Addo Elephant Park
Geza and I slid into Grahamstown from the Tsitsikamma on January 3rd, 2007 and decided to go to Addo Elephant Park the following day. This is a national park which (needless to say) obviously harbours elephants, among other animals as well. Addo is home to buffalo, rhinoceros, lion, tortoises, black-backed jackals, zebras, warthogs (zillions of them too!), snakes, birds, you name it.
Three rules which are posted on a sign prior to entering the park: Firstly, the South African dung beetle has right of way [see left]. It is endangered, and it's survival has park officials slightly worried. Secondly, no driving over elephant dung. Why? Because the dear little dung beetle lays its eggs in the elephant dung and these eggs die if one drives over the elephant dung. And last, but not least, one is not permitted to exit the vehicle while in the park because of dangerous animals which could possibly devour you. I had been to Addo with my mother in December, but I never saw any dangerous animal. We kept laughing about getting out of the car to use ourselves as "bait" to lure the lion out of the bushes so we could finally see the shy brute.
Other than 3 million elephants, Geza and I also spotted: warthogs, kudu, bushbuck, a black-backed jackal and two baby tortoises (mom nor dad were anywhere to be seen) and also one really really agitated ostrich on the road being followed slowly by a car. See pictures below:
Day visitors to the park pay R 80 (if you are foreigner) and R 20 (if you are South African). After pulling off my utter best "Suth Efrikan" accent, Geza and I coughed up R 20 each :) Staying overnight in a safari tent costs about R 500 and is good value for money, but it was booked solid. One is permitted to take your own car into the park, and drive around with a map and listing of all the animals you potentially might see, if you are lucky.
Three rules which are posted on a sign prior to entering the park: Firstly, the South African dung beetle has right of way [see left]. It is endangered, and it's survival has park officials slightly worried. Secondly, no driving over elephant dung. Why? Because the dear little dung beetle lays its eggs in the elephant dung and these eggs die if one drives over the elephant dung. And last, but not least, one is not permitted to exit the vehicle while in the park because of dangerous animals which could possibly devour you. I had been to Addo with my mother in December, but I never saw any dangerous animal. We kept laughing about getting out of the car to use ourselves as "bait" to lure the lion out of the bushes so we could finally see the shy brute.Other than 3 million elephants, Geza and I also spotted: warthogs, kudu, bushbuck, a black-backed jackal and two baby tortoises (mom nor dad were anywhere to be seen) and also one really really agitated ostrich on the road being followed slowly by a car. See pictures below:
When mother and I were at the park last year, we were forturnate to witness a herd of elephants crossing the road right in front of our car! It was a tad frightening at first, but when you realize that they've got other things on their mind than you, the show becomes enjoyable. Below are some pictures of elephants from both trips:
posted by Emma at 1:25 PM
1 Comments:
These are very interesting stories about South Africa. I thought that Africa is just a large desert with no green lands, trees and lovely beaches. But after your introduction I learnt that Africa is a piece of untouched paradise.The pictures are amazing!
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