Category Archives: Eastern Cape Province

Summertide Diary: Spending time with hungry elephants

I can’t think of another reserve in South Africa where the elephants are quite so relaxed around humans and their vehicles as they are in the Addo Elephant National Park. Of course this allows visitors to observe up close just how dexterously elephants use their trunks – and feet! – to uproot even tiny morsels of tasty plants.

Marveling at the skill of an elephant uprooting plants to feed on

Summertide Diary: Arriving at Addo

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27 December 2020

After spending a lovely three days over Christmas at home with Marilize’s parents, whom we haven’t seen in person since they retired to Jeffreys Bay 15 months ago, we all headed together to the Addo Elephant National Park‘s Matyholweni Gate, just an hour’s drive away, for a four night visit to this very special place.

It takes a few hours of leisurely driving to travel through the Park from Matyholweni to the Main Camp where we were booked to stay, and this of course means there’s wonderful sightseeing, bird-watching and game-viewing along the way! Jack’s Picnic Spot, just a little over halfway, is a great place to stretch tired legs while enjoying visits from all kinds of birds and other small creatures at your picnic table.

Steppe Buzzard (photo by Joubert)

Fiscal Flycatcher

Plains Zebra stallion close-up (photo by Joubert)

Playful Plains Zebra stallion

Scenic road snaking through Addo Elephant National Park

Yellow Mongoose

European Roller

Yellow Pansy butterfly

Jackal Buzzard

Looking out over Addo Elephant National Park to Algoa Bay in the background

Brown-veined White butterfly

Cape Weaver female

Big elephant bull being very protective of a youngster at the Marion Baree waterhole

Sombre Greenbul at Jack’s Picnic Spot

Speckled Mousebird at Jack’s Picnic Spot

Albany, or Striped, Sandveld Lizard at Jack’s Picnic Spot

Karoo Prinia at Jack’s Picnic Spot

The future is secure for Addo’s elephants

One of the elephants that Addo is famous for

In the afternoon, and after getting settled into our comfortable chalet, we have a little time to take a drive along a few loop roads close to camp before the gates close.

Family Chalet 16 at Addo Main Rest Camp

Cape Bulbul coming to welcome us at our cottage

Red-throated Wryneck

Juvenile Black-winged Stilt at Rooidam

An Eland, our biggest antelope

One of the elephants that Addo is famous for

If you’d like to learn more about the Addo Elephant National Park’s history and all it has to offer visitors, why not have a read through this post we compiled after our previous visit? And to follow along on our travels through Addo, you might find this map (from the SANParks website) most handy.Addo map from https://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/tourism/map.php

Summertide Rambles 3 January 2021

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Sadly that horrible day arrived when we had to depart for home. Thankfully, as we were on our way to the Park’s gate this morning, Mountain Zebra National Park sent a delegation of buffalo to wish us well on our journey .

Summertide Rambles 2 January 2021

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This morning we were treated to a very special audience with the King of the Mountain Zebra National Park at his residence on the Rooiplaat loop road.

Male lion at Mountain Zebra National Park

Summertide Rambles 1 January 2021

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Happy New Year, everyone!

We kicked off 2021 by spending time with the most adorable family of Bat-eared Foxes here at Mountain Zebra National Park. We have lots more photos of the 3 cute pups and the 4 adults watching over them to share when we’re back home.

Summertide Rambles 31 December 2020

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This morning it was a sad farewell to Marilize’s parents who joined us for the 4 nights we spent at Addo Elephant National Park. They headed home to Jeffreys Bay while we travelled in the opposite direction to the final stop of our 2020 summertide ramble – the beautiful Mountain Zebra National Park (please click on the image for a clearer view).

Summertide Rambles 30 December 2020

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We spent a lot of time today at the various waterholes in the Addo Elephant National Park. Thanks to the summer heat they were all occupied by herds of elephants, whose antics are always fun to watch!

Summertide Rambles 29 December 2020

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During our drive through the Addo Elephant Park this morning we were fortunate to encounter this confrontation between an elephant bull and two spotted hyenas who were trying to hide the remains of their prey in a water trough.

Spotted Hyena and Buffalo prey

Time to fight about who gets the lion’s share

Elephant locked onto target!

Summertide Rambles 28 December 2020

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With it being a rather hot day in the Addo Elephant National Park today another of the Park’s star attractions – the Addo Flightless Dung Beetle – were out in their numbers gathering food for their progeny.

Addo Flightless Dung Beetle

Summertide Rambles 27 December 2020

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After three wonderful days lazing around Jeffreys Bay we’re back to our 2020 summertide ramble through some of our favourite national parks. Today, we arrived at the Addo Elephant National Park and already had incredible encounters with the grey behemoths.