26 December 2016
We left MZNP and stopped in Cradock to see if anyone could help with the damaged tyre. We were fortunate that Supaquick was open, but the news was not great – the hole in the tyre was too big to be repaired. And he did not have the correct size tyre in stock to replace the tyre.
That meant one thing – we would be driving from Cradock to Addo at 80km/hour.
Awesome.
On the way I phoned my road side assist again to see if they could find any tyre shop in PE that may be open on the public holiday. The 27th was also a public holiday, and I was a little concerned. The friendly call center agent confirmed no-one was open that day, but TWT would be open the next day – what a relief!
The drive was just a little stressful – driving slowly, worrying about the tyres, and then it started to rain. Not the best drive ever, but we made it safely to Addo, and checked in just after 14h00.
Now, I have never been to Addo, and really did not know what to expect. I am blown away. I now have another favourite place! I am completely and irrevocably in love with Addo!
I adore elephants, and they are my favourite mammals of all the animals. I had no idea how to do this TR, because really, how many photos of elephants can one person take? I took a lot of ellie photos. And I mean a lot. Being in the presence of these wonderful giants was unlike anything I ever experienced.
On the way to reception we saw a huge herd of elephants. 
We checked into chalet 17, and there was an ellie right by the fence. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
There were a number of birds around the chalet that served as the welcoming party –
The roads immediately inside the game viewing area are all tarred, and I decided that it would be safe to drive them with the spare wheel. Before we went on the drive, I first had to explore the waterhole and hide in the camp. Incredible.
After spending some time in the hide, we then headed out into the game viewing area. Our first stop was Domkrag Dam. There wasn’t much to see at the dam itself, but on the way there and back we did have great sightings – Nedikkie, Pale-Chanting Goshawk, the first of many tortoises, Malachite sunbird, black headed heron and warthogs.
Gwarrie Pan was on a stretch of tar road, so this was our next stop. The traffic jam was insane, and at first I thought everyone had heard about this lovely spot and came to enjoy it in the late afternoon sun. As I tried to inch my way past the throng of cars to find a spot to park, I suddenly discovered the reason for the traffic jam.
A large ellie bull approached and this required this gorgeous lion to find a different spot to lie down.
He walked with a significant limp, but despite this was in magnificent condition. He went to lie down again behind some bushes a little distance away, and promptly disappeared. This was the ellie that disturbed him.
The tar road continued to Rooidam, and we decided we may as well go and have a look. On the way we saw this sad looking jackal. Another car stopped next to us, and we speculated whether it was still alive. On our way back, he had moved to the shade, so we knew it was not dead. Shame, it does not look to healthy with that bad case of mange.
Rooidam wasn’t much of a dam. The spekboom plants create the illusion that it is not dry, but if you look closely, the drought is as severe in Addo as anywhere else.
Back at Gwarrie Pan the ellie was still enjoying himself.
It had been a long, draining day, and we headed back to camp. Just before the gate we saw a warthog couple and a little piglet. I just love how he is standing on his little knees to eat!
The birds were still around the chalet.
I lit the fire, and while we waited for the coals to be ready, I headed to the hide again. The light was very good, and I could not think of a more perfect way to end my first day in Addo.
Just look at the little tusks on this guy!
We were treated with this breath taking sunset during dinner.
27 December 2016
I wanted to be at TWT in PE as early as possible to make sure we can get back to Addo as quickly as possible. But we still had time to go for an early, short drive on the tar roads again. We just drove to Gwarrie pan and back. We saw a few buffaloes, kudu, and birdies.
The morning started well with two lifers in the form of an Olive thrush and Thick-billed Canary.
PE is not far, but driving at 80km/hr, it takes a little longer than normal. I got there at 08h15, and the place was busy!
With four proper tyres on my car again, we headed out on the N2, and we entered Addo through the southern gate. The first sighting was of two secretary birds, but they were just a little too far for decent pics.
The vegetation on the southern most roads and Mbotyi loop is very dense, so it was difficult to see anything. The Vukani loop was quiet except for some larks, long-claws and a Common / Steppe Buzzard.
