MyAddo
Addo and Kirkwood Accommodation
RiverBend Lodge is a mere 55 minutes’ drive from Port Elizabeth and is an ideal malaria-free safari addition to a Garden Route holiday. Personalised game drives are led by enthusiastic and experienced guides, who will ensure you have a truly memorable safari experience. Article source: http://riverbendaddo.blogspot.com/2012/06/lion-update.html
RiverBend Lodge is a mere 55 minutes’ drive from Port Elizabeth and is an ideal malaria-free safari addition to a Garden Route holiday. Personalised game drives are led by enthusiastic and experienced guides, who will ensure you have a truly memorable safari experience.
Article source: http://riverbendaddo.blogspot.com/2012/06/lion-update.html
<!– google_ad_client = “pub-8982229653008092”; google_ad_slot = “2158176860”; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //–> This Combo combines the best of Eastern Cape Big Five safaris: the large herds of elephant and buffalo found in Addo and the superb predator and rhino sightings at Lalibela. Camp Figtree (www.campfigtree.com) is a secluded private lodge set high on …
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This Combo combines the best of Eastern Cape Big Five safaris: the large herds of elephant and buffalo found in Addo and the superb predator and rhino sightings at Lalibela. Camp Figtree (www.campfigtree.com) is a secluded private lodge set high on the stunning Zuurberg mountain range, adjacent to the Addo Elephant National Park. The camp […]
Port Elizabeth Budget Accommodation
Go to:My Addo
<!– google_ad_client = “pub-8982229653008092”; google_ad_slot = “2158176860”; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; //–> Every year, thousands of tourists flock through the gates to observe the wildlife that have made themselves at home in the largest elephant sanctuary in the world. Many visitors pop into the Addo Elephant Park en route to other destinations while …
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Every year, thousands of tourists flock through the gates to observe the wildlife that have made themselves at home in the largest elephant sanctuary in the world. Many visitors pop into the Addo Elephant Park en route to other destinations while others choose to stay in Addo Guest House Accommodation that enables them to have […]
Port Elizabeth Budget Accommodation
Go to:My Addo
This Combo combines the best of Eastern Cape Big Five safaris: the large herds of elephant and buffalo found in Addo and the superb predator and rhino sightings at Lalibela. Camp Figtree (www.campfigtree.com) is a secluded private lodge set high on the stunning Zuurberg mountain range, adjacent to the Addo Elephant National Park.The camp has …
Camp Figtree (www.campfigtree.com) is a secluded private lodge set high on the stunning Zuurberg mountain range, adjacent to the Addo Elephant National Park.
The camp has breath-taking 270 degree views over the valley onto mountain slopes cloaked with dense indigenous vegetation. Camp Figtree is a 1920s traditional colonial style camp with corrugated iron roofing and wide, sweeping verandahs. Each of the spacious suites is uniquely decorated, featuring family antiques, Persian carpets, polished wooden furnishings and objets d’art.
The in-house restaurant offers superb cuisine and a well-stocked wine cellar.
The distance, by road, between Camp Figtree and Lalibela is 78km (50 miles) and travelling time-wise, it takes about 1 hour.
During your time at Camp Figtree, you can take part in the following activities:-
Rate includes:
ENQUIRIES: stay@lalibela.co.za or TEL: +27 41 581 8170
Please note: The rates above are for Lentaba Lodge and Mark’s Camp (at Lalibela) – please contact us if you would like to stay at Tree Tops for the safari portion of your stay and we will send you the rates.
Location: 50 kilometers from Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Take N2 in direction of Grahamstown. Just past Blue Water Bay, take the turn-off to Addo. Kudu Ridge is approximately 22 kilometers before the village of Addo on the left hand side of the road. Date Visited: 8 – 10 June …
Location: 50 kilometers from Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Take N2 in direction of Grahamstown. Just past Blue Water Bay, take the turn-off to Addo. Kudu Ridge is approximately 22 kilometers before the village of Addo on the left hand side of the road.
Date Visited: 8 – 10 June 2012 (Winter)
Accommodation: We stayed in comfortable safari tents. Kudu Ridge also offers chalet accommodation. The tents are neatly furnished and each tent have its own bathroom with shower, as well as coffee-making area veranda.
What we Drove: The Jeep Wrangler from Maritime Motors
What we did: We lounged, talked, read, drove through Addo Elephant National Park enjoyed the company of friends family.
Recommendation: Kudu Ridge is very well positioned in proximity to the Addo Elephant National Park. It is well suited for a relaxed family weekend and perfect for conferencing or team building in groups of forty or less. There is no ‘self-catering’ option, which is nice, since Brian Jenny create wonderful food and not having dishes or clean up is part of the fun of spending time at Kudu Ridge.
Website: Kudu Ridge
Tribe Special: Mention the ‘Traveling Tribe’ claim free accommodation meals for your own children under the age of twelve for a 2-night stay, for a family of minimum two adults, until the end of August 2012.
We met the Stevnsons at the corner of Westmead Old Seaview Road.
It was just after two on this cold winter’s afternoon.
We’d been looking forward to this weekend. For both our families it would be a weekend of firsts. Our first time to travel together. our first time to stay in safari-tent accommodation.
Our children were ecstatic. They were looking forward to the opportunity to spend a whole weekend with Gary Jane’s daughter.
Our worlds are somewhat different.
Ashleigh is schooled at one of our city’s well-known private schools. Our children find education under Zuko’s guidance in the privacy of our little wooden house on the not so little hill.
Gary Jane both run their own companies.
Gary runs Organic Footprint.
Jane runs with Jane Stevenson Associates.
I do radio Zuko, when she’s not guiding our four children in the world of discovering knowledge insight, takes pictures.
Even though our worlds are somewhat different, our values or what we value is surprisingly similar.
This is something I’ve noticed more more. People finding each other in what they value not so much in where they come from or how they would be defined in archaic social terms.
We all value our children’s education.
We give expression to this in different ways, but our high regard for the education our children receive our willingness to adjust our lifestyle, so that an exceptional education may be had, is something we share.
As is a love for our environment.
An awareness of how contaminated life living could be.
Of how central relationship is to our being joy.
How often this is less than what we hoped for yet exceptional and surprising in other ways.
We all believe fiercely, but despise cheap lip-service empty religiousness.
Or so we see our friends experience them this weekend as we talk share discover throughout this weekend at Kudu Ridge.
That is the wonderfulness of spending time with friends family in a place which is not familiar.
It is as if, in a new space, we are more relaxed, more willing to share and be honest intimate.
It is only three in the afternoon as we arrive at Kudu Ridge.
The Jeep Wrangler which Vaughan hand-picked for us from his sales floor for this weekend, was an easy comfortable drive. The powerful 3.8 liter engine accelerating easily. The automatic gearbox shifting almost unnoticed on a very short drive to a very lovely destination.
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Brian Jenny gives us a warm welcome.
They show us to our safari-tents allow us to settle in.
We meet up at the main lodge area where we find steaming hot coffee a warm fire.
Brian explains the menu for the evening.
Butternut Soup freshly baked bread.
Kudu Fillet with hand-cut chips fresh vegetables and salad.
Ice cream chocolate sauce is desert.
The afternoon dwindles into evening.
We discover that coming to Kudu Ridge is returning to his first love for Brian his family.
They’d been here no more than a year.
He spent years in the corporate world.
Before that he was a game-rangers for the Natal Parks Board.
That is what his heart hankered after winter after cold winter spent in offices board rooms.
Now they spend time in nature.
Entertaining guests.
Growing their flock of antelope.
Over supper we talk of the joy Brian Jenny find in their refound passion.
The evening is cold, but the conversation is warm.
It is evident that this couple hope to come alongside corporates companies as they create a fresh environment in which people can rediscover themselves, unwind, dream plan.
‘What we have to offer, is a completely new environment, a place where people can get in touch with who they really are,’ he explains as we enjoy desert.
Then it is off to bed.
Our first night in our safari-tented accommodation.
The kids are tired.
Andrew, Brian Jenny’s son who shares this dream with them, took the children for a discovery walk in the late afternoon. Then they fed the latest addition to the Kudu Ridge Family. A baby owl who was rescued is being hand raised by the falconer who hopes to establish an activity with falcons a very interesting pointer which he is training.
‘Soon we’ll be able to hunt with the pointer a falcon. Man, bird dog in the perfect collaboration. Perhaps it would unlock something in people’s minds of how we can collaborate in the workplace in families.
In their family collaboration is certainly the norm.
The meal is cooked together. The guests are cared for alongside each other.
Saturday morning is slow easy.
We hide from the cold in the warmth of our safari-tents.
Pippin makes coffee.
Zuko I talk.
Of what we hope for.
What we dream of.
Then a hearty breakfast welcomes us in the dining room.
As we eat we decide to drive to the Addo Elephant National Park for the day.
