Summer Trek – Addo, 2 January 2025

Happy New Year, everyone!

We’ve resumed our summer travels through the national parks and reserves of the Western and Eastern Cape and find ourselves at the Addo Elephant National Park this evening. In the little time we’ve spent here already today the Park has certainly lived up to its name!

Baby Elephant walking away with mom

Spekboom blossoms

Lots of activity at Rooidam

Bokmakierie

Elephant Bull

How’s the weather up there?

Warthog

Plains Zebra stallion

Black-backed Jackal

Cape Sparrows

Our 2024 in Pictures

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Join us as we reminisce about the places DeWetsWild visited while exploring Southern Africa’s wild places in 2024!

May 2025 be a year to remember for all the best reasons. Happy New Year, everyone!

Chalet 4 at Boschkop, on the shores of the Vaal Dam, January 2024

Skukuza Rest Camp, Kruger National Park, January 2024

Skukuza Bungalow #210, Kruger National Park, January 2024

Skukuza Safari Tent #316, Kruger National Park, January 2024

Cliffhanger Lodge

Leopard Rock Lodge

Recce Lodge

Sunrise at Rietvlei

Camping at Elephant Sands

Elephants drinking from the waterhole in Elephant Sands Lodge

Camping at Domtshetshu Pan

Camping under the stars on Sua Pan

On the horizon lies our campsite on Sua Pan, surrounded by emptiness

Elephant Sands’ Eco Lodge

Campsite #19 at Senyati Safari Camp

Elephants at the waterhole seen from the deck above Senyati’s restaurant

Game-viewing by boat on the Chobe River

Elephants making their way to the Chobe River

Victoria Falls

Lilydale Unit#1, Mokala National Park, June 2024

Sunset Kudu at Mokala

Buffelshoek Safari Camp, Manyeleti Nature Reserve, June 2024

Two of the Kambula Lions at Manyeleti

Simon’s Town Quayside Hotel, Boardwalk Shopping Centre and Bertha’s Restaurant

View from my room at the Simon’s Town Quayside Hotel

African Penguin

Ostriches on the beach at the Cape of Good Hope

Kirstenbosch Spring Annuals Display

Table Mountain cableway

Big old elephant bull between Satara and Olifants in the Kruger National Park

Jamie Mulhovo Guest House, Skukuza, October 2024

Sunset scenery around Skukuza

Research Camp Chalet 5, Skukuza, October 2024

Buffalo at sunset

Research Camp Guest House, Shingwedzi, October 2024

Elephant cow walking past Shingwedzi Camp’s entrance

Gariep N1 Chalets in the Great Karoo

Camping at Karoo National Park, December 2024

Karoo Scenery

Camping at Aloe Canyons

Aloe Canyons

Entrance to Bontebok National Park

Bontebok National Park scenery

De Hoop Vlei

Agulhas Lighthouse

African Penguins on the boardwalk at Betty’s Bay

Camping at Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp in the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park

Wilderness

Camping at Storms River Mouth

Rough seas at the Tsitsikamma coast

Summer Trek – Tsitsikamma, 28 December 2024

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Our final day at Storms River Mouth in the Tsitsikamma was mostly spent hiking around the forest and along the coastline. From tomorrow we’ll be visiting with Marilize’s parents so we will be quiet for the next few days until our travels pick up again early in the New Year.

Tsitsikamma Forest

Storms River Mouth

Tsitsikamma Forest

Rough seas at the Tsitsikamma coast

Summer Trek – Tsitsikamma, 27 December 2024

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Today was one of those days at the seaside where you needed every type of clothing from a sun hat to a rain jacket!

Sunrise at Storms River Mouth

Bar-throated Apalis

Storms River Mouth

Forest Canary

Storms River Mouth

White-breasted Cormorant

Dolphin tricks

Kelp Gull

Sunset at Storms River Mouth

Summer Trek – Tsitsikamma, 26 December 2024

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We’ve moved base again, this time to the Storms River Mouth Rest Camp, in the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park. We’re enjoying a prime view from our seaside campsite.

Our view at Storms River Mouth

Kelp Gull

Our view at Storms River Mouth

Summer Trek – Wilderness, 25 December 2024

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Merry Christmas, Everyone! We had a lovely summer Christmas Day out in nature here at Wilderness. We hope that, if you celebrate the holiday, that you had a blessed time with friends and family too wherever you are.

African Dusky Flycatcher

Egyptian Goose

Knysna Turaco

African Hoopoe

Red-knobbed Coot (photo by Joubert)

Langvlei from Malachite Hide

Dabchick (Little Grebe) on nest

Rainforest Brown butterfly

As yet unidentified butterfly

Three-banded Plover with her eggs

Touw River

Egyptian Goslings

Touw River

Summer Trek – Cango Caves, 24 December 2024

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We spent the morning at the world-renowned Cango Caves near the town of Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo. We’ll be telling and showing you more of the Cango Caves in January.

Botha’s Hall in the Cango Caves

Summer Trek – Wilderness, 23 December 2024

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We’ve arrived safely at our next base – the Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp in the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park – though our initial explorations were severely curtailed by intermittent rain showers.

Wilderness

Summer Trek – Aloe Canyons, 22 December 2024

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Today was our final full day camping on the game farm Aloe Canyons near Swellendam. Tomorrow we’re moving our camp eastwards, to the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park.

Aloe Canyons

Cape Bunting

Eland showjumper (photo by Joubert)

Black-winged Kite

Blue Crane

Black and normal-coloured Impala

Grey-backed Cisticola

Springbok

Eland bull

Southern Tchagra

Grey Climbing Mouse

Nyala

Blue Cranes with chicks

Karoo Prinia

Tiger Moth caterpillar

Nyala bull and kudu cow

Large-billed Lark

Eland bull

Southern Double-banded Sunbird (female)

Eland bull

Eland herd

Summer Trek – Stony Point & Agulhas, 21 December 2024

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A terribly wet and windy morning saw us heading westwards, to the ever popular African Penguin colony at Stony Point Nature Reserve in Betty’s Bay.

Stony Point Nature Reserve, Betty’s Bay

Kelp Gull (photo by Joubert)

African Penguins (photo by Joubert)

African Penguin (photo by Joubert)

Hartlaub’s Gull

African Penguin chick

White-breasted Cormorant

African Penguin

Kelp Gull

African Penguins

Cape Cormorant chicks begging for food (photo by Joubert)

African Penguins

African Penguin chick moulting

Cape Cormorant

African Black Oystercatcher

African Penguins on the boardwalk at Betty’s Bay

Cape Cormorant chicks

Crowned Cormorant

Cape Cormorant feeding chick

Cape Fur Seal tearing a drowned cormorant chick apart

Kelp Gull flying away with a piece of cormorant chick

Crowned Cormorant

Dassie or Rock Hyrax

Kelp Gull feasting on a dead cormorant chick

Egyptian Goose

Later, after a hearty lunch in the hamlet of Baardskeerdersbos, we headed to the Agulhas National Park and Africa’s southernmost point (enjoying it in much better weather than we had at the start of the day!).