And then the ellie magic started again. There is an un-marked waterhole at the Ngulube Loop and Harvey’s loop intersection where I stopped for some time on both full days that we were in the Park.
I love how elephants are constantly in contact with each other – I have so many photos of them constantly touching each other with their trunks, heads and bodies.
I was finally able to tear myself away from this waterhole. And then we got to Marion Baree. There is a large bush that can obscure the view of the animals at the waterhole, unless you can stop in a good spot. There were many cars, so good spots came at a premium. On this day we could not get a good view of the ellies (too many cars), so we did not stay long.
From there we drove to the Spekboom hide. Once again the ellies were out in force. The Spekboom hide is not actually a “hide” – it is just a wooden wall with openings to look through. There is also a tented camp where you can stay overnight – I think that must be an experience!
There were a couple of ellies at the hide already, and more arrived while we were there.
I think we can all agree this little guy is more than cute! Look at those ears.
Water started splashing.
More cuteness.
I can spend hours watching ellies at water.
It was once again very special to be so close to these wonderful creatures, but eventually I had to leave the hide.
The next stop was Hapoor dam. There was another herd of ellephants.
As usual the young ones are seriously entertaining. This little one apparently needed to go to the bathroom. We had a good giggle at how he stood to do the necessary.
It was now well after lunch, and we headed back to the chalet. My mom decided to relax a bit, and I headed off to the hide again for one of my most enjoyable ellie experiences. This little ellie played in the water for a long time. 
He started by just splashing with his feet.
After a while that wasn’t enough, and he jumped in.
This playfulness went on for a while, every now and then he would get out, realise he wanted more and jump back in.
He just looks so happy!
But eventually he had enough.
I wanted him to play like that forever. More than once I was laughing out loud because he was just so incredibly cute. His exuberance and total enjoyment of the water was so contagious – if seeing something like this does not brighten up your day, nothing else will.
While he was having his fun, some of the elders were having a more stately drink.
Another cute one!
And one of my favourite photos of the entire trip.
I just loved being so close to these amazing giants, and I took photo after photo.
They come in all sizes.
I also went to have a look if anything was happening at the bird hide, but it was quiet except for this Malachite sunbird.
Later that day we went on a drive again. Time for some animals that are not ellies!
This Southern Tchagra teased me by calling and hiding, but I finally managed a photo, and another lifer ticked!
We did a lot of driving in the earlier part of the day, so the afternoon drive was going to be limited to the tar roads only. Again we drove to Domkrag Dam. We saw our first zebras and a tortoise.
We also saw some magnificent kudus heading in the same direction as us. They arrived at the dam shortly after we did. They were obviously thirsty, but also very nervous. They are three gorgeous bulls in stunning condition. They were spooked by something unseen.
Finally they came to drink.
We also saw a Pale-chanting Goshawk.
Gwarrie Pan was quiet. But then we heard some jackals calling quite close by. I was scanning the bushes when my mom pointed to the road directly in front of the car – two jackals crossed the road and were moving quite fast.
We saw more tortoises. We must have seen about 25 during our trip.
I’d seen a few Bokmakieries up to now, but they were always far away. Then we saw this guy completely out in the open!
A last tortoise.
This had been the most perfect day ever. I think I must have told my mom a million times during the day how much I love this place!
And then we got back to the chalet.
We arrived back at the chalet just after 18h00 As I drove up, I noticed a large male vervet monkey hanging about, looking a little agitated. There was also a young boy of maybe 10, 12 years. He was also behaving strange. I wondered if the boy had not been harassing the monkey. The monkey just wouldn’t leave. My mom walked ahead to unlock the chalet door, and then called to me.
The chalet door had glass panels, and inside the chalet were about five or six vervet monkeys looking at us through the door. It seems the cleaning staff left the bathroom window open just a little, and that is how they got in. The window had slammed shut with them inside and the male outside – the reason for his agitated state. We unlocked the chalet, and after a while all of them ran out.
We surveyed the situation. If you think five or six monkeys can poop a lot, well they actually poop much, MUCH more than that. There was poop EVERYWHERE – on the beds, on the floor, on the couch, on the counter, everywhere. Biscuits and fruit had been eaten completely of half way. It was a mess.