Brian unfolds a map shows us where he believes we’ll spot the lion the elephant the buffalo.
We enjoy a last cup of coffee then we’re off.
We huddle together in the Jeep Wrangler. It is no fun to go wildlife spotting in separate vehicles.
The girls jump in the back.
Zuko Jane take the back-seat with Maddi Theunsie.
Gary I take shotgun driver’s position.
10 minutes later we’re in the park.
Despite the weather we see herds of elephant, Kudu, Zebra, Blesbok, Hartebeest Blesbok.
A black backed jackal surprises us a secretary bird takes notes on our arrival.
The drive is easy comfortable.
The Jeep Wrangler as at home on tar as it is on gravel.
We stop for a late lunch at the Park’s Tiger’s Eye Restaurant.
Every time I stop here, I am surprised by the quality of service. The excellence of the well-trained staff their friendliness knowledgeably.
I am also astounded by the effort investment we make as a country into conservation.
And I am proud to be an African in general a South African in particular.
It inspires hope.
If we can get this right (conservation tourism), then there is hope that we might get the other things right as well.
If only we would believe it.
Dream it.
Reach for it.
Imagine a South Africa in which our education healthcare resembled the same excellence so very evident on this Saturday afternoon in one of our National Parks?
Gary orders a venison hotpot.
Jane takes the fish of the day.
Zuko chooses a vegetarian wrap I go for the Thai Chicken Salad.
The children enjoy chicken nuggets.
We eat slowly.
Talking. Remembering. Sharing the moment.
We’re in no hurry. Kudu Ridge is a few minutes away.
We resolve to take an afternoon nap as we get home we take our resolve seriously as the Jeep Wrangler brings us home to our weekend-destination, each family heading off to their respective tents.
The hunger for time together and conversation is too strong though moments later we’re together again at the warmth of the fire at the lodge-area.
Conversation is easy.
We talk of how we came to where we are.
Of what we face from day-to-day.
Of what we hope for, dream of, for our own tomorrow.
The optimism in our circle makes me smile.
Where there is hope, there is hope.
That we would still be journeying.
That we may even one day find our dream a reality, as Brian Jenny found it at Kudu Ridge.
The afternoon becomes evening.
Supper is served.
The children play pool darts, hide-and-seek and truth-or-dare.
Theunsie beats me at a game of pool.
Then his mom.
At the dinner table we share stories from our lives.
Beautiful stories of exquisite experiences.
In the silence of a moment I think about how no one is talking about what they own. Everyone is talking about what they shared. A moment. An emotion. A disappointment. A breakthrough.
Perhaps we need to hang on to that more tightly.
That it is in moments shared that life exists.
It is late cold when we head to bed.
The rain pours down throughout the night, but we sleep warm dry in our safari-tents.
Even Maddi only wakes once for a midnight feast.
And then it is Sunday.
The day I always dread, for it signals the end of another journey.
And it always comes too soon.
Breakfast is intentionally slow this morning. Brian Jenny Andrew act like old friends who do not want their loved ones to go just yet.
The sun is out for the first time this weekend.
After breakfast we take a game drive on Kudu Ridge.
They show us the ‘Bus Bar’ created by Andrew. The excavation area where fossils were found. A Kudu some Impala greet us on a clearing.
Brian talks with love of this wonderous new place they are transforming into a getaway for corporates families as we drive along the ridge.
Then it is time to pack greet.
Ashleigh still has a project to finish.
Zuko wants to stop at her parent’s before we go home.
We say our goodbyes.
And as we drive off in the Jeep Wrangler I remember moments shared I hope for more.
More moments.
Of honesty.
And intimacy.
For it is in moments shared that life unfolds.
Of course, the highlight of the park are the elephants that roam freely in the reserve. They usually congregate in water holes, such as the one above. We exited the Addo National Park after around an hour. We were told that we were to go to the next game reserve, the Tooth and Claw Safari …
Of course, the highlight of the park are the elephants that roam freely in the reserve. They usually congregate in water holes, such as the one above.
We exited the Addo National Park after around an hour. We were told that we were to go to the next game reserve, the Tooth and Claw Safari which featured, of course, the predators. On the way, we stopped by this lovely store, the Nanaga Farm Stall.
The Nanaga Farm Stall sold a lot of goods, from jams, to bread, to wine and a whole lot of snacks.
But I was most intrigued by their bread. I forgot what it was called, but think of it as soft bread or long pandesals with butter filling. They were served fresh from the oven. Yummy indeed!
We then entered the Tooth and Claw Safari at the Schotia game reserve beside the Addo Elephant National Park. You see, game reserves are like open zoos. They are fenced sot hat the animals cannot get out. Hence, they stay inside acres of land grazing back and forth within the confines of the reserve.
The Schotia Tooth and Claw Safari commences late int he afternoon, since most of the predators hunt at dusk. As we’ve been told, predators such as lions prefer to stay in the shade when it’s hot. Thus, they don’t hunt.
There were more wildlife in Schotia, but it was a smaller game reserve. Probably because of the smaller size, the animals were concentrated more in particular areas, hence we could see more of them.
We were the first to spot the rhinos, which our guide hunted for in the entire park. The rhinos are really a sight to see, as they were bigger than I expected. We were told to stay still, as the rhinos get disturbed easily.
After getting up close with the rhinos, we entered their rest house in another secured area. Here, coffee, hot chocolate, juices and pastries were served.
And it wasn’t just one, but 4 giraffes moving towards us in a relaxing trek across the hillside. We stopped for a few minutes to see some of the giraffes eat from a tree. We got close again, but the giraffes tend to move away whenever we would go near.
We then got a message from the radio that we should move to the central plains for probably, the only reason why the Schotia Tooth and Claw safari is popular.
And as we descended, the hillside, we didn’t need to look for it. The king of the jungle approached us in a very exciting scene.
It was a nice scene, and we spent a good 30 minutes there, watching the cubs feed on their mom. There was also another male lion who woke up from his sleep and stared at us, while we took pictures. The animals seem tame, but we still told to behave properly.
The Schotia Tooth and Claw Safari actually ends after the sun has set, because the second part of the tour is a night safari. I wasn’t able to take pictures though because there wasn’t any light, except for the powerful light beam from the vehicle. We didn’t see much as well, though one of the lions passed us by again on the way back.
This Combo combines the best of Eastern Cape Big Five safaris: the large herds of elephant and buffalo found in Addo and the superb predator and rhino sightings at Lalibela. Camp Figtree (www.campfigtree.com) is a secluded private lodge set high on the stunning Zuurberg mountain range, adjacent to the Addo Elephant National Park. The camp …
Camp Figtree (www.campfigtree.com) is a secluded private lodge set high on the stunning Zuurberg mountain range, adjacent to the Addo Elephant National Park. The camp has breath-taking 270 degree views over the valley onto mountain slopes cloaked with dense indigenous vegetation. Camp Figtree is a 1920s traditional colonial style camp with corrugated iron roofing and wide, sweeping verandahs. Each of the spacious suites is uniquely decorated, featuring family antiques, Persian carpets, polished wooden furnishings and objets d’art. The in-house restaurant offers superb cuisine and a well-stocked wine cellar.
During your time at Camp Figtree, you can take part in the following activities:-
Rate includes:
ENQUIRIES: stay@lalibela.co.za or TEL: +27 41 581 8170
Please note: The rates above are for Lentaba Lodge and Mark’s Camp (at Lalibela) – please contact us if you would like to stay at Tree Tops for the safari portion of your stay and we will send you the rates.
A few months into my Australia travels I journeyed over to Bali, whilst there I had the opportunity to ride a Sumatran elephant. I absolutely adore elephants, and this is not the first time I’ve been able to get up close to these loving creatures. My first encounter was at an animal sanctuary in Spain …
A few months into my Australia travels I journeyed over to Bali, whilst there I had the opportunity to ride a Sumatran elephant.
I absolutely adore elephants, and this is not the first time I’ve been able to get up close to these loving creatures. My first encounter was at an animal sanctuary in Spain – Rio Safari, where I got to sit on an Indian Elephant’s back. I think from the way it nuzzled it’s trunk against my shoulder, neck and cheek as I got close may have been a sign it liked me too.
Indian elephant at Rio Safari
During my Bali trip I got to actually ride on an elephant, on a seat upon it’s back. Sumatran elephants are sub-species of Asian Elephant. Asian elephants are categorized by a twin domed head with an indent in the middle, and long and tapered lower lips. They differ from African elephant in height (African elephant bulls growmup to 4m tall whereas the biggest Asian males reach no more than 3.5m) and ear shape and size (African elephants have much larger ears). As of the 23rd of January this year the Sumatran elephant’s status was moved to critically endangered due to loss of habitation.
