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Hi, I have just joined the forum and hope you can point me to some answers. i have just spent 2 nights at Addo main camp and 1 night at Matyholweni. as usual we enjoyed Addo very much, we first went there 25 years ago when you could only drive on the outside of the fence and have loved it ever since. we witnessed a baby elephant drown at that time, was very sad. now for the question.who knows what kind and how many of that kind of animal is in the Matyholweni side of Addo, i counted 108 Buffalo. when will elephants be introduced into that side as the forest is very thick. if springbuck once roamed there why not introduce them back. My feeling is that the Ellies need to clear the bush and the species that once roamed there should be reintroduced otherwise its far too quiet for me but i will always go back to the main camp.

Welcome to the forums kb, There are some peeps that will be able to assist better but, I do think the different specie of animal, incl. ellies tend to stick to a certain habitat at certain times, the ellies might be seen in drier times.

But then, as I said, some Addo "kenners"(Very Knowledgable) around.

Hi

I am no expert, but love Addo too. Was there 2 weeks ago, and asked at the southern gate -- your group of buffalo, zebra and hartebeest (Megan wrote about that last year -- bought from other areas?) plus the usual bushbuck, kudu, duiker.
I have read a report about a leopard seen, and just before we were there somebody saw a black rhino close to Matyholweni. Megan can give you the exact numbers. I asked about elephant, but they were not ready for it yet? A retired Sanparks official told me about 2 years ago that they tried to introduce springbok from UPE, but they died of tickborn diseases... Maybe they should try again!
With the terrible drought, and no grass left in Addo, it would be wonderful if they could let down the fences NOW and let those bony buffalo and elephants eat some of the lovely grass and prickly pears in Matyholweni section...


God bless

Friedrich von Hörsten

The prickly pears in the Colchester section (southern section) are an alien species. The ellies love them, so once the ellies are moved there, I am sure they will devour them and ride the area of them.

Some more info on the area here

Thank you , so much for your input. it's wonderfull to talk to people with the same interests and thoughts. i just know that the Ellies would love to get into the invasive prickly pears and i would love to watch. hopefully Sanparks will let us know when the big day arrives, i will even book into Matyholweni before going on to Main camp.

I have just spent four wonderfull days at Addo. i asked one of the Parks employees when the fence would be comming down to let the elephants in to the Matyholweni side of the park. he said thursday 19th Aug. is this so. thanks

Hi karibaeve.

Yes it is true! I heard it on the news report on the local radio station (AlgoaFM). There is a nice video on The Herald's website (http://www.theherald.co.za" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), where Paul Daphne (from Sanparks) and Norman Johnson (Manager at Addo) were interviewed. There are some interesting facts shared in this video.

This marks some very exciting times for Addo!
Very surprising though that no news has appeared on the Sanparks website though

Kind regards,

Pat

This is fantastic news

Have been watching the progress for a while now. Just not sure what affect the main road which goes through the park will have. Any ideas?

This is fantastic news. I can't wait for my visit in January 2011.

Please fellow mites, start posting any sighting of animals in the southern part of the park. This will allow us to see the movement of animals into the new area.

Congratulations to SANParks on this important step towards consolidating the different parts of Addo.

just watched the video... excellent news.

actually off to Addo for the night today so will be interesting to see what's happening there..

http://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/news ... _fence.php

@Marge: the effect of the public road is mentioned in the video on The Herald's website. Additionally, the same procedures (as have been implemented in a number of private reserves in the Eastern Cape with existing public roads going through them) will be implemented. There are gates on each end of the public road that is in the park. People will only be able to use this road for thoroughfare and will be timed as to how long it will take to get through this road. Vehicles taking too long will be questioned apparently.

@Henk: Drove through there about 6 weeks ago and saw a large herd of Buffalo, some lovely Kudu's (much better condition than the mangy main game area ones), Jackal and Bushbuck.

Kind regards,

Pat

Thanks for input Pat.

It will probably be a bit like our "poor man's drive" between Port Alfred and Kenton.
Very popular and a lovely relaxing drive.

It is going to be so good to see the animals in the southern region, really looking forward to our next trip there. Just love entering at the main entrance and exiting down below - now it will be even more special.

Good news! Hope to see something special there in September!
This means less elephants at Hapoor?
Would love to see an elephant on the hills with the sea in the background...

Thanks and God bless,

Friedrich von Hörsten

Thank you, very much for the input. I am now even more excited about my next trip to Addo which will be in March next year with family from the UK. For me The Matyholweni side was boring but now we have something to look forward to. " those BIG bush clearers moving in to open up the bush and eat the Prickly pears"