There was nothing to clean with, so I had to phone reception to send someone. A lovely lady with the most appropriate name of “Sweetness” arrived a little later, and between the two of us we had everything cleaned and bedding replaced quite quickly.
Not quite the end to the perfect day we would have wanted, but part of the adventure I suppose. My mom commented that bad things normally happen in threes – the two flat tyres had been one and two, and this had been three. No more “bad” things for the rest of the trip, and she was right!
28 December 2019
We woke up to a slightly wet Addo. A wonderful sight as it was so very dry. But the rain seemed to have sent the animals into hiding, as most of them, especially the ellies were nowhere to be seen.
Today I wanted to explore the Ngulube loop and Harvey’s Loop.
It was a quiet morning, with only some wet birds and tortoises around.
At Hapoor dam some zebras were having a drink.
Just before Marion Baree we saw a lone kudu.
As we rounded a bend in the road, people in a car waved for us to stop. In front of their car was this stunningly beautiful puff adder. You can see little bits of old skin on its body, a sign of a resent shed, and the reason for the bright colours. It also looks as if there is a bulge in its body, so maybe it had eaten something recently.
There was a small family of ellies at Marion Baree – our first ellie sighting of the day.
As we continued south, we had a few sightings – Jackal Buzzard, Warthogs and zebras.
At the Harvey’s Loop intersection, this big old boy was slowly making his way down the hill.
As we turned onto the Ngulube loop it started raining again. But despite the weather conditions, I managed to spot 2 great lifers –
First a Knysna Woodpecker family and then an Olive Bush-shrike. I just managed one bad photo before he disappeared, but I was ecstatic!
The rest of the drive along the Ngulube loop was quiet. It really did appear as if the wet weather sent the animals into hiding. We did have a few lovely sightings though –
There were also 2 large elephant bulls –
A Burchell’s Coucal lived up to its reputation as being the “rain bird.”
The rest of the Ngulube loop as well as most of Harvey’s loop was very quiet. There were a few animals –
All the way back north was very quiet – even Spekboom and Hapoor had no visitors. Just before Rooidam there were 2 more ellies. And another at Gwarrie Pan.
We went back to the chalet for a short break. We had some visitors at the chalet.
Our afternoon took us to the Gorah Loop via Domkrag dam, Past Carol’s rest to the Zuurkop look out point, then on to the southern section of the park to the waterhole just south of the southern access road, and then back to camp.
The drive to the Zuurkop look out point was not one of the most pleasant drives I have ever had. And it had nothing to do with the few sightings, but everything to do with the hundreds of cars (ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but there were a lot of cars). At one point I counted about 10 cars ahead of me and as many behind me all driving about 1 or 2 car lengths apart. I only found out later that there had been a lion sighting at Carol’s rest, and then I realised that that was the reason for all the cars. And the lions weren’t even there to make it worth it!
We did see some animals, but not a lot. A few kudus, zebras were grazing along the way. 
We also saw a handsome jackal.
Near Carol’s rest we saw a warthog family. The one little one had an injured eye, and he looked a little miserable.
We stopped briefly at the Zuurkop lookout point. The day remained heavily overcast, but it only drizzled lightly at times.
I finally managed to leave the traffic behind me, and we made our way south again. We saw almost no animals along the way, and I can only attribute it to the overcast conditions. Eventually we reached the Harvey’s loop intersection, and there was some activity.
A Yellow-billed kite was collecting some twigs on the ground, and as a result, he did some slow fly-bys. The overcast sky made for terrible photo conditions, but I managed a few photos.
There was a single ellie at the water hole. He was minding his own business when a few warties appeared. It seemed as if he did not enjoy their presence at the waterhole, and it resulted in a lot of ear flapping. The warthogs were unperturbed by this, and drank water without paying him any attention.
As more warties arrived, he started moving away. One last annoyed look, and he walked away.
It was interesting to see the interaction. Two days earlier an ellie chased away a lion, and now a handful of warthogs managed to chase away an ellie!
There was also a herd of elephants near the waterhole. Two young bulls decided that they needed to get to know each other better.
We finally left this waterhole for the last time with a heavy heart. Our last full day was drawing to a close, and I was reluctant to get back to camp.
