wary of the cars driving around, they were not in any way skittish and happily carried on sniffing around to see what they could find to eat.

They will hunt for themselves and take the opportunity to help a predator finish off their meal. To me, they all looked in fabulous condition. Their coats were shiny and beautifully coloured - darker than I can recall I have ever seen.

This little guy was at the Mboyti/ Vukani/ main road "intersection".





I will continue when the page turns, so in the meantime, enjoy your day.

I said previously that my SO had stayed behind to take some photos (well actually I left him behind and so he decided to take some photos!)

This was the ellie we had seen the evening before. I love the fact that you can actually see his eye colour.



I wasn't managing to get any decent photos of the Speckled Mousebirds, but he did!



He loves the Zebbies with their beautiful stripes.



He also managed to get a slightly clearer photo of the Cape Longclaw. I will blame the fact that they always seemed to be on his side of the car and so that is why I couldn't get a proper shot, but probably the truth is more a case of...I am just a bad photographer!



This was the ellie that walked past our car and as you can see, he was in no way concerned by us.



I noticed that a number of the ellies had a blob of white goo in the corner of their eyes and wondered if this indicated anything or if it was just mucous responsible for clearing the eyes of dirt?

More to come soon.

Oh and a couple of birdy photos taken at the chalet.

The puffed up Southern Boubou in the chilly morning



Looking very much sleeker on the table



and lastly, for the moment, a beautiful Double Collared Sunbird

Hope this one turns the page!

After packing up, we headed North and as we got to the northern end of the Mboyti loop, we had to wait for this ellie to stride across the road - he was on a mission!





We sat and watched him for a while and soon realised he was heading for the waterhole close by. I had already done a reconnaiscence of this waterhole and knew that it was fairly simple to get in, albeit a 2 track with a rather high "middle mannetjie" (hump in the middle), but the problem came when you needed to get out!! The available space to turn in was fine if you had a tiny car, but I had to do about a 5 point turn in the Tiguan...and that was not in a panic situation when you need to escape a charging ellie, so I was a bit concerned that if he was heading in that direction and we went in there, we may have a situation!!

SO decided to give it a try as we were ahead of the ellie and as we were trying to turn at the end of the track, he was approaching rapidly. We managed to manoeuvre ourselves around and as we were going to get into a vantage point on the dam wall, a 4x4 arrived, past us and drove virtually up to where the ellie was now making his way to the water. We ad warned them that he was on the way, but they chose to ignore us anyway.

We went up onto the wall and Mr Ellie approached the water, all the time watching the vehicle that was parked on top of him (by ellie standards anyway). He was so funny to watch!



There was enough water, but he stood on the edge, sucking up the mud!



He looked like he was putting mud in his eye!!



He then sat down...about as gracefully as I do following a knee replacement!



He really looked like he was having a good giggle!



The people in the 4x4 suddenly started up the engine and the ellie stood up and came rushing over towards us - he was looking for a way out and we weren't about to stop him, so all photos went by the wayside as we reversed down the dam wall and got ahead on the 2 track, while a little Hyundai Atos with a continental gentleman was making his way in. We did suggest that he backed up as the ellie that was coming his way would walk right over him!

We left the ellie to calm down and we headed off towards the Harvey loop.

Luck was not with us as we saw the rear end of a Kudu



A young Fork-tailed Drongo



and a ....LBJ!! (Please help with ID)



Another Cape Longclaw



and a female African Stonechat



There were a couple of other nice sightings which will be posted in the next episode.
Enjoy!

We were again trying to meet up with Ronnie and got a call to say he was at Jack's picnic site having breakfast, but we were still down south, so agreed to keep in touch and hopefully bump into each other along the way.

Along Harvey's Loop, we saw a number of Hoopoe



but animals were scarce in general. Maybe I need new multifocals, but I was just not seeing anything.

As we came down a dip, there was a caravelle pulled over and we crept up beside him and aksed what he had seen..."A buck, but I don't know what it is" he whispered. Well, um, sorry but I don''t understand...why the big hush hush.

Then we saw what he was looking at, hoping to identify it....it was a young/ female Kudu...nothing unusual in that you say.....beware, not the way you normally see it!



it still looked fairly fresh as there was blood and the stomach on the side of the road and not too much had been eaten as yet.

We decided to turn around and wait to see if the "owner" came back to its breakfast.

We had a good debate as to who the owner was and it could only have been a cat of some sort and seeing as they don't seem to have seen a leopard for a while, it sort of had to be lion.....

Eventually another bakkie pulled up and it was an honourary ranger. Evidently, as they had been told, the kill had hapened over an hour earlier and the culprit had not been seen, so we decided that we would move on. They did ask us what the yellow ribbon on our mirror meant and we explained about the Forum...would have thought they should know.

We soldiered on and crossed over from South to North, still without many sightings.

