Our holiday to the Eastern Cape has come to an end and sadly we bade farewell to our wonderful friends, Jim and Maureen this morning and made our way back to Struisbaai. Thanks J&M for being such amazing friends and sharing your beautiful home with us. Thanks too for the tour guiding around the area. Earl loved seeing all the boats and the birding was great too! We are so privileged to have you in our lives and we look forward to meeting up again soon.
Of course after a stay away there is the unpacking and sorting out to do back home. I am pleased to say that the caravan is cleaned and sorted and the washing is almost done!
My blog post today will be a story about a bird from our holiday.
Hoops the Hoopoe is an impressively handsome bird but even his stunning good looks don’t always get him the attention he craves from Hettie his girlfriend. He needs to find something else to impress her. Not even the Addo Park tourists are looking at him this morning because his friends Elroy and Eliza the baby elephants are making them giggle as they enjoy a lovely messy mud bath at Marion Baree waterhole. Suddenly he spies a fat, juicy worm popping its head up from its dingy hole and instinctively he nabs it with his beak. Now where is Hettie? He calls – Hoop-hoop, hoop-hoop as loudly as he can without opening his beak. Hettie does not appear but all the tourists in their cars are enthralled and he struts about proudly hoop-hooping away and even displaying his handsome crest. But where of where is Hettie – she needs to see this – I want to invite her to lunch! Then suddenly out of nowhere comes a flash of black and a cheeky Fiscal grabs the worm from the puffed up hoopoe. Poor Hoops – he’s lost the girl and the worm!
The weather in Jeffrey’s Bay is stunning. We sat on the deck to have our morning tea and there was no need for a jersey. After a delicious breakfast of fruit salad, muesli and yogurt we set off for to explore St Francis Bay which is not far from J-Bay.
St Francis Bay was first sighted in 1575 by the Portuguese seafarers who named it after the patron saint of sailors. It is a tranquil village with meandering waterways, picturesque thatched houses, abundant birdlife and miles of golden beaches.
We drove past a game farm and saw quite a few species through the electric fence and also did some birding wherever we found ourselves.
Grey Heron
At lunch time we went to a restaurant with a wonderful view of St Francis Harour but unfortunately the food did not match it. Jim had fried hake which left him feeling that he needed something to take the taste away later in the afternoon! The rest of us settled for prawn and salmon salad which was less than mediocre. To make it more interesting they could have added some avocado pear and perhaps mango. The “prawns” were tiny, deep-fried, crumbed shrimps, the taste of which indicated that they were fried in oil that was not too fresh. A rule we usually follow is not to go into a restaurant where there are no diners or where there are people sitting without food in front of them – It’s a clear indication that the food and service are bad! Such a pity because the venue was great.
St Francis Harbour
We visited an interesting shell shop at St Francis Harbour
One of the highlights of our birding today was finding a Kitlitz Plover with a chick. When Mommy saw us she sent her chick into hiding and then scurried away from the spot and drew attention to herself. We sat quietly in the car waiting and then moved a little way off to fool her that we were no longer interested in her baby. It worked and the little one appeared and we were able to get a picture or two.
Mother Kittlitz’s Plover
Don’t even think of coming near my chick!
At last the baby appeared
Kittlitz’s plovers mate for life. Their nest is a scrape in bare, dry ground, sometimes raised on mound in coarse sand or dried mud, mostly < 100 m from water. The female lays between 1 and 3 eggs but usually 2 and both male and female sit on the eggs. Today we saw only one parent and one chick.
Nearby we found another avian couple having a bath together.
White-fronted plovers enjoying a bath in a puddle
White-fronted plover
At tea-time Maureen said she had a craving for chocolate cake so we headed to a lovely bakery and sat down to coffee and the most delicious chocolate cake – well the others did – I virtuously stuck to Rooibos tea and a banting crunchie! It made up for the inferior lunch!
We couldn’t resist going for one last game drive before packing up this morning. I’d heard lions roaring in the night and though we just might be able to find them but that was not to be. We did, though, find two jackals at Ghwarrie Pan and I managed to persuade one to pose.
On our return Early made breakfast and then we packed up and made our way to Jeffrey’s Bay. It’s lovely to be here catching up with our friends Maureen and Jim. Maureen cooked us a delicious Roast Leg of Lamb for dinner tonight and we enjoyed the company of their friend, Errol too.