Sumatran Elephant in Bali
There is a clear difference from the powerful gigantic African elephants. Whilst volunteering at Shamwari I was able to spend a day at the nearby Addo Elephant Safari where we got to feed and ride the elephants (although in this case with no seat, sitting bareback with a guide behind me. I was surprised to find that the elephants have sharp, coarse hairs growing from their backs, which were sharp enough to penetrate my trouser leg and spike me!
African Elephant at Addo Elephant Park
The elephants were all so gentle and it’s sad to think how endangered they are. Born Free have an elephant campaign and explain on their website (http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/elephants/):
“Born Free’s Elephant project was set up in 1989 when reports showed 200 elephants a day were being slaughtered for ivory. Today it fights the ivory trade in Africa and Asia and campaigns against captivity.“
Born Free’s Elephant Project:
Every year, thousands of tourists flock through the gates to observe the wildlife that have made themselves at home in the largest elephant sanctuary in the world. Many visitors pop into the Addo Elephant Park en route to other destinations while others choose to stay in Addo Guest House Accommodation that enables them to have …
Every year, thousands of tourists flock through the gates to observe the wildlife that have made themselves at home in the largest elephant sanctuary in the world. Many visitors pop into the Addo Elephant Park en route to other destinations while others choose to stay in Addo Guest House Accommodation that enables them to have an even fuller experience in the park.
By choosing to stay in Addo guest house accommodation guests will be treated to a truly unforgettable experience in the Addo Elephant National Park. Whilst staying in luxurious accommodation and having every indulgence at their beck and call, guests start to find themselves relaxing and feeling one with nature. One of the benefits of staying in the Addo Accommodation is that you’ll be taken on game drives through the park with professional game rangers. Not only will you be able to enjoy the landscape of Addo, but you’ll also be able to observe its unique wildlife and learn interesting information about them. This is the ultimate African safari experience and will enable guests to have a truly remarkable and unique adventure in the Addo Elephant National Park.
Just one of the perks of staying in Addo guest house accommodation is that you’ll be treated to an incredible dining experience. Woodall-Addo is just one Addo guest house accommodation that goes out of its way to provide guests with unforgettable dining experiences and cuisine while staying in Addo. By making use of local produce and their vegetable and herb garden, Woodall-Addo makes sure that each meal that is prepared is fresh and nutritional. No effort or expense is too much in their kitchens and planning; from Karoo venison, east-coast fish, home-made stocks, to freshly baked bread, local cheese and wine from the Cape Winelands, everything is at hand to create delicious and unforgettable dining experiences.
When going on holiday, many of us enjoy the luxury of being pampered by spa and beauty treatments. Finding the time for being pampered during the work week or during our action packed weekends is often difficult and even stressful; however, while on holiday we can finally kick back and indulge in beauty treatments and letting go of all tension. Many lodges in game reserves even go as far as to install gyms for their guests to enjoy as many guests enjoy keeping fit while on vacation.
While staying in Addo guest house accommodation you’ll be informed about the interesting activities and attractions in the surrounding areas of the park. For instance, just around the corner from the Addo Elephant National park is a game reserve where you can go on elephant back safaris. There are also several seaside towns just a couple hours drive away such as Port Alfred and Kenton. Many of the Addo guest houses make sure that they make a contribution towards underprivileged schools and communities in the surrounding areas; knowing that a percentage of the cost of your stay will go towards helping another is just one of the perks of staying in Addo guest house accommodation – you can enjoy your holiday with the knowledge that you’ll also be giving something to somebody in need.
Most guests visit the Addo Elephant National Park to observe Africa’s unique wildlife in their natural surroundings; however in recent years guests have also been visiting the park to enjoy its luxurious accommodation and guest houses. Teaming the authenticity of African safaris and the serenity of park with luxury and indulgence, Addo guest house accommodation offers holidaymakers the African safari experience they’ve been dreaming of.
You may be disheartened by the decline in temperatures and that getting up happens in the dark. Some may even go as far as saying that this is the worst time of year. But not for gaming viewing. In fact, winter is said to be the best time of year to go on a safari …
You may be disheartened by the decline in temperatures and that getting up happens in the dark. Some may even go as far as saying that this is the worst time of year. But not for gaming viewing. In fact, winter is said to be the best time of year to go on a safari in Africa. In the game-rich areas of the Southern and East Africa, the start of winter means the end of the wet season, and that means that the bush is thinner, the roads are accessible, and the wild animals in our game parks are the easiest to spot.
Also, in these areas it gets mild (sometimes even warm) during the day, providing pleasant temperatures for game drives. So to get you inspired for your winter safari break, here are the top places to go wildlife-viewing for both luxury-orientated and budget-conscious travellers.
You can book all these camps and lodges through Getaway Accommodation.
Surely South Africa’s prime wildlife viewing destination, the Kruger Park never fails to impress when it comes to spotting animals, especially in the dry season. Kruger has an impressive range of accommodation options, from camping to luxury lodges and they promise the best safari experience in the country. Because of its size and ample accommodation options, we’ll give you four.
Lower Sabie Rest Camp
This relaxed rest camp is situated on the banks of the Sabie River and offers camping, caravanning and self-catering bungalows starting at R200 per person sharing.
Book here
Punda Maria Rest Camp
Situated in the northernmost part of the park, you’ll find self-catering, camping and caravan options starting at R160 per person.
Book here
Imbali Lodge
This exclusive lodge is situated in the Imbali safari concession and offers spacious, private chalets overlooking the N’waswitsontso River bend.
Book here
Lukimbi Safari Lodge
Situated in the southern region of the Kruger, this lodge combines luxury and elegance with modern African decor and beautiful river views.
Book here
Click here for packages to Kruger National Park with Getaway Adventures starting from R4250.
Click here for a comprehensive guide to Kruger National Park.
This was the first formally declared trans-border conservation area and is the amalgamation of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa and the Gemsbok National Park in Botswana. The park is renowned for sightings of predators and the seasonal movements of blue wildebeest, springbok, eland and red hartebeest.
Mata Mata Rest Camp
This camp is situated on the banks of the Aoub River on the western boundary of the park and offers tented accommodation, camping, caravanning and self-catering chalets starting at R180 per person sharing.
Book here
Grootkolk Wilderness Camp
Situated 20km from Union’s End, where South Africa, Botswana and Namibia meet, this tented accommodation overlooks a waterhole and offers a tranquil stay.
Book here
Click here for beautiful images of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
Photographer: Tom Coetzee
Being one of the private reserves adjacent to Kruger National Park, accommodation tends to be pricey. But a clever solution to this is finging a place to stay just outside the park and heading out on game drives daily to search for wildlife. Expect to see the Big 5 and a large variety of plains game.
Nyati Pools
Situated only 5km from the Thornybush gates, this tented accommodation is peaceful and relaxed and starts at R200 per person sharing.
Book here
Shumbalala Game Lodge
Situated within the Thornybush Private Game Reserve, you’ll enjoy an intimate stay in luxury, thatched chalets with fireplaces and air-conditioning.
Book here
Click here to win a trip for two to Thornybush Game Lodge, worth R20 000.
For those who are tired of the standard South African safari, this is the ideal way to explore a different country and discover a national park where the lead characters are primates. Exploring on foot is the preferred method and chimp trekking expeditions come highly recommended.
Kibale Forest Camp
Enjoy a classic canvassed stay in this tented camp that is surrounded by dense forest vegetation. Tents go for R376 per person sharing.
Book here
Chimp’s Nest
Situated on the border of the reserve, this lodge enjosy views of the snow-capped peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains and is often visited by monkeys, chimps and forest elephants.
Book here
Click here for packages to Uganda with Getaway Adventures, starting at R11 750.
Click here to read Justin Fox’s story on Kibale Forest National Park.
This is Namibia’s prime wildlife viewing destination and is situated in the north of the country. The many waterholes attract the animals living in this fairly dry region, especially during the dry winter months. Many of the waterholes are floodlit, providing excellent night time game viewing.
Mamselle Nature Camp
These bungalows are shaded by Mopane and White Syringa trees and are situated just outside the park along the main road. Prices start at R70 per person to camp and R130 per person to stay in a self-catering bungalow.
Book here
Andersson’s Camp
This luxury tented camp is situated within the private Ongava Reserve, adjacent to Etosha and looks out over a frequented waterhole.
Book here
Click here for travel packages to Etosha National Park with Getaway Adventures, starting at R7650.
Click here for a comprehensive guide to Etosha National Park.
Contrary to what the name may suggest, you’ll get to see much more than elephants at Addo. The park is easily accessible and also hosts lion, buffalo, black rhino, spotted hyena and a variety of antelope and zebra species. It is the third largest national park in the country and incidentally hosts around 550 elephants.
Addo Main Rest Camp
Here you’ll have a wide range of accommodation options to choose from, with camping and caravanning being the most affordable at R175 per person.
