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Oh goodness..off to the Parks again..how am I to cope ????
This time with the Irish Clan and what an assortment of people we are.
Firstly there is my brother (from now on known as Boet) and then we have his SO (Tigger) as well as a Mini-Tigger. And last but least we have Grandaddy and Coco. We are all set to leave at 6h00 in the morning, spending two nights in Wilderness and then move on to Addo for 3 nights.

Now there is a small matter of trip reports....okay so I still owe a summary to Trailer Trash in KTP as well as a trip report from my Addo Trip in Sept.....

But it will happen ..I will catch up...so till then ...I am off to find a caracal and hopefuly I will get a photo this time !!!!

Did Bitterbal know that Caracal and the Irish were coming????????


No Caracal I am not high jacking just wetting Annalies appetite and raising her nagging

The Caracal and the Irish clan are back and boy oh boy ...do we have tales to tell ..but I am shattered ! I left De Rust at 9h30 this morning and arrived home at 18h10....after having to backtrack along Route 62 to get onto the N2.........I have never and I mean never seen so much water. the floods in this area are awful. I drove over some or other mountain pass to get to Riversdale.....well it was scary to say the least
But we are home ....a trip report will follow . AND it looks like Warthogb will be helping me with this one
Thank you to Dreamer for updating...but boy can she sulk when she hears how much fun a person is having Maybe a bottle of sherry as a thank you will put a smile on her face .................

@ billyf...yes I have just checked the map it was the Garcias Pass ..thank you for clearing that up !
@ Johan..whether it was scenic or not I have no idea........I seem to think we were climbing up and then down but then with that poor visibility it could all have been a figment of my imagination. My boet was videoing so in time I will have a video clip or two..........I just need a bit of time to edit some very choice language out

I will start soon I promise...just getting through Melissa's Graduation...having one heck of a party tonight...tomorrow I will be all yours again

Me ????? Don't think so....just that I am off to the KTP again !!!!

Oh dear ..just where does the time go to
I really do want to do this trip report ..just time time time ! Not only do I have forumites nagging but I have Boet nagging all the way from Ireland as well...

So to recap ...off to the parks again....
this time with the Irish Clan and what an assortment of people we are.
Firstly there is my brother (was known as Boet but would like to change to Bokpaddy) and then we have his SO (Tigger) as well as a Mini-Tigger. And last but not least we have Grandaddy and Coco. We are all set to leave at 6h00 in the morning(7 Nov 2008), spending two nights in Wilderness and then move on to Addo for 3 nights.

Well we did get away on time..poor Irish Clan ..they really were taking strain getting up so early in the morning.
A bit of background history... Bokpaddy and I hail from George so our visit to Wilderness was a bit of a nostalgic trip for Bokpaddy...I think maybe it was about 18 yrs since his last visit. Maybe if I mess up the facts a bit Bokpaddy will register and correct the facts..he may even help out with the trip report

We had a pleasant trip through to Wilderness..lots of sightseeing on the way...as well as shopping .

We were booked into the South Camp.

Of course this sign was all new to Bokpaddy...we used to just know it as Ebb and Flow.
We had a "beeeeg" log cabin booked as well as "tineeey" one . Guess who got the tiny one !!!

Bokpaddy's (BP) photo

BP's photo

Actually I didn't mind the tiny one at all . It doesn't have a stove so I couldn't offer to do the cooking !!!!!
The accommodation at Wilderness is great. There is a lovely camp site as well.

. BP's photo

To be continued....

As I have said in previous trip reports Wilderness is a fantastic park for birding. A couple of birds that Bokpaddy and I managed to catch on camera were

Fork Tailed Drongo

Female Cape Weaver

White Breasted Cormorant and Yellow Billed Duck

Little Grebe( Dabchick)

Egyptian Goose and Goslings

Cape Wagtail

Hadeda Ibis

Speckled Mousebird ( I think )

Helmeted Guineafowl
I think the Irish Clan would gladly have banned all Guineafowl from the park. They could not believe the racket they made so early in the morning !!! I just smiled and reminded them that you do not come to Africa to sleep late in the morning ( something I am still trying to cope with )
The above photos are all Bokpaddy's ..well done there Boet.
I was trying out my new lens and I ended up with CF card full of b*gger ups !!! A few I managed to salvage were...



Cape Weaver's.. very busy building nests. I just wish they would sit still a tad longer

Cape Bulbul

Yellow Billed Duck.

Of course the birding highlight of our stay was a Knysna Lourie (Turaco) but we never did catch him on camera. He was flitting from one bush to the next while we were sitting on the balconey admiring the view. Talk about frustrating !!! As we were leaving the park one flew right up to the windscreen and then over the top of the Kombi...both Bokpaddy and I ducked our heads( silly ) But to see it fly from that angle was really awesome...such bright crimson patches on the primaries !!!!
There were many other birds that eluded the camera as well...sunbirds, kingfishers and many LBJ's that I cannot even begin to guess what they were!

Thanks billyf, Vlekkie, lp and Rayk
@ Rayk...of yes..I just love visiting the parks !!!!
@ Billyf..I wonder what has happened to Annalie...she must be overworked

Just a few more pics of Wilderness.



This is the view of the North Camp. The North and South Camps are separated by a road and a railway line.