Yesterday I took some videos of the elephants and I am including them here
Oh what bliss to wake up to a brilliant blue skies and sunshine this morning. The rain is desperately needed in the Western Cape and it was great to hear it during the night, but when camping, one is delighted to have some good weather.
What a pleasure to sit out, listen to the early morning chorus of birdsong and watch the activity on the river while sipping our first cuppa of the day.
A gorgeous morning
A group of young, energetic, American holidaymakers canoeing down the Touw River
A noisy Egyptian Goose greeted us hoping for a tidbit
My wonderful hubby cooked his special scrambled eggs which includes cheese, mushrooms, bacon, banana and baby tomatoes and somehow it tasted extra delicious as it was eaten alfresco.
Gourmet Breakfast at Ebb & Flow
After breakfast we did a marathon walk along the Pied Kingfisher Trail. It was 11ish and already quite hot. It’s beautiful walk not only for the birdlife but also the flora.
We also found a tortoise and a dung beetle in the path.
Dung beetles keep the veld clean as they eat the faeces of herbivores which consists largely of undigested plant matter .
Some dung beetles roll the dung into balls and move it to their nests but others stay near the dung and feed from it there. The dung is also fed to the babies and this is why she lays her eggs in the dung. It sounds disgusting to us but not to a dung beetle!
Although the trail is called the pied kingfisher trail we did not see one. However, we saw a few other birds.
A Karoo Prinia
Levaillant’s Cisticola
Yellow bishop
Reed Cormorant catching some rays
On the last leg of our walk we met a German couple and as we were chatting a little Malachite Kingfisher appeared and we watched it catch insects in the water collected in the gutter on the side of the road.
Although we didn’t get the pied we were delighted to find a Malachite Kingfisher
All morning in camp I’d heard the Black-headed oriole but it insisted in hiding in the foliage. But this afternoon he obliged and posed beautifully for me.
Earl’s feet were hurting after our long walk and he blamed his heavy shoes. We decided to go to George to find a softer pair. After that we went to Victoria Bay and walked along the promenade.
These rocks bore plaques of remembrance possibly for people who love Victoria Bay
Signpost to everywhere
This bay is a surfers’paradise
It has been such a happy day and now we are going to pack up as much as possible the have a sushi supper in George so we can have an early night and leave for Addo at 6 am tomorrow morning. Watch this space for more!
I was not raised in a camping/caravanning family. When I was a little girl my mother told me, “Camping is not a holiday! A holiday is a relaxing stay in a luxurious hotel where everything is done for you. Why would you want to stay in a tent or a caravan with no modern conveniences when you could be more relaxed at home!” That’s why we hardly ever went away on holiday. We couldn’t afford it! I do remember going to The Kruger National Park when I was seven and The Lakes, Wilderness when I was 13. I thoroughly enjoyed both of those holidays! There were odd weekend trips in chalets at odd venues but other than that – no we stayed at home. “After all,” my dad would say – “we live in a holiday resort – the most beautiful place in the world – why would we want to go anywhere else.” And yes – I was content to enjoy the seaside town where I grew up but just because it was the most beautiful place in the entire world didn’t mean that I didn’t want to see other places!
So when I grew up I really had the attitude that camping was not my scene until I went to deepest, darkest Africa which required a 4×4 vehicle and roof-top tent. That was my first introductions to the joys of camping in the wild and I loved it! There is something very special about being in the bush, cooking your food over an open fire and doing your ablutions in inadequate facilities – sometimes even digging a hole for the deed. It’s called ‘communing with nature.’ For a few years we did this on trips to Botswana and some parks in South Africa but then we got soft and decided that air-conditioned chalets were more comfortable – and way more expensive!
Now that we’re retired and want to travel more widely we’ve settled for the cheaper option of an off-road caravan – and I’m so glad we have because it is great! It’s not as rough as roof-top tenting and not as soft as chalets. It’s a happy medium of outdoor cooking and relaxing and sleeping in a dry comfortable bed! If you’ve been following my blogs you will know that we had a great trip to Kgalagadi earlier this year and today we set off on another caravanning trip.
We were up bright and early and left Struisbaai at 6:00 am. An old friend of Earl asked us to meet him for breakfast in Riversdale. They hadn’t seen each other for 4o years and it was great for them to catch up.
