Addo National Park

Christine and I left the Garden Route and began traveling inland on 28 September.  We were taking three days to travel a picturesque, round-about way to eventually meet up with Christine's family for some camping on the Indian Ocean.  Each night was spent in a different location.

Friday night we arrived in Addo National Park:


This is a nature reserve with lots of elephants and other African wildlife.  Christine still had her new phone at this point and took most of the pictures of the wildlife we saw as we left on Saturday.  The most amazing animals sighting was two male lions in their prime walking up a ravine toward a herd of oblivious zebra grazing on the hill above.  These guys were fat, sleek, beautiful, and intimidating.  We were glad we were a distance away... far enough to get out of the car and spy on them through the binoculars.  When one looked directly at me, I was very relieved to be out of range!

We stayed in a cabin and braaied outside under the large moon.  In the public kitchen, there was a warning sign about feeding the monkeys.  We did not see any here, but I would later get to experience these firsthand while camping.

One picture I wish we still had was of a large sign at the entrance of the park.  I cannot remember the exact wording, but it warned visitors that it was against the law to drive over elephant manure.  Seriously!  Why?  To protect the amazing dung beetles feeding on and brooding in the manure from being crushed.  Later in the Kruger, we would see these amazing creatures in action.

Storms River Videos

While crossing the suspension bridge, we noticed nearby slabs of rock that were straight with sharp edges.  The ocean waves crashed against them, but when the ocean pulled the water back from the rock, the sound was flat and quiet.

After crossing the suspension bridge, we found a field of round rocks smoothed by rubbing against one another.  When the ocean pulled it waves down across the smooth stones, they "sang" a beautiful song I tried to record.  Christine and I enjoyed sitting on this beach and listening to the rocks sing.

Storms River Mouth

Storms River is located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  The river mouth is in the Tsitsikamma National Forest.  Across the span of the river's mouth is a suspension bridge we were able to walk across.  We enjoyed a delightful brunch here, followed by a walk to explore the river's mouth.

This is the mouth of Storms River as it enters the ocean:

These lilies were everywhere:

Christine on the suspension bridge:

The dark looking hole is a large cave full of very large bats!

Driftwood the ocean waves have collected on the beach:

Fresh water springs from the lush forest dribbling into the salty ocean.

Whale Videos

The whales we saw from the highways and boats were humpbacks, Bryde's whales, and southern right whales.  To get an idea of what they really look like, I am including pictures from the internet.  I did NOT take these pictures or draw these diagrams.  Videos are below the pictures.

Bryde's Whale






Humpback Whale

Our group saw a humpback breach just like this one above... only I happened to be looking in the wrong direction and missed it.  Bummer!


Southern Right Whale
There were two of these that we followed in our whale watching boat in Plettenberg Bay.  They come to the surface often to breathe and blow.  How loud it was!  What amazed me was how large these whales were... and we just saw the top part where the blow holes are and their tales.  Massive!



There was no way I could catch a whale in a picture, so I just took videos.  These did not turn out great, but I did manage to capture some tales and blowing to show the kids that I actually did see whales.

Christine looking for whales...

Tsitsikamma Canopy Tours

We sailed (zip-lined, as we call it here) 90 feet above the canopy floor through the Tsitsikamma forest of Outeniqua Yellowwood trees.  What a rush!  Christine's wonderful pics and video of this adventure were lost in our robbery, but I can include just a few I managed to have on my phone.  (I didn't work hard to get photos because we knew we would buy the video... lesson learned!)

Our guide was hysterical and full of pranks.  He was always trying something funny to startle those he felt could take it (a German couple on the tour were not so impressed with his silliness, so he left them alone).  Once he told me to go, and so I jumped, but before I got too far away, he grabbed my harness and held me back, shaking and jostling me as I dangled 90 feet in the air.  He insisted that he hadn't told me to go as he shook me back and forth.  I laughed with delight.  He was always up to tricks which made the trip very entertaining; we never knew what to expect and had to stay on our toes.  The middle pic is of him sailing to us on the last run, hooting and hollering all the way.

Elephant Videos - Part 3

It is evident by the big smiles that Martin loved walking Marula!  He loved her bold personality and the leadership traits she demonstrated.  Marula "adopted" Thandi (who was injured) when she arrived to the facility and never leaves her side; she always stays with her to care for her, and the two are never seen apart.

Snacks such as apples, sweet potatoes, and oranges are fed to the elephants after the walk.

Marula and Thandi take a drink of water before heading out to join the rest of the herd.

Elephant Videos - Part 2

The elephant guides had the elephants demonstrate tricks they can do on command.  I wasn't ready with my video camera and missed capturing Marula kneeling down on one knee.  (I did catch her standing up.)  I was ready for Thandi to blow and the third one to shake her ears (sorry, I cannot remember her name, but she favored children).