Even though it was quite a bit later, we stopped in at Jack's , but Ronnie had moved on by then and was at the main camp. After a convenience stop, we headed off again and stopped in at Spekboom hide. I love the sign that says "beware of the lions", but they put it behind you so you don't actually see it until you have climbed out of your car - bit late I might say!
We wandered through the trees to the fence, but there was noting at the waterhole, so off we went again...time waits for no man!

We took the Mpunzi Loop...and guess what we saw?? Yep, you guessed it....nothing!

Towards the end of the loop, we spotted what would be the first of numerous Black-headed herons!



As we approached Hapoor dam, we saw these little Crowned Lapwings



who shouted about everything!

We were hoping to see some of Hapoor's descendants at the dam, but....no such luck!

We parked at the dam for a while, nibbled our lunch and waited to see who was going to arrive.

You will have to get your popcorn and wait with us....

Oopsie, missed the page turn.
Thanks for all the great comments. Now I will get a shifty on with the next episode.

I think that some of you have been naughty and throwing your popcorn kernels out of the car window while waiting, becasue look what came to see you at the dam!

Egyptian Geese and Black-headed Herons!!



South African Shelduck





A Hadeda Ibis



and some Black-winged Stilts

.

Now next time, could you all please bring some biltong and attract some carnivores!

As we came closer to the main camp, we finally got yo see our first real herd of ellies!



Um, I thought you said "herd", that is only one!
Well here are a couple more.



They were scattered all over the side of the road and it was a case of where to look first. These 2 stood with their butts towards us, munching away and tails swinging in unison.



Has anybody noticed what is so special about these ellies? Here is another shot for you to consider.



Have you got it yet...........Yup, this is a herd of tuskless ellies!

We were fascinated by them, having usually seen how they use tusks to break branches, these ones "grazed" along, still eating grass and small trees though.

TBC

Thanks for all the suggestions guys...I know I should save it, but always remember just too late, so this time I will save right in the beginning!

After our visit with the tuskless ellies, we made our way to the camp and who should we bump into....but RonnieL coming OUT of the camp, so we both pulled over, on opposite sides of the road mind you - talk about senior moment, and proceeded to try and have a quick chat, with cars passing between us as they were entering or leaving the camp.

He had other visitors with him (lucky ladies to have such a wonderful private guide), so we promised to try and met up the following day as he would be in the park again. (If I had known that he was such a great lion magnet, as said by Lionspoon...maybe it was actually Spots' shirt.....but anyway.......).

We reported to reception after an eternity trying to find a space in the very busy carpark and were checked into our Forest cabin very efficiently.



Before heading out for our first drive around the main area, we decided on lunch at the restaurant. The rolls were so divine that we were disappointed that the shop didn't stock any for later.

In the Woodlands area, we saw a beautiful Kudu



However, he was limping very badly and I had to wonder just how long it would be before he ended up as a lion's supper. Hopefully I was wrong as we didn't see any evidence that I was right.

We headed for Domkrag dam and saw this PCG posing beautifully for us on the way.



I know that boys will be boys and thankfully I never had sons, but these youngsters were being typical boys and antagonising each other



Pushing and shoving



Doing a bit of chasing



Really funny to watch.

The other actor trying to steal the limelight at the dam was this Spur winged Goose,



and then showing off his wares.



The BIIIIG tick on my mammal list will come in the next episode!

Can you tell that I thoroughly enjoyed my trip!!

LQ, I am sure that you will love it, but go with an open mind if you haven't been there before - it is not KNP or KTP...for me, that is the what makes all our parks so special - each one is different, but each one has its attractions, and more docile ellies was for me a huge attraction!

Little bit more of Saturday to come.

After the dam, we headed off towards the Gorah Loop,

We came across a zebra crossing and being good law abiding citizens, stopped to allow the pedestrians to go.







Some Red Hartebeest



A far off Denhams Bustard



The first of many beautiful Bokmakirie



Got another tick off the list with this Sombre Greenbul



We turned off up the hill to the Zuurkop lookout point and caught sight of this raptor in the trees. There is a debate as to whether this is a juvenile Jackal Buzzard or a Steppe Buzzard, but either way, it is definitely a Buzzard!



The view from the top is beautiful, but there wre no animals to be seens and it was starting to get late so we moved off and went backto the Gorah Loop for a couple of km.

We had already had such a fabulous day and were really happy, but in the fading light, the best for me was still to come!

Yay, I did it.

After Zuurkop, we decided to go along towards Carol's Rest, but being the first trip to the Park, we had no idea how far it was and how long it would take to get back to camp. I really wish they would put km markers up.

Be that as it may, we trundled on slowly and saw a raptor which was neither a decent photography or identifiable and then we saw this little jackal



It was lying on a hillock, surveying the passing parade and I was really hoping that maybe it had a den nearby, but unfortunately, no luck.

As we continued, SO said "What is that". By the time I had turned my head whatever it was had scooted off into the bush, but as we pulled up level with it, I got all excited - my big tick...I didn't even wait for the car to stop in case it disappeared althogether, which just resulted in really blurred photos, but it was identifiable none the less.