Book here
River Bend Lodge
Situated on a private concession within the Addo Elephant Park, you’ll stay in one of eight luxury suites, each with a private veranda and some with bush showers.
Book here
Click here for a recent blog with awesome images of Addo Elephant National Park.
Mapungubwe used to be a flourishing metropolis in the Iron Age, but today this site consists of a vast expanse of savanna at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers. If you’re not admiring the elephant, giraffe, white rhino, eland and gemsbok then you can visit some of the cultural sites, thereby enjoying not only game viewing, but also a history lesson or two.
Mazhou Camping Site
Situated in the western section of the park, this campsite caters for 10 tents or caravans and prices R170 per person sharing.
Book here
Vhembe Wilderness Camp
This camp is situated in the eastern section of the park and is walking distance from the Limpopo River and the historically significant Mapugubwe Hill.
Book here
This incredible lake in the Zambezi River is surrounded by national parks both on Zimbabwe and Zambia’s side and provides some excellent water-based game viewing, for those who are looking for something that doesn’t involved hours in a car. Apart from boating safaris and nature walks, you might also enjoy some excellent bird watching and even a spot of fishing.
Kariba Bush Club
A wide range of accommodation options are available, ranging from camping to cabins on the houseboat. Camping costs R71 per person and the grounds are on the banks of the lake.
Book here
Karibeer House Boat
This family friendly pontoon house boat is intimate, with only three cabins and an open-air sleeping area (with mosquito nets) on the deck.
Book here
Click here for packages to Zimbabwe and Lake Kariba with Getaway Adventures, starting from R8450.
This is the world’s only savanna biosphere reserve and offers not only game viewing, but also a strong culture injection. Habitats here are incredibly diverse and include wetlands and rivers, steep cliffs and slopes and even bushveld. The area also hosts many endangered species, like the African wild dog, black and white rhino and leopard.
Madikela Game Lodge
Situated on an ancient limestone plateau, you’ll stay in one of six self-catering cottages starting at R160 per person sharing.
Book here
Shibula Lodge and Bush Spa
This luxurious lodge is surrounded by greenery and mountains and offers nine, individually designed, thatched chalets.
Book here
The park lies adjacent to Sun City, providing something different to do in the area. You’ll find a vast variety of animals, including the Big 5 and many other predators and antelope. The roads are well looked after, making self-drive game viewing easy and enjoyable.
Makinky Manzi
This tented camp is close to a waterfall where you can swim in the rock pools and tents are priced from R220 per person sharing.
Book here
Pilanesberg Private Lodge
Situated at the foot of the Pilansberg Mountains, this private lodge has five rooms and offers a luxurious and secluded stay.
Book here
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15 of the best eco hotels in Southern Africa »
Tags: African safaris, budget game park accommodation, Kruger, luxury game park accommodation, winter game viewing
Addo Elephant National Park is most famous for its conservation of the last remaining wild elephants in the Eastern Cape. A few hundred years ago there were thousands of the earth’s largest land mammal in this area of South Africa, as well as plenty of other wildlife like lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes and springbok. But …
Addo Elephant National Park is most famous for its conservation of the last remaining wild elephants in the Eastern Cape. A few hundred years ago there were thousands of the earth’s largest land mammal in this area of South Africa, as well as plenty of other wildlife like lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes and springbok. But rapid colonial expansion after 1820 meant most of this diverse landscape was transformed into dairy farms and citrus fruit estates.
The elephants had a penchant for oranges in particular, and understandably they couldn’t resist raiding the farmers’ crops. The farmers got fed up, and put pressure on the government to sort out the problem. The first solution was predictable – for the times. The Administrator of the Cape Province – Sir Frederick de Waal – started paying hunters to exterminate the elephants.
In particular, a certain bloodthirsty Major Pretorius shot 120 elephants in his first eleven months in the Addo area. During one hunt, according to the archives, he was ‘once forced to lame an elephant by shooting it through the vertebral column, then like lightning he jumped on the beast’s back, ran to its head and killed it with a shot through the neck.’ In another instance Pretorius shot 16 elephants within 30 seconds – or so his journal records.
Eventually, after decades of hunting and harassment, the remaining elephants – just 11 of them in the whole region – retreated to the almost impenetrable thicket of the Addo region, where hunters and humans couldn’t reach them. Yet they still made their forays into the farmers’ fields at night to raid the crops.
By that stage fortunately, the public had woken up to the tragedy, and quickly there were calls for the establishment of a reserve. In 1931, the national park was proclaimed, extending just over 2000 hectares. However, the reserve wasn’t fenced, so the big animals still posed a problem, frequently moving onto farm lands.
The reserve’s ranger Harold Trollope wrote in 1931 how farmers and their staff still tried to kill the elephants: ‘Farmers in some instances fired at the elephants on sight often wounding them and supplied boys with rifles giving instructions that they were to shoot any elephant they came across, and that these orders were carried out. The elephants were shot at in a most cowardly manner, from safe distances, as for instance across a kloof, but never at close quarters, and were it not for the protection offered by…the difficult bush, the Addo elephants would not have existed today.’
Elephants in Addo are accustomed to vehicles, unlike in the past
Trollope succeeded in driving the remaining elephants into the area marked for the reserve, and for the most part he and his team of park rangers managed to keep them safe. But the elephants had to wait until 1951 for complete sanctuary from the guns of farmers.
At that stage, the reserve’s ranger Graham Armstrong had devised a unique type of fence constructed of railway sleepers sunk several feet into the ground, and attached to these were old wire cables supplied free-of-charge by the Otis lift company in Port Elizabeth. This design proved so effective that eventually the entire reserve was fenced off, and the elephants weren’t able to break out – finally, after a few hundred years, both the elephants and people were happy. And today, the Armstrong fence is still used.
Today the Addo Elephant National Park conserves the Big Five, including lions (reintroduced into the area from Kgalagadi, and buffalo, which, unlike the lions, were never exterminated). However, the emphasis has shifted from species conservation towards habitat protection and restoration. The huge increase in the park’s size from 2 000 hectares to more than 180 000 hectares is indicative of the national trend to conserving “corridors” of biodiversity. (Addo is now the third-largest national park in the country, although Garden Route National Park is not far behind).
Similar to the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve and Gouritz Initiative, Addo conserves, by design, a marvelous diversity of natural habitat: stretching from Nama Karoo in the Darlington Dam section in the far north, to fynbos and forest in the mountainous Zuurberg wilderness area, to subtropical thicket in the middle, and finally coastal dune forest and beaches in the Woody Cape section along the coast. This coastal section has the largest sand dune complex in the southern hemisphere, and it also includes a group of offshore islands that protects the largest populations of African penguins and Cape gannets in the world, as well as a sizeable Cape fur seal colony.
All these different habitats are now connected to each other over conserved land, joined together in a contiguous fashion, whereas in the past there were only isolated pieces of protected areas in a vast area that was transformed into monoculture and urban development. (Granted, the national N2 highway still divides the coastal section from the rest of the park).
The reasoning goes that ‘islands’ or ‘pockets’ of nature will eventually die out and become sterile. Species and habitats need to be connected if they are to survive, thrive and adapt. Especially nowadays with global warming, which is predicted to have a desiccating and heating affect over much of Southern Africa. Unless species can move to other areas, and adapt at the same time, South Africa will lose most of its biological diversity over the next few hundred years or so, with potentially disastrous consequences for humans.
However, as conservation manager John Adendorff told me, even Addo’s 180 000 hectares is not a very big piece of land if one considers the huge amount of urban and agricultural development around the park. ‘It’s a highly managed park, and we monitor animal populations very closely to see how they are impacting on the vegetation.’
An Elephant takes a lunch break
Today there are more than 600 elephants in Addo, at a density of about 2,8 elephants per square kilometre, perhaps the highest in Africa. ‘They’ve got it pretty good here,’ John said smiling. It’s incredible to think that at one stage there were only 11 left in the whole Eastern Cape. Hell has turned into paradise for the ellies.
The only reason that park authorities aren’t more worried about an overpopulation of elephant is because of the thicket biome. It’s a remarkable habitat, and at its core is spekboom, a succulent bush which not only sequestrates as much carbon from the atmosphere as rainforests, but also sustains some of the highest densities of wildlife in the world.
Park manager Norman Johnson tells me that “the elephants now are so successful that they’re becoming a nice problem. At some stage, we’ll need to look at controlling the population.”
But culling is not even considered as one of the options – instead, SANParks are looking to drop more fences between the different sections of the park, allowing the elephants to roam more widely, and also thereby introducing natural stresses into the elephant’s reproduction cycles. By forcing the elephants to roam further for water and food, growth rates in the population should slow down. And then there’s always contraception, which is the next best alternative.