The railway line looked a bit overgrown. I wondered if it was still in use. I shuddered when I recalled the times we played "chicken" along that railway line

Something that Bokpaddy was dying to show the Irish Clan was the cave overlooking the North Camp. He had quite impressed them with his stories of how as a young lad he used to walk up to the cave and spend the night there alone while the sensible folk ( being Mom & Dad ) caravanned alongside the river. Mini-Tigger was dying to see this cave ..she thought it was a mighty brave thing to have done. But Bokpaddy was a bit disappointed when he found the cave. All of a sudden it didn't look so big anymore and it wasn't even that much of a climb from the campsite either.
I consoled him by reminding him that he was all of 10 yrs old back then and the cave must surely have appeared bigger to a 10yr old than to a 30-something yr old. Anyway Mini-Tigger was still impressed that he had spent many a night up there alone !

The cave.

The view from inside the cave.

Every time I go to Wilderness I vow that I am going to spend more time there...it is such a peaceful beautiful camp. But the elephants were calling....


Apologies..I forgot to add that these are all Bokpaddy's photos .

Heya Caracal & fellow forumites,

Thanks for giving Caracal a hard time about completing this report cos it sure is a distant memory locked away somewhere and needs refreshing. Caracal did such an amazing job on the trip I didn’t have it in my heart to complain about the trip report. I must say what a great way to relive what can only be described as a FANTASTIC, WONDERFUL & AMAZING trip to Addo. It wouldn’t have been possible without Caracal so THANK YOU very much. Since being in Ireland I have always raved about the beauty of South Africa and being there with my Irish Clan I wasn’t let down. South Africa you did yourself proud.

Oh that was easy enough....

9 November 2008

The plan was to leave Wilderness at 9h00 in the morning. The Irish Clan were allowed a later sleep-in before arriving in Addo…thereafter no mercy!!!
I must admit everybody was really bright eyed and bushy tailed when I arrived at their chalet in the morning. Was it the excitement of their first ever African Safari or was it the apprenhension of the African Unknown ????
I think the Irish Clan were a bit nervous of these “Safari Tents” that we had booked in Addo. I think Bokpaddy had been up to some mischief with his story telling again!!!
Anyway I reassured them along the way that we were not going to share our tents with lions and hyenas.
After stopping at Storms River for brunch and a quick walk along the bridge we arrived at Addo’s Southern Entrance gate at about 12h40.

( BP’s photo)

( BP’s photo) The entrance to a very pleasant reception area and a much needed toilet.

We didn’t waste too much time at the gate…a quick toilet stop, replenishment of the “liquid essentials” and unpacking of the cameras…and we were on our way.
At last I was driving through the gates of Addo.

BP’s photo

I just love that sense of calmness mixed with excitement that I experience when first driving into a park….my passengers were all eyes. I soon realized that Mini -Tigger was a great asset in the back….her eyes were everywhere and she was soon spotting the animals.

BP’s photo...spot the monkey eating the flowers !

The animal spotting started in real earnest once we entered the main game viewing area in the park. I was desperately looking for lions but to no avail. Of course kudu were everywhere..
my photo. Strange to see kudu with their ears down like this.
And hiding in the bushes was her baby…

( BP’s photo)

We moved slowly onto Marion Baree waterhole but all that was waiting for us there was this carcass



and this piggy.

( both BP’s photos)

I think by now the Irish Clan knew exactly what a kudu and warthog looked like.

Next stop was Spekboom Hide. There was plenty of action at Spekboom…a whole of herd of elephants doing what elephants do best…splashing, squirting and slurping .
Unfortunately the sun was very bright and we were looking straight into it. Not the best for photography ….

( my photo)

( my photo)

( BP’s photo)


There was this rather large elephant that was showing us far too much attention. He kept walking up to the hide, scrutinizing us and then walking away again. He did this a few times but each time he got closer and closer…eventually he got so close that my camera coukld not focus. He stared at me and I stared back…not flinching. We were the only people in the hide and without me having to tell the Irish Clan everybody just stood dead still. He eventually decided to retreat and there and then I decided that if he starts walking towards the hide again we were leaving…electric fencing or no electric fencing….I did not feel very safe. But he left us alone after that….I think he was just showing us who was boss….

( BP’s photo)

We continued on our way to the main camp. Checking in took a little while for no other reason except that a lot of visitors had arrived at the same time. Tigger was most relieved when she saw the Safari Tents...maybe the electrified fencing right in front of the tent had something to do with it. We all unpacked and got ourselves settled….and seeing that it was Coco’s birthday afternoon tea and milk tart was enjoyed on the balcony.
The view from the safari tents….

and

( both BP’s photos) Now what more could one ask for.

I think the Irish Clan decided that they could quite easily get used to this way of life.
Little did we know what excitement was still in store for us.

In the meantime I had met up with a certain Warthog in camp….oh yes we all know that I am referring to a two legged one. Warthog had kindly booked the Irish Clan on a night drive for that evening. I was going to give the night drive a miss…I wanted to sit at the waterhole and try to get a decent photo of the evening visitors. I failed dismally…yet again. The rhino did put in an appearance and so did a buffalo but they were just not interested in standing in the floodlit area. Oh well…I can’t always have what I want I suppose.

Maybe Bokpaddy can tell us a bit about their night drive …

( to be continued…soon )