Today was our first real experience of African big game. Some 100 kms north of Port Elizabeth is Addo Elephant Park. You can drive your own car through the park. So, it was great fun to tour the park at our own pace. We saw elephants, kudu (large deer) and warthogs.
Then jackals, zebra, hartebeest and vervet monkeys.
The park also has lions, black rhinoceros and buffalo. We spent three hours filming and taking photos. At one point an elephant walked across the trach in from of the de Hullu's Landrover.
Just as we were about to leave someone said there were elephants at a water hole next to the park restaurant. Sure enough four adult elephants were drinking at the hole, only a few yards from us.
Watering Hole at Addo Elephant Park
Leaving the park at lunchtime we drove over the Zuursberg pass, a twisting rough track through rugged scenery. Shortly after we returned to tarmac and drove about 200 kms on deserted roads to our overnight stop at the Katberg, a small resort at the end of an extremely muddy track. At one point the road was blocked by a local car being pushed by six or seven people through the mud. A detour over a grass bank, and the help of the locals in providing planks to get over deep ruts, enabled us to bypass the worst section of road. 50 rand changed hands to thank them for their help. My clean car is no more!
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