Addo Long Weekend

By Imar in Camping

During the last few years we have always made use of the Easter Weekend to go somewhere interesting: Mountain Zebra National Park (2012), Grootvadersbosch (2013), Tergniet (2014, although apparently we neglected to post any pictures, oops), Wilderness (2015) and Diepwalle (2016). We have camped every year (except for 2014) and every year mother nature has put our mettle to the test with pouring rain and freezing temperatures. Quite honestly, it has become something of a tradition by now…

This year we accompanied Tamara’s folks to the Addo Elephant National Park. Frank and Karen had the good sense to stay in a chalet, but Tamara, Calab and I rolled the dice and opted for a camp site. And yes, it rained. By the time we packed up on Monday morning the tents were still thoroughly soaked, so with our wet gear in plastic bags, Tamara and I made the impromptu decision to spend the night camping at Wilderness (which happened to be sunny) in order to dry out.

As usual we really enjoyed the opportunity to observe and photograph the Eastern Cape’s scenery and wildlife. The weekend’s highlights included delicious potjiekos courtesy of Frank, being chased by elephants (twice), seeing the Easter Bunny on a gravel road and following two of Addo’s three “unofficial” cheetahs as they patrolled the borderline. I say unofficial because believe it or not, they broke into the reserve from a neighbouring game farm several months ago and decided to stay. We even caught a glimpse of the famous Addo lions just minutes before leaving the park.

Figure A (above): the look an elephant bull gives you the moment he takes offence to you poking a camera lens in his direction, and decides to give chase. Here are a few of our favourite pictures from the weekend:

Posted 24 April 2017
Tags: Addo Elephant National Park, Autumn, birds, camping, cheetah, Eastern Cape, family, lion, nature, SANParks, travel, wildlife