The last few days I’ve had some good sightings of elephant and buffalo, and although it’s been raining a lot, today there was some sunshine.
I’ve had a chance to explore the main sections, where the Big Five hang out, and also the Zuurberg mountain section, where I went for a short horse ride this afternoon with ranger Thembelane Keye. It’s quite amazing to drive twenty odd kilometres from the subtropical heat of the main section, and in no time enter the cool, windy mountains where fynbos and grassland plateaus are the norm. Reminds me of the Baviaanskloof and Gamkaberg Nature Reserve.
Well, that’s a long blog from me today, but I’ve been hibernating from the rain like the rest of the animals here. But now that the rain has stopped, I hope to post more photos and blogs. The sun’s just about to go down, and I’m going to put some kudu wors on my braai. Addo Main Camp is pretty, and the chalets looks over a little valley, where hyenas and jackal seem to hang out at night (I can hear both species calling while I lie in bed).
‘The history of the preservation of the elephants is assuredly an epic in game conservation. In this manner, the bush, clad in hazy myster, is being preserved for future generations as an unspoilt facet on the face of the Masterly creation.’ – The Addo Elephants, A National Parks Board publication (published at a time when this little book cost 50c!)
For more, go to www.yearinthewild.com and www.facebook.com/yearinthewild. Thanks again to my sponsors for making it all possible. CapeNature, South African National Parks, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Eastern Cape Parks, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Ford, Total, Evosat, Conqueror Trailers, Vodacom, Digicape, Lacie, Frontrunner, Safari Centre Cape Town, K-Way, EeziAwn, National Luna, Nokia , Garmin, Goodyear, Global Fleet Sales, Hetzner, Clearstream Consulting, and Escape Gear
Have you been to the Addo Elephant National Park? Tell us about your experience there in the comment box below.
Previous post by Scott Ramsay:
« The coast at Kogelberg Nature Reserve
Next post by Scott Ramsay:
Exploring the unexplored Great Fish River Nature Reserve »
Tags: Addo Elephant National Park, Scott Ramsay, Year in the Wild
Addo Elephant National Park is most famous for its conservation of the last remaining wild elephants in the Eastern Cape. A few hundred years ago there were thousands of the earth’s largest land mammal in this area of South Africa, as well as plenty of other wildlife like lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes and springbok. But …
Addo Elephant National Park is most famous for its conservation of the last remaining wild elephants in the Eastern Cape. A few hundred years ago there were thousands of the earth’s largest land mammal in this area of South Africa, as well as plenty of other wildlife like lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes and springbok. But rapid colonial expansion after 1820 meant most of this diverse landscape was transformed into dairy farms and citrus fruit estates.
The elephants had a penchant for oranges in particular, and understandably they couldn’t resist raiding the farmers’ crops. The farmers got fed up, and put pressure on the government to sort out the problem. The first solution was predictable – for the times. The Administrator of the Cape Province – Sir Frederick de Waal – started paying hunters to exterminate the elephants.
In particular, a certain bloodthirsty Major Pretorius shot 120 elephants in his first eleven months in the Addo area. During one hunt, according to the archives, he was ‘once forced to lame an elephant by shooting it through the vertebral column, then like lightning he jumped on the beast’s back, ran to its head and killed it with a shot through the neck.’ In another instance Pretorius shot 16 elephants within 30 seconds – or so his journal records.
Eventually, after decades of hunting and harassment, the remaining elephants – just 11 of them in the whole region – retreated to the almost impenetrable thicket of the Addo region, where hunters and humans couldn’t reach them. Yet they still made their forays into the farmers’ fields at night to raid the crops.
By that stage fortunately, the public had woken up to the tragedy, and quickly there were calls for the establishment of a reserve. In 1931, the national park was proclaimed, extending just over 2000 hectares. However, the reserve wasn’t fenced, so the big animals still posed a problem, frequently moving onto farm lands.
The reserve’s ranger Harold Trollope wrote in 1931 how farmers and their staff still tried to kill the elephants: ‘Farmers in some instances fired at the elephants on sight often wounding them and supplied boys with rifles giving instructions that they were to shoot any elephant they came across, and that these orders were carried out. The elephants were shot at in a most cowardly manner, from safe distances, as for instance across a kloof, but never at close quarters, and were it not for the protection offered by…the difficult bush, the Addo elephants would not have existed today.’
Elephants in Addo are accustomed to vehicles, unlike in the past
Trollope succeeded in driving the remaining elephants into the area marked for the reserve, and for the most part he and his team of park rangers managed to keep them safe. But the elephants had to wait until 1951 for complete sanctuary from the guns of farmers.
At that stage, the reserve’s ranger Graham Armstrong had devised a unique type of fence constructed of railway sleepers sunk several feet into the ground, and attached to these were old wire cables supplied free-of-charge by the Otis lift company in Port Elizabeth. This design proved so effective that eventually the entire reserve was fenced off, and the elephants weren’t able to break out – finally, after a few hundred years, both the elephants and people were happy. And today, the Armstrong fence is still used.
Today the Addo Elephant National Park conserves the Big Five, including lions (reintroduced into the area from Kgalagadi, and buffalo, which, unlike the lions, were never exterminated). However, the emphasis has shifted from species conservation towards habitat protection and restoration. The huge increase in the park’s size from 2 000 hectares to more than 180 000 hectares is indicative of the national trend to conserving “corridors” of biodiversity. (Addo is now the third-largest national park in the country, although Garden Route National Park is not far behind).
Similar to the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve and Gouritz Initiative, Addo conserves, by design, a marvelous diversity of natural habitat: stretching from Nama Karoo in the Darlington Dam section in the far north, to fynbos and forest in the mountainous Zuurberg wilderness area, to subtropical thicket in the middle, and finally coastal dune forest and beaches in the Woody Cape section along the coast. This coastal section has the largest sand dune complex in the southern hemisphere, and it also includes a group of offshore islands that protects the largest populations of African penguins and Cape gannets in the world, as well as a sizeable Cape fur seal colony.
All these different habitats are now connected to each other over conserved land, joined together in a contiguous fashion, whereas in the past there were only isolated pieces of protected areas in a vast area that was transformed into monoculture and urban development. (Granted, the national N2 highway still divides the coastal section from the rest of the park).
The reasoning goes that ‘islands’ or ‘pockets’ of nature will eventually die out and become sterile. Species and habitats need to be connected if they are to survive, thrive and adapt. Especially nowadays with global warming, which is predicted to have a desiccating and heating affect over much of Southern Africa. Unless species can move to other areas, and adapt at the same time, South Africa will lose most of its biological diversity over the next few hundred years or so, with potentially disastrous consequences for humans.
However, as conservation manager John Adendorff told me, even Addo’s 180 000 hectares is not a very big piece of land if one considers the huge amount of urban and agricultural development around the park. ‘It’s a highly managed park, and we monitor animal populations very closely to see how they are impacting on the vegetation.’
An Elephant takes a lunch break
Today there are more than 600 elephants in Addo, at a density of about 2,8 elephants per square kilometre, perhaps the highest in Africa. ‘They’ve got it pretty good here,’ John said smiling. It’s incredible to think that at one stage there were only 11 left in the whole Eastern Cape. Hell has turned into paradise for the ellies.
The only reason that park authorities aren’t more worried about an overpopulation of elephant is because of the thicket biome. It’s a remarkable habitat, and at its core is spekboom, a succulent bush which not only sequestrates as much carbon from the atmosphere as rainforests, but also sustains some of the highest densities of wildlife in the world.
Park manager Norman Johnson tells me that “the elephants now are so successful that they’re becoming a nice problem. At some stage, we’ll need to look at controlling the population.”
But culling is not even considered as one of the options – instead, SANParks are looking to drop more fences between the different sections of the park, allowing the elephants to roam more widely, and also thereby introducing natural stresses into the elephant’s reproduction cycles. By forcing the elephants to roam further for water and food, growth rates in the population should slow down. And then there’s always contraception, which is the next best alternative.
The last few days I’ve had some good sightings of elephant and buffalo, and although it’s been raining a lot, today there was some sunshine.
I’ve had a chance to explore the main sections, where the Big Five hang out, and also the Zuurberg mountain section, where I went for a short horse ride this afternoon with ranger Thembelane Keye. It’s quite amazing to drive twenty odd kilometres from the subtropical heat of the main section, and in no time enter the cool, windy mountains where fynbos and grassland plateaus are the norm. Reminds me of the Baviaanskloof and Gamkaberg Nature Reserve.
Well, that’s a long blog from me today, but I’ve been hibernating from the rain like the rest of the animals here. But now that the rain has stopped, I hope to post more photos and blogs. The sun’s just about to go down, and I’m going to put some kudu wors on my braai. Addo Main Camp is pretty, and the chalets looks over a little valley, where hyenas and jackal seem to hang out at night (I can hear both species calling while I lie in bed).