Earl and Fred catching up
Travelling the Garden Route is always a pleasure as it is so picturesque. We passed by Little Brak, Great Brak, Mossel Bay, George and finally reached Wilderness and The Garden Route National Park where we are staying at Ebb & Flow Rest Camp. What a beautiful place it is. We set up camp and then went to George to do some shopping.
We are right on the Touw river at Ebb & Flow
Our camp chairs are stored in bags and Earlie thought he’d packed two but the one turned out to be a tripod! So we went to Cape Union Mart to purchase another one. While there we spotted a few things we thought might be useful for our new camping life – like a super bright spotlight torch and electric cool box!
This cool box gives us extra fridge space
I have made some wonderful blogging friends from a many countries around the world and for their benefit I am going to describe the South African Braai. The word braai rhymes with cry. It is the shortened word Braaivleis which means roasted meat. Loosely translated it means Barbeque but a barbeque is not quite the same as a braai!
South Africans use invasive, alien wood to make a fire for their braai. Electric braais and Gas Braais are not considered proper braais. Every campsite in South Africa provides braai places and almost everybody braais when camping. Most South Africans braai at home at least once a week. You can braai almost anything and Fish Braais are quite popular if you catch your own fish. But the most common food braaid is chops and “boerewors” Boerwors is unique in South African. The word means Farmer’s Sausage. It contains 90 percent beef or a mixture of beef, lamb and pork. The other 10% is made up of spices and other ingredients. Not more than 30% of the meat content may be fat. Boerewors may not contain any “mechanically recovered” meat (meat derived through a process where meat and bone are mechanically separated). Potatoes are wrapped in tinfoil and cooked in the coals. Any vegetables can be cooked this way too. A salad also usually accompanies a braai. Some people also make cheese, tomato and onion sandwiches on a braai – so delicious.
There isn’t a South African man alive who can’t do a good braai – It is seldom the domain of the women.
Chops, Wors, Sweet potato (done in tinfoil) and Greek Salad
It was very pleasant here today and we were visited by Helmeted guineafowl.
A pretty but common bird in South Africa
The Egyptian Geese passed nonchalantly by before taking to the water
Fortunately the rain held off until the braai was done but we still managed to eat under the canopy without getting wet and afterwards everything looked clean and fresh.
Hopefully the weather will be sunny tomorrow as we have some great bird walks planned. Watch this space!
The morning dawned bright and sunny and Maureen and I set off at 7 for a walk towards Cape Agulhas – half an hour out and half an hour back. We arrived back to a delicious breakfast cooked by Earl. The wind was coming up so it was decided that a fishing trip was not an option. Instead we set off on another birding adventure. This time we followed the gravel road to Elim then made our way to Gansbaai returning via Buffelsjacht and Die Dam.
Our Route – We left at 10 and returned at 6
We set our goal to 60 birds but hoped to better that.
The first bird of the day was a flying yellow-billed kite and we continued to see plenty of them all day. In the winter our most common bird of prey was a jackal buzzard with just the odd YBK so lovely to see them so active in the area now.
There is a lot of temporary water lying around from the winter rains and this attracts birds but means the permanent water is less productive than usual.
We find a lovely reed cormorant sunning himself near a puddle next to the Elim road.
We pass through the Agulhas National Park and so often see ostriches. Today we found them right on the road.
Mom hurried the chicks along and warned them of the dangers of canned people
Lots of legs and only one head?
Come and help me with this lot, please Dad!
We took a short detour towards the salt pans to find the flamingos and were successful but they were too far for good photographs. On our way back to the Elim road, Maureen yelled – Secretary Bird and we managed to spot two but they ran off very quickly. Mega tick for the day!
We saw a secretary bird just like this but didn’t get the photo! This is from a previous occasion
The birding was good and we soon had quite a long list but mostly we enjoyed just watching the antics of the birds.
yellow-billed ducks trying to hide from us
We also enjoyed spotting the odd mammal
Rheebok are common in Agulhas National Park and on some of the farms in the area
Levaillant’s Cisticola
White-faced ducks are not that common in the area
By the time we arrived in Gansbaai the wind had got up and was blowing strongly. We went to the Great White House for coffee and muffins/croissants. The patio area was sheltered and we enjoyed the sun on our backs and watched the sunbirds, weavers and witogies drinking at the feeder.
