SANParks.org Forums

For this trip report we are just going to give a brief overview of our trip and a few sugestions we have, thereafter a series of photos which we hope will portray the beauty of the park and as to just how blessed we were with the sightings we had whilst in Addo............

We arrived at Colchester gate not knowing quiet what to expect and where pleasantly surprised at the whole setup. The reception area was very nice and we got a great welcome with happy smiles. The only thing that we did not find was Gav’s sister and her hubby. Once they arrived, we were on our way. I must admit, we loved driving through from the Colchester gate and will do so again in future, even though we didn’t see much in the way of game, the scenery was spectacular and at last we felt that we were back in a park!!.







The reception we received at the main camp was also great, and I must admit that the reception staff were excellent in deciphering our rather complicated booking, which involved a bit of camping and safari tent swapping.



It was lovely to see all the changes especially the new information centre. We can’t wait to go inside. (and for it to be complete so the Addo Webcam can get up and running!!) The Safari Tents were great and besides a few maintenance issues we loved being there. They will definitely be a ‘must do’ for next time. We had booked into nos 4 and 5 but ended up in nos 1 and 2. I’m not sure that it made much difference and I would be quite happy to stay in no. 1 again as being closest to the flood light was quiet nice and made no difference to our sleeping habits. The end units do have the advantage of having one free side which improves your privacy.



We experienced quite a few first time sightings, which were very special and of course loads of repeats especially the ellies, pumbas and kudus. The park itself was very dry and the bush seemed a bit sparser than when we were last there about 3 years ago.

We found the park extremely busy over the weekend and saw quiet a few people breaking the rules. I personally feel that people should not be allowed out of their vehicles at places like Domkrag Dam, as we saw many a person out their cars standing within meters of elephants. One idiot even posed on the ground with his back to an elephant whilst his friend took his photo him in “darkest Africa” with the elephants!!!

Fortunately it quietened down on the Monday and in future we will make sure that we stay in the park during the week. The road works near the picnic sight did cause a fair bit of disruption, with construction vehicles flying around the place, littering and happily getting out of their vehicles. Needless to say we saw very little around Hapoor and Spekboom



We did go into the picnic area to have a look and decided that it would work well for day trippers or people with kids. I myself prefer to have a picnic lunch sitting next to a water hole (too scared to miss anything).


Moaning, or as I see it, constructive criticism over, we had a ball and were really spoilt with what we saw. We were also privileged enough to be taken on a night drive on the Sunday evening. There were about 21 people on the ride and although we didn’t see too much, the guide was really informative and made it a special evening. And it wasn’t even cold! Talking about that, we had absolutely amazing weather for all but one day - whilst they were having floods back home in Cape Town.

This is what we saw:
Elephant
Buffalo
Black rhino

Kudu
Zebra
Rooi Hartebeest
Bush buck
Duiker
Eland

Warthog
Yellow Mongoose
Meercats
BBJ’s
Porcupine
Springhare
Scubhare

A glimpse of a lion or two

Rock Monitor
Leopard Tortoise
Puff adder
Ostrich
Bokmakierie
Blue cranes
White storks
Black headed Heron
Red knobbed coots
Egyptian Geese
Hadedas
Mouse birds
Fork tailed Drongos
Starlings
And a whole lot of other lbj’s etc…

Pics are to follow
Debbie

Thanks for all your comments.
Ok here are a few ellie pics to start off with:
Our first elephant- seen just before Marion Baree






Gav's pic


At Marion Baree



and our first Pumbaa

What is the white thing in the elephant's eye?

Stunning pics, especially the close-up of the head and the foot!

Micetta that is the same thing to which I referred in my TR here: www.parks-sa.co.za/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=33501&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=225
I cant discover what it is, but it appears to be some kind of secretion. Even the young ones have it. I have discovered that they don't seem to have a lachrymal duct, which means that tears cannot be collected as they flow across the surface of the eye.So I imagine that this white secretion is the slightly drier version of the natural secretion of tears which flow out from the inner corner of the eye along a groove leading from the eye to the skin on the inner corner.

From wildlifeinformation.org:


Roger

Here are some more elephant pictures:





Having a bit of a tussle!







In a hurry:






Cooling off



What did you have for breakfast/!!



More to follow later including a series on baby ellies in the park

Hi Micetta, There are one or two bulls in the park which have reasonably large tusks, but certainly not in the league of the Kruger tuskers. The most well known bull is named Skukusa, who along with a few others was brought into the park to increase the gene pool within the Addo elephant population. Also most of the Addo cows do not have any tusks (barring a select few) which also differentiates them from the Kruger elephants

One of the parts of any trip to a SanPark which I really enjoy is looking at the babies, and the Addo baby elephants were no exception. They are just So cute.....




This one was definitley on a mission



Oops tinypic has started playing up so I will continue later, also once the page has turned

Thanks Billy
The one thing that really impressed us was the number of babies there actually were in the park, which means that it is a really healthy population.



Being a baby is thirsty work!





Don't you just love the little trunk!


There were also some not so little babies taking a chance!




And finally this little chap you really thought he was the main man around Marion Baree!!!



More to come shortly on some of the other animals we saw......
(buffs, zebras etc etc)

We didn't ONLY see elephants at Addo, but a whole lot of kudu ...........







Some Zebra up near Carol's Rest



(Gav's pic)

Some Rooi Hartebeest



and one sleepy lion



as well as another which walked past the back of our car unnoticed until the last minute whilst we were watching some elephants at Gwarrie Pan.
I managed to get this fleeting pic as he dissapeared into the bush:





We were also lucky to see a whole lot of buffalos whose pics I will post next

Thanks again everyone
During our stay in Addo we were really lucky with the amount of buffalos we saw. The first one was right at the fence on our first night. He caused much excitement that evening (I think he really liked us cause he came back on all four nights we were in the park )





We also saw quite a few during the day:










We also encountered the largest single buffalo herd I have ever seen herd up at Carol's Rest







And this baby with a passenger in the form of an oxpecker on it




And finally this old chap up near the new picnic spot.- Looks like he had been there a while!!

Patience Caracal patience

Before I get to the small furry chaps we did see these not so furry characters wondering around Addo:



Our one and only flightless dung beetle we saw. A bit out of focus but then it was the one and only!



The highlight of our night drive - especially for Caracal!!!



A little Domkrag



And one of the highlights (and a first) of our trip. This Rock monitor lizard!!!





and a close up .........




Small furry things to follow ...as well as other odds and sods and birds!!

Hi droopy, according to Ryan who was our guide on our night drive, the reason for this is genetic and as a result of having a limited gene pool amongst the Addo elephant population. It is also one of the reasons for the introduction of some Kruger ellies to the park

Ryan is an amazing guide, isn't he? So full of enthusiasm and knowledge.

Two Addo snippets that I picked up from him which I didn't get around to mentioning in my trip report:

1. Every black backed jackal at Addo eventually and inevitably succumbs to an endemic parasite which causes it to scratch away its fur, leading to its death.

2. The leading cause of death amongst baby elephants at Addo is being trampled by adult elephants.

Regards,
Roger