MY FIRST CARACAL - EVER!!!!!!!





We tried to follow as it wound its way through the bushes and kept catching glimpses



Now I am sure that those of you who have seen a whole load of them in your life will not find it very exciting, but I did!! Had we had the inside info on "Caracal Alley'...........! It was the only one we saw on this trip, but still!

I didn't care if we never saw another animal...well that is a bit of a fib coz I realy wanted to see the lion and the rhino....

We decided to head back to camp as it was only 30 mins to gate closing and just our luck, we ran into 2 roadblocks.



The little dam was dry





They kicked the dust around a bit...who want to be a little ellie - get dust in your eye!



We moved on and ran into roadblock number 2.



They just kept coming and were walking down the middle of the road directly towards us.

SO was not quite as happy as I was to just sit and wait, so he started the reversing game....you are alughing because you know the game....we reverse, they come....we reverse, they come....... The more I was telling ot stop and wait, the more he was having none of it. World war 3 was about to break out...I was getting so irritated taht he wouldn't just give them a chance to go past!

After what seemed like an eternity, they moved off the road



and we could continue in peace and so could they.

What a day we had had, so it was a quick braai for supper and early to bed......no chance, I dragged him off to the camp waterhole.....nothing! Wandered to the underground hide....nothing! It was cold and he was starting to have sense of humour failure, so we headed for the chalet and a good night's sleep.

The rest of the weekend's adventures will have to wait until I get back.

Stay safe and have a wonderful week.

I am finally back - spent a lovely 10 days in Mauritius where the weather was infinitely better than it is currently in Cape Town!

To continue with our lovely weekend in Addo though....

The following morning, as usual, I was up bright and early and headed along the start of the Mbalabala Loop where I caught sight of a Scrub hare and a one and only Bush Buck. The lack of "normal" antelope amazed me. I had only seen 1 Steenbok/ Duiker type of bokkie previously, but it disappeared into the bush so quickly, that my brain only registered afterwards what it could have been.

As I got to the top of Suurkop, I realised that it was getting a bit late and I had to go back and collect my SO, so I headed down towards the Gorah Loop road and was fascinated by this BBJ on the hunt. Although the photos do not show it (reactions too slow)....he was sniffing around and pouncing on the poor hapless mouse (I presume that is what it is), picking it up and turning away from me, letting it go, pouncing on it again...repeated several times.





and he was giving me the hairy eyeball as if to say "you touch my dinner and see what happens to you!"



and this mousie was saying something similar to the PCG which was in the tree above him, except that he was about to be the dinner!





While I had been trapsing around the loops, SO had been stalking the birds near the chalet and got a nice photo of a Sombre Greenbul



and this Spectacled Weaver (another tick)



We headed out and again made contact with RonnieL...we were in different areas...again! But the angels were determined that we would meet up somewhere!

We went past Domkrag dam, but only founf this little karoo Scrub Robin



and then we headed up the Suurkop/ Mbalabala road, not seeing much until we met a little white Toyota with an EP number plate....finally....we had literally run into Ronnie. He turned around and indicated that there was a viewsite not far off and we could get out there and officially "meet". On the way there, we saw this Kudu, not looking very well, sitting under a small bush. We wondered if he was sick or just resting.



His face was full of ticks and flies and I felt really sorry for him.

We caught up with Ronnie and jumped out. How nice it was to finally meet this knowledgable man who took the time to tell us about the history of the park, how it had developed over the years and how it was still exapanding in the future. Things made so much more sense now.

He pointed out this Fiscal Flycatcher





which I had happily been calling a thin Shrike (they are very similar!)

This Skink which was growing a new tail



We parted company after about an hour. Thanks Ronnie for making the park that much more interesting and for sharing your time with us.

tbc.....

Thanks OWN! and a page trun to boot!

After leaving Ronnie, we headed towards Carol's Rest with this Southern Boubou showing us the way.



and these Eland moving to one side of the waterhole, but never came for a drink.



There was a real family gathering at the waterhole and guests were definitely not welcome. The poor Zebbies were trying to get a look in, but the young bull kept them at bay.







She really looked like she was fit to burst.

Still no chance........





Even the cars were being watched



This little guy was lucky to have his own private drinking spot!



After all the BEEEEG animals, this little birdie caught my eye, but the ID is escaping me (had it pitched in the Pipit/ Lark family....).



and this close-up of the Black-headed Heron's feathers.

.

Lunchtime was calling, so tbc.....

After spending time at Carol's Rest, we made our way to Domkrag Dam to see if the ellies had come to swim, but I think we were too late.
This family was standing on the side, fairly well obscured by the reeds.



and on the other side, the audience was seated for the show.





and these 2 were willing to oblige! Pushing and shoving again (sure it was the same 2 from the previous day)







The sad sight we saw was this kudu, floating in the dam. Have to wonder if it was psooibly the injured one we had seen the previous day or how it happened.



At least it was providing a sun deck for the turtles!

The goose was still there and still showing off his wares as we headed back to camp for a rest.