‘The history of the preservation of the elephants is assuredly an epic in game conservation. In this manner, the bush, clad in hazy myster, is being preserved for future generations as an unspoilt facet on the face of the Masterly creation.’ – The Addo Elephants, A National Parks Board publication (published at a time when this little book cost 50c!)
For more, go to www.yearinthewild.com and www.facebook.com/yearinthewild. Thanks again to my sponsors for making it all possible. CapeNature, South African National Parks, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Eastern Cape Parks, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Ford, Total, Evosat, Conqueror Trailers, Vodacom, Digicape, Lacie, Frontrunner, Safari Centre Cape Town, K-Way, EeziAwn, National Luna, Nokia , Garmin, Goodyear, Global Fleet Sales, Hetzner, Clearstream Consulting, and Escape Gear
Have you been to the Addo Elephant National Park? Tell us about your experience there in the comment box below.
Previous post by Scott Ramsay:
« The coast at Kogelberg Nature Reserve
Next post by Scott Ramsay:
Exploring the unexplored Great Fish River Nature Reserve »
Tags: Addo Elephant National Park, Scott Ramsay, Year in the Wild
Addo Elephant National Park is most famous for its conservation of the last remaining wild elephants in the Eastern Cape. A few hundred years ago there were thousands of the earth’s largest land mammal in this area of South Africa, as well as plenty of other wildlife like lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes and springbok. But …
Addo Elephant National Park is most famous for its conservation of the last remaining wild elephants in the Eastern Cape. A few hundred years ago there were thousands of the earth’s largest land mammal in this area of South Africa, as well as plenty of other wildlife like lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes and springbok. But rapid colonial expansion after 1820 meant most of this diverse landscape was transformed into dairy farms and citrus fruit estates.
The elephants had a penchant for oranges in particular, and understandably they couldn’t resist raiding the farmers’ crops. The farmers got fed up, and put pressure on the government to sort out the problem. The first solution was predictable – for the times. The Administrator of the Cape Province – Sir Frederick de Waal – started paying hunters to exterminate the elephants.
In particular, a certain bloodthirsty Major Pretorius shot 120 elephants in his first eleven months in the Addo area. During one hunt, according to the archives, he was ‘once forced to lame an elephant by shooting it through the vertebral column, then like lightning he jumped on the beast’s back, ran to its head and killed it with a shot through the neck.’ In another instance Pretorius shot 16 elephants within 30 seconds – or so his journal records.
Eventually, after decades of hunting and harassment, the remaining elephants – just 11 of them in the whole region – retreated to the almost impenetrable thicket of the Addo region, where hunters and humans couldn’t reach them. Yet they still made their forays into the farmers’ fields at night to raid the crops.
By that stage fortunately, the public had woken up to the tragedy, and quickly there were calls for the establishment of a reserve. In 1931, the national park was proclaimed, extending just over 2000 hectares. However, the reserve wasn’t fenced, so the big animals still posed a problem, frequently moving onto farm lands.
The reserve’s ranger Harold Trollope wrote in 1931 how farmers and their staff still tried to kill the elephants: ‘Farmers in some instances fired at the elephants on sight often wounding them and supplied boys with rifles giving instructions that they were to shoot any elephant they came across, and that these orders were carried out. The elephants were shot at in a most cowardly manner, from safe distances, as for instance across a kloof, but never at close quarters, and were it not for the protection offered by…the difficult bush, the Addo elephants would not have existed today.’
Elephants in Addo are accustomed to vehicles, unlike in the past
Trollope succeeded in driving the remaining elephants into the area marked for the reserve, and for the most part he and his team of park rangers managed to keep them safe. But the elephants had to wait until 1951 for complete sanctuary from the guns of farmers.
At that stage, the reserve’s ranger Graham Armstrong had devised a unique type of fence constructed of railway sleepers sunk several feet into the ground, and attached to these were old wire cables supplied free-of-charge by the Otis lift company in Port Elizabeth. This design proved so effective that eventually the entire reserve was fenced off, and the elephants weren’t able to break out – finally, after a few hundred years, both the elephants and people were happy. And today, the Armstrong fence is still used.
Today the Addo Elephant National Park conserves the Big Five, including lions (reintroduced into the area from Kgalagadi, and buffalo, which, unlike the lions, were never exterminated). However, the emphasis has shifted from species conservation towards habitat protection and restoration. The huge increase in the park’s size from 2 000 hectares to more than 180 000 hectares is indicative of the national trend to conserving “corridors” of biodiversity. (Addo is now the third-largest national park in the country, although Garden Route National Park is not far behind).
Similar to the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve and Gouritz Initiative, Addo conserves, by design, a marvelous diversity of natural habitat: stretching from Nama Karoo in the Darlington Dam section in the far north, to fynbos and forest in the mountainous Zuurberg wilderness area, to subtropical thicket in the middle, and finally coastal dune forest and beaches in the Woody Cape section along the coast. This coastal section has the largest sand dune complex in the southern hemisphere, and it also includes a group of offshore islands that protects the largest populations of African penguins and Cape gannets in the world, as well as a sizeable Cape fur seal colony.
All these different habitats are now connected to each other over conserved land, joined together in a contiguous fashion, whereas in the past there were only isolated pieces of protected areas in a vast area that was transformed into monoculture and urban development. (Granted, the national N2 highway still divides the coastal section from the rest of the park).
The reasoning goes that ‘islands’ or ‘pockets’ of nature will eventually die out and become sterile. Species and habitats need to be connected if they are to survive, thrive and adapt. Especially nowadays with global warming, which is predicted to have a desiccating and heating affect over much of Southern Africa. Unless species can move to other areas, and adapt at the same time, South Africa will lose most of its biological diversity over the next few hundred years or so, with potentially disastrous consequences for humans.
However, as conservation manager John Adendorff told me, even Addo’s 180 000 hectares is not a very big piece of land if one considers the huge amount of urban and agricultural development around the park. ‘It’s a highly managed park, and we monitor animal populations very closely to see how they are impacting on the vegetation.’
An Elephant takes a lunch break
Today there are more than 600 elephants in Addo, at a density of about 2,8 elephants per square kilometre, perhaps the highest in Africa. ‘They’ve got it pretty good here,’ John said smiling. It’s incredible to think that at one stage there were only 11 left in the whole Eastern Cape. Hell has turned into paradise for the ellies.
The only reason that park authorities aren’t more worried about an overpopulation of elephant is because of the thicket biome. It’s a remarkable habitat, and at its core is spekboom, a succulent bush which not only sequestrates as much carbon from the atmosphere as rainforests, but also sustains some of the highest densities of wildlife in the world.
Park manager Norman Johnson tells me that “the elephants now are so successful that they’re becoming a nice problem. At some stage, we’ll need to look at controlling the population.”
But culling is not even considered as one of the options – instead, SANParks are looking to drop more fences between the different sections of the park, allowing the elephants to roam more widely, and also thereby introducing natural stresses into the elephant’s reproduction cycles. By forcing the elephants to roam further for water and food, growth rates in the population should slow down. And then there’s always contraception, which is the next best alternative.
The last few days I’ve had some good sightings of elephant and buffalo, and although it’s been raining a lot, today there was some sunshine.
I’ve had a chance to explore the main sections, where the Big Five hang out, and also the Zuurberg mountain section, where I went for a short horse ride this afternoon with ranger Thembelane Keye. It’s quite amazing to drive twenty odd kilometres from the subtropical heat of the main section, and in no time enter the cool, windy mountains where fynbos and grassland plateaus are the norm. Reminds me of the Baviaanskloof and Gamkaberg Nature Reserve.
Well, that’s a long blog from me today, but I’ve been hibernating from the rain like the rest of the animals here. But now that the rain has stopped, I hope to post more photos and blogs. The sun’s just about to go down, and I’m going to put some kudu wors on my braai. Addo Main Camp is pretty, and the chalets looks over a little valley, where hyenas and jackal seem to hang out at night (I can hear both species calling while I lie in bed).
‘The history of the preservation of the elephants is assuredly an epic in game conservation. In this manner, the bush, clad in hazy myster, is being preserved for future generations as an unspoilt facet on the face of the Masterly creation.’ – The Addo Elephants, A National Parks Board publication (published at a time when this little book cost 50c!)
For more, go to www.yearinthewild.com and www.facebook.com/yearinthewild. Thanks again to my sponsors for making it all possible. CapeNature, South African National Parks, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Eastern Cape Parks, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Ford, Total, Evosat, Conqueror Trailers, Vodacom, Digicape, Lacie, Frontrunner, Safari Centre Cape Town, K-Way, EeziAwn, National Luna, Nokia , Garmin, Goodyear, Global Fleet Sales, Hetzner, Clearstream Consulting, and Escape Gear
Have you been to the Addo Elephant National Park? Tell us about your experience there in the comment box below.
