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.