We did see warthogs and kudus on our way back, but it was once again the elephants that made the afternoon special. Maybe they felt my emotions, because all of a sudden more made an appearance. A small heard was at Marion Baree again.
There were also some elephants at Hapoor dam,
We also saw another pretty Malachite sunbird and I finally got a decent photo of a Karoo Scrub-robin.
And then we got stuck at Gwarrie Pan. Not literally, but with the herd of elephants that we found there, I discovered that my car refused to move!
It was our last afternoon here, so we stayed with the herd until they moved off. As always, the young ones were very entertaining. First, this young one inspected a rock.
Another couple of teenagers were being playful.
Another dose of adorable cuteness.
This is another of my favourite photos.
Eventually the herd moved off, and we returned to camp.
We had a few more sightings before we got back to camp.
The sightings did not end when we got back to the chalet.
We were blessed with a magnificent sunset on our last evening.
And then another incredible moment. We could hear the rumbling of some ellies approaching. I waited, and got the biggest surprise – it was not any ellie that walked past the chalet, it was Valli Moosa! I have heard about this guy, and had not seen him yet. What a wonderful surprise!
He was heading to the waterhole, but I had just put the meat on the braai, so there was no way I could go. But I spotted him again when he left the waterhole, and despite the bad light, I still took some memory photos.
I could not have planned a better end to our last night than this!
December 2017 – We received some sad news – the Sanparks Staff had discovered Valli’s body a few kilometers away from Hapoor dam. It seems he was killed by another bull. What an incredible loss. But I know there are many young elephants that were fathered by him and that will carry on his genes. And I am very grateful that I got to see him at least once!
And he put in an appearance on the Addo Web cam just before his death.
Rest in peace Gentle Giant.
29 December 2016
All too soon it was our last morning in this incredible park.
We were up early, and decided to drive to Hapoor, then Rooidam and Gwarrie Pan before loading the car and heading home. On our way to Hapoor we saw kudu, a jackal, a bunny rabbit and some birds.
We did not find elephants at Hapoor, but there was a large herd of buffalo.
We also saw our first Addo hyena.
I scanned the area in the hope of seeing meerkats, but instead saw a couple of yellow mongoose and a Spotted Thicknee in the distance. We continued on the dirt road and saw more buffalos.
No ellies yet, and I was wondering if we would leave the park without seeing these giants one more time. And then we rounded a bend in the road. These pics are taken through my windscreen with my cell phone.
They walked in the road for quite a while, and we followed patiently. Eventually they walked into the bushes, and we could drive on. As we turned at Rooidam, we saw them coming across the hill. I parked in a position to watch their approach. Another car parked in front of me. Both of us misjudged their path a little, but I was in the most precarious spot, and with the other car in front of me, I was worried. But these were the gentle giants of Addo, not the Kruger maniacs. I took a few photos as they approached.
Then I just put the camera down and marveled at the closeness of these animals. Just look at the gentleness in the eye of the lady in the photo above. I could see her looking at me as she walked past the car, no more than three arms lengths away. The moment brought tears to my eyes. One by one they passed the car. It took a few moments for me to drive away. For as long as I live, this is an experience that I will never, ever forget.
The rest of the drive back to camp was quiet, but I did not mind as I was completely lost in my thoughts, thinking of the ellies we had just seen. There were some warthogs and South African Shelducks at Gwarrie Pan, and buffaloes closer to camp.
We packed up the car quickly, and then I had one last moment at the hide. As I got to the hide, a herd was approaching.
There were some little ones with the herd. It was hard to tear myself away.
I enjoyed my last moment with the amazing Addo elephants.
But eventually I took a few last pics of an Addo cutie and left.
I always worry that my expectations of a new destination are too high. I remember planning my first overseas trip many years ago, and my dad commenting that he worries I will enjoy the planning more than the actual trip. (He was wrong btw). Before my Addo trip, I searched the forums for every bit of info I could get. I had really, really high expectations of this trip.
And I can say without a second’s hesitation that all of my expectations were exceeded. I am in love with this Park, and I wish it was closer to allow me to visit more frequently.