Previous post by Scott Ramsay:
« The coast at Kogelberg Nature Reserve
Next post by Scott Ramsay:
Exploring the unexplored Great Fish River Nature Reserve »
Tags: Addo Elephant National Park, Scott Ramsay, Year in the Wild
Article source: http://blog.getaway.co.za/environment/addo-elephant-national-park-hell-paradise/
This Combo combines the best of Eastern Cape Big Five safaris: the large herds of elephant and buffalo found in Addo and the superb predator and rhino sightings at Lalibela. Add 2 nights at Camp Figtree to a 2-night stay at Lalibela.Camp Figtree (www.campfigtree.com) is a secluded private lodge set high on the stunning Zuurberg …
This Combo combines the best of Eastern Cape Big Five safaris: the large herds of elephant and buffalo found in Addo and the superb predator and rhino sightings at Lalibela. Add 2 nights at Camp Figtree to a 2-night stay at Lalibela.Camp Figtree (www.campfigtree.com) is a secluded private lodge set high on the stunning Zuurberg mountain range, adjacent to the Addo Elephant National Park. The camp has breath-taking 270 degree views over the valley onto mountain slopes cloaked with dense indigenous vegetation. Camp Figtree is a 1920s traditional colonial style camp with corrugated iron roofing and wide, sweeping verandahs. Each of the spacious suites is uniquely decorated, featuring family antiques, Persian carpets, polished wooden furnishings and objets d’art. The in-house restaurant offers superb cuisine and a well-stocked wine cellar.
During your time at Camp Figtree, you can take part in the following activities:-
Rate includes:
ENQUIRIES: stay@lalibela.co.za or TEL: +27 41 581 8170
Please note: The rates above are for Lentaba Lodge and Mark’s Camp (at Lalibela) – please contact us if you would like to stay at Tree Tops for the safari portion of your stay and we will send you the rates.
Two Addo Elephant National Park buffalo bulls with near record horn spans are expected to attract breeders and reserve owners from throughout Southern Africa to the annual Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees auction. The biggest has been nick-named “Bismarck,” and has a horn span of 46 inches, while Hercules has one of 45 inches. Both have been …
Two Addo Elephant National Park buffalo bulls with near record horn spans are expected to attract breeders and reserve owners from throughout Southern Africa to the annual Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees auction.
The biggest has been nick-named “Bismarck,” and has a horn span of 46 inches, while Hercules has one of 45 inches. Both have been captured, and are in a boma at the Addo Elephant National Park, according to auction organiser Johan Swart.
He says new blood and a new date bring a new era to the annual Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees game auction, which is one of the top three wildlife auctions in the country.
For the first 10 years of the Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees, brought to you in association with DSTV in 2012, the auction has been hosted on the Saturday of the festival weekend. This has been moved to the Friday to accommodate out of town bidders – many of whom also want to bring their families to enjoy the many attractions at the Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees, according to auction organiser Johan Swart.
“We have listened to what the industry has told us, and moved the auction a day forward.
“The trend in the industry is to hold auctions on week days.
“This also helps with the movement of the game after it has been bought,” he says.
The auction is one of the few in the country where buyers are able to see the majority of the prize animals, which are kept in bomas for the sale.
This year, around 40 disease-free Add Elephant National Park buffalo will go under the hammer of Brandon Leer of Brandon Leer Auction Services. Leer is widely regarded as one of the best livestock auctioneers in the country, and a specialist in game sales. He will be taking over the hammer from Roy Hayes who handled the auctions for the first 10 years.
“Roy helped put the Kirkwood wildlife auction on the map, and the fact that we could attract an auctioneer with the experience of Brandon is a tribute to the solid foundation Roy built,” says Swart.
Leer was schooled in the Eastern Cape and grew up in the Port Elizabeth area.
Other well-known auctions in which he has been involved include Madikwe, Thaba Tholo, Piet du Toit, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, SANParks auctions in Kimberley and Pretoria, the North West Buffalo Auction at Molemane Eye, the Polokwane Municipality auction, and auctions at the Shamwari and Kwandwe game reserves in the Eastern Cape.
The 2012 Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees runs from June 29 to July 1, and offers a wild weekend for the whole family. Entry fees for the festival on Friday and Sunday are R70 for adults and R35 for children; and R100 for adults and R50 for children on Saturday. Visit www.wildsfess.co.za for more information.
The entertainment does not stop the whole weekend of the Wildsfees from 29 June to 1 July 2012. Have a look at some of the artists appearing at the 2012 Wildsfees below. Arno Carstens: Eastern Cape fans will be among the first to hear some of Arno Carstens’ latest songs live as he “rocks the …
The entertainment does not stop the whole weekend of the Wildsfees from 29 June to 1 July 2012. Have a look at some of the artists appearing at the 2012 Wildsfees below.
‘My naam is Ellen Pakkies,’ a true story about a mother who killed her Tik-addicted son is being staged in the Eastern Cape for the first time ever. Ellen Pakkies stars Vinette Ebrahim – also known as Charmaine Meintjies in 7de Laan, while her son is played by another 7de Laan actor Christo Davids (Errol …
‘My naam is Ellen Pakkies,’ a true story about a mother who killed her Tik-addicted son is being staged in the Eastern Cape for the first time ever.
Ellen Pakkies stars Vinette Ebrahim – also known as Charmaine Meintjies in 7de Laan, while her son is played by another 7de Laan actor Christo Davids (Errol Pieterse in the soapie) will be staged at the Kirkwood NG Church hall on Saturday, June 30.
Tickets are R100, and no under 16s are allowed.
Tickets are available from the Kirkwood Festival office, telephone 042 2300066.
The Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees brought to you in association with DStv takes place from Friday, June 29, to Sunday, July 1.
In a world of economic uncertainty, elephant ivory has become a new investment vehicle in China, which coincides with an extraordinary surge in the number of elephants being killed for their ivory. A new ivory market investigation report released Monday by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) shows the legal sale of …
In a world of economic uncertainty, elephant ivory has become a new investment vehicle in China, which coincides with an extraordinary surge in the number of elephants being killed for their ivory.
A new ivory market investigation report released Monday by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) shows the legal sale of ivory stockpiles in 2008 has spurred demand, particularly in China where ivory is increasingly coveted by wealthy Chinese as “white gold.”
“Elephant ivory has, in a manner of speaking, become a new currency in China,” said Grace Gabriel, Asia Regional Director for IFAW. “The escalating demand has sent the price of ivory soaring. Couple that with the strengthening of the Chinese Yuan (RMB) against an ailing U.S. dollar, and suddenly buying illegal ivory in Africa and selling it at a huge profit in China becomes an extremely lucrative business.”
IFAW says the blame lies firmly at the door of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which in 2008 gave the go-ahead for the legal sale of ivory stockpiles by four South African countries to China and Japan.
Since 2009, when China took delivery of its purchase, the market for ivory there – legally traded or not–has exploded. Worldwide seizures of illegal ivory have matched this trend, with the media reporting that 5,259 ivory tusks (an astounding 23 tons) were confiscated in 2011 alone.
The Chinese regulatory system, introduced in 2004 with the intention of strictly controlling the domestic ivory market in line with CITES required conditions, has been rendered virtually impotent against the demand for ivory.
“Of the 158 ivory trade facilities visited in five cities by Chinese experts, 101 did not have government issued licenses and were operating illegally. Among licensed facilities, the majority abused the ivory control system in some way,” continued Gabriel. “The illicit ivory trading activities in both unlicensed and licensed but non-compliant facilities outnumbered properly legal facilities nearly six to one (135/23).”
IFAW’s 2011 survey (the fifth in Asia in 10 years) shows clearly how illegal ivory, once smuggled into China, is now easily laundered through the legal market. The report also sheds light on the strong economic incentive for Chinese engaging in ivory trafficking.
While the wholesale price per kilogram of ivory in RMB has tripled (4,500 yuan – 15,000 yuan) from 2006 to 2011, the RMB is increasing in value against the USD. In the overseas market where ivory is sourced, the strengthened Chinese currency provides more purchasing power to Chinese buyers who convert RMB to USD for ivory purchases. This, coupled with the ease with which smuggled ivory can be easily laundered in the legal market, means huge profits for criminals involved in illegal ivory trade.
“The CITES stockpile sales were supposed to reduce the illegal trade and the slaughter of elephants by saturating the market with legal ivory; in fact, the exact opposite has occurred,” remarked Gabriel.
“Legal ivory imports have provided opportunities for illegal ivory to be whitewashed in China. The insatiable demand for ivory as an investment has tripled the wholesale price of ivory, and currencies in flux have mixed to create a lethal combination that is decimating wild elephant populations,” she said.
Emerging from their lair in the shadows of a Stellenbosch vineyard, folk-rock band Spoegwolf (Spitting Wolf) will have festinos howling at the moon in the Sundays River Valley this winter. The four-man band will be “howling at the moon” in the Windhoek Kuiergat from a quarter to 11 on Saturday evening, June 30 as part …
Emerging from their lair in the shadows of a Stellenbosch vineyard, folk-rock band Spoegwolf (Spitting Wolf) will have festinos howling at the moon in the Sundays River Valley this winter.
The four-man band will be “howling at the moon” in the Windhoek Kuiergat from a quarter to 11 on Saturday evening, June 30 as part of the annual Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees brought to you in association with DStv.
Action on the main Windhoek stage starts at two in the afternoon with Lollos “Oe La La Suid-Afrika”, Pieter Koen, David Fourie, Monique, George Longane, Elvis Blue and Band, Heinz Winckler, Charlize Berg, Ray Dylan, DJ Superman, and Arno Carstens and Band.
The Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees brought to you in association with DStv takes place from Friday, June 29, to Sunday, July 1.
You may be disheartened by the decline in temperatures and that getting up happens in the dark. Some may even go as far as saying that this is the worst time of year. But not for gaming viewing. In fact, winter is said to be the best time of year to go on a safari …
You may be disheartened by the decline in temperatures and that getting up happens in the dark. Some may even go as far as saying that this is the worst time of year. But not for gaming viewing. In fact, winter is said to be the best time of year to go on a safari in Africa. In the game-rich areas of the Southern and East Africa, the start of winter means the end of the wet season, and that means that the bush is thinner, the roads are accessible, and the wild animals in our game parks are the easiest to spot.
Also, in these areas it gets mild (sometimes even warm) during the day, providing pleasant temperatures for game drives. So to get you inspired for your winter safari break, here are the top places to go wildlife-viewing for both luxury-orientated and budget-conscious travellers.
You can book all these camps and lodges through Getaway Accommodation.
Surely South Africa’s prime wildlife viewing destination, the Kruger Park never fails to impress when it comes to spotting animals, especially in the dry season. Kruger has an impressive range of accommodation options, from camping to luxury lodges and they promise the best safari experience in the country. Because of its size and ample accommodation options, we’ll give you four.
Lower Sabie Rest Camp
This relaxed rest camp is situated on the banks of the Sabie River and offers camping, caravanning and self-catering bungalows starting at R200 per person sharing.
Book here
Punda Maria Rest Camp
Situated in the northernmost part of the park, you’ll find self-catering, camping and caravan options starting at R160 per person.
Book here
Imbali Lodge
This exclusive lodge is situated in the Imbali safari concession and offers spacious, private chalets overlooking the N’waswitsontso River bend.
Book here
Lukimbi Safari Lodge
Situated in the southern region of the Kruger, this lodge combines luxury and elegance with modern African decor and beautiful river views.
Book here
Click here for packages to Kruger National Park with Getaway Adventures starting from R4250.
Click here for a comprehensive guide to Kruger National Park.
This was the first formally declared trans-border conservation area and is the amalgamation of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa and the Gemsbok National Park in Botswana. The park is renowned for sightings of predators and the seasonal movements of blue wildebeest, springbok, eland and red hartebeest.
Mata Mata Rest Camp
This camp is situated on the banks of the Aoub River on the western boundary of the park and offers tented accommodation, camping, caravanning and self-catering chalets starting at R180 per person sharing.
Book here
Grootkolk Wilderness Camp
Situated 20km from Union’s End, where South Africa, Botswana and Namibia meet, this tented accommodation overlooks a waterhole and offers a tranquil stay.
Book here
Click here for beautiful images of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
Photographer: Tom Coetzee
Being one of the private reserves adjacent to Kruger National Park, accommodation tends to be pricey. But a clever solution to this is finging a place to stay just outside the park and heading out on game drives daily to search for wildlife. Expect to see the Big 5 and a large variety of plains game.
Nyati Pools
Situated only 5km from the Thornybush gates, this tented accommodation is peaceful and relaxed and starts at R200 per person sharing.
Book here
Shumbalala Game Lodge
Situated within the Thornybush Private Game Reserve, you’ll enjoy an intimate stay in luxury, thatched chalets with fireplaces and air-conditioning.
Book here
Click here to win a trip for two to Thornybush Game Lodge, worth R20 000.
For those who are tired of the standard South African safari, this is the ideal way to explore a different country and discover a national park where the lead characters are primates. Exploring on foot is the preferred method and chimp trekking expeditions come highly recommended.
Kibale Forest Camp
Enjoy a classic canvassed stay in this tented camp that is surrounded by dense forest vegetation. Tents go for R376 per person sharing.
Book here
Chimp’s Nest
Situated on the border of the reserve, this lodge enjosy views of the snow-capped peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains and is often visited by monkeys, chimps and forest elephants.
Book here
Click here for packages to Uganda with Getaway Adventures, starting at R11 750.
Click here to read Justin Fox’s story on Kibale Forest National Park.
This is Namibia’s prime wildlife viewing destination and is situated in the north of the country. The many waterholes attract the animals living in this fairly dry region, especially during the dry winter months. Many of the waterholes are floodlit, providing excellent night time game viewing.
Mamselle Nature Camp
These bungalows are shaded by Mopane and White Syringa trees and are situated just outside the park along the main road. Prices start at R70 per person to camp and R130 per person to stay in a self-catering bungalow.
Book here
Andersson’s Camp
This luxury tented camp is situated within the private Ongava Reserve, adjacent to Etosha and looks out over a frequented waterhole.
Book here
Click here for travel packages to Etosha National Park with Getaway Adventures, starting at R7650.
Click here for a comprehensive guide to Etosha National Park.
Contrary to what the name may suggest, you’ll get to see much more than elephants at Addo. The park is easily accessible and also hosts lion, buffalo, black rhino, spotted hyena and a variety of antelope and zebra species. It is the third largest national park in the country and incidentally hosts around 550 elephants.
Addo Main Rest Camp
Here you’ll have a wide range of accommodation options to choose from, with camping and caravanning being the most affordable at R175 per person.
Book here
River Bend Lodge
Situated on a private concession within the Addo Elephant Park, you’ll stay in one of eight luxury suites, each with a private veranda and some with bush showers.
Book here
Click here for a recent blog with awesome images of Addo Elephant National Park.
Mapungubwe used to be a flourishing metropolis in the Iron Age, but today this site consists of a vast expanse of savanna at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers. If you’re not admiring the elephant, giraffe, white rhino, eland and gemsbok then you can visit some of the cultural sites, thereby enjoying not only game viewing, but also a history lesson or two.
Mazhou Camping Site
Situated in the western section of the park, this campsite caters for 10 tents or caravans and prices R170 per person sharing.
Book here
Vhembe Wilderness Camp
This camp is situated in the eastern section of the park and is walking distance from the Limpopo River and the historically significant Mapugubwe Hill.
Book here
This incredible lake in the Zambezi River is surrounded by national parks both on Zimbabwe and Zambia’s side and provides some excellent water-based game viewing, for those who are looking for something that doesn’t involved hours in a car. Apart from boating safaris and nature walks, you might also enjoy some excellent bird watching and even a spot of fishing.
Kariba Bush Club
A wide range of accommodation options are available, ranging from camping to cabins on the houseboat. Camping costs R71 per person and the grounds are on the banks of the lake.
Book here
Karibeer House Boat
This family friendly pontoon house boat is intimate, with only three cabins and an open-air sleeping area (with mosquito nets) on the deck.
Book here
Click here for packages to Zimbabwe and Lake Kariba with Getaway Adventures, starting from R8450.
This is the world’s only savanna biosphere reserve and offers not only game viewing, but also a strong culture injection. Habitats here are incredibly diverse and include wetlands and rivers, steep cliffs and slopes and even bushveld. The area also hosts many endangered species, like the African wild dog, black and white rhino and leopard.
Madikela Game Lodge
Situated on an ancient limestone plateau, you’ll stay in one of six self-catering cottages starting at R160 per person sharing.
Book here
Shibula Lodge and Bush Spa
This luxurious lodge is surrounded by greenery and mountains and offers nine, individually designed, thatched chalets.
Book here
The park lies adjacent to Sun City, providing something different to do in the area. You’ll find a vast variety of animals, including the Big 5 and many other predators and antelope. The roads are well looked after, making self-drive game viewing easy and enjoyable.
Makinky Manzi
This tented camp is close to a waterfall where you can swim in the rock pools and tents are priced from R220 per person sharing.
Book here
Pilanesberg Private Lodge
Situated at the foot of the Pilansberg Mountains, this private lodge has five rooms and offers a luxurious and secluded stay.
Book here
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Tags: African safaris, budget game park accommodation, Kruger, luxury game park accommodation, winter game viewing