Gansbaai is famous for its shark cage diving and whale watching tours. We watched a boat come in and I spoke to one or two of the passengers when they disembarked from the wale watching trip. It had not been pleasant in the very choppy waters and many were sea-sick – but don’t be put off – choose a calm day and the experience can be amazing!
A whale watching boat coming in from a very rough sea
In the harbour
A tractor pulls them out
I find a white-fronted plover scampering about on the harbour wall
We continue exploring the coastline and find some more interesting birds
A little egret find sea fishing productive
Two gorgeous oyster catchers
A hartlaub’s gull in breeding plumage
At Buffelsjacht we spot whales in the bay.
A gull with a mussel
A swift tern takes a bath
The beach at Die Dam
the dune above the beach
It was an exciting day and by the time we got to Die Dam we had over 60 bird species on our list. We were pretty tired but the challenge now was to beat 70 which we had got with Tommy and Megan a few weeks ago. Just when we thought we’d seen all the possibles for one day we had some really fun sightings.
A distant but obliging Denham’s Bustard
Two Caspian Terns
Our national bird posed beautifully in the dam
A green shank
We finally ended up with 72 species which pleased us enormously.
We cooked a Banting Cottage Pie for supper and all opted for an early night!
There is nothing like having visitors to prompt you into visiting places that are all too familiar but still exciting to explore.
Now that we are residing in the picturesque, fishing village of Struisbaai at the tip of Africa and a three hour drive from our former home, Cape Town, we welcome having friends to stay. Last week Tony and Sharon were our guests for a midweek break and what fun we had.
The weather was not perfect but at least the rain held off and it was not too cold. On Wednesday set off to visit Elim 36 km away. Of course we birded on the way there and back!
Blue Crane
Red-billed teal
Elim was established in 1824 by German missionaries as a Moravian mission station. The grew vines in the viticulture suitable terrain so as to produce their own wine for communion. The he missionaries taught the villagers a variety of trades and skills. Thatching was a skill they mastered and to this day Elim thatchers are recruited to from all over the world.
The village is picturesque and has changed little over the years. The thatched whitewashed cottages are typical fo their homes. All the roads in the village lead to the thatch roofed church. The community, still mainly Moravian, consists of farmers, artisans and farmers.
Elim is becoming known for the export of fynbos, and as an emerging area in the production of wine.
We visited the museum which has some fascinating exhibits.
Implements from a bygone age
The waterwheel
We loved this cart with a licence plate!
Typical kitchen from long ago
Sharon showing how lowly she can be
On Thursday, after a delicious “Early” breakfast we set off for the historic town of Swellendam wich was declared a magisterial district in 1743. It was the fourth oldest in South Africa, and was named after Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel who was the first South African born Governor, and his wife, Helena Ten Damme. This outlying settlement was the gateway to the interior, and was visited by many famous explorers and travellers including Francois Le Vaillant a noted ornithologist (1781).
A village was established beyond the Drostdy, where artisans including numerous wainwrights, blacksmiths, coopers and traders settled. Swellendam was the last outpost of Dutch civilisation on the eastern frontier and thus the services of the residents of the town were of utmost importance.
Our first stop after a scenic drive from Struisbaai was The Old Mill Restaurant. We wanted to sit in the garden but it had rained and the seats were wet so we settled for an indoor table and ordered coffee and milk tart. Inside the menu we found a touching trip report written by one of the staff. They had all been taken to The Kruger National Park and surrounds to do a training course. What an amazing experience they had flying for the first time, seeing fascinating wildlife and exploring a part of our land that they’d only dreamed of. And what a lot they learned about their trade too. The piece was written with such warmth and appreciation of every aspect of the experience. It’s worth going to this restaurant just to read it!
Earl and Sharon next to the lovely fireplace
Feeling refreshed we went to the Drosdy Museum and really enjoyed all the exhibits and re-informed ourselves of our South African history.
Sharon emerging from the Cooper’s cottage
Sharon thinks I should crochet a spread like this!
Tony and Sharon in the court room of the original landrost
Earl wants this for his hearse
He says I can have this one
A very old Singer Sewing Machine
At ‘The Whipping Post’ restaurant (It was the old gaol) we found this stunning patio furniture which I fancy having here in Struisbaai!
We spent a good few hours exploring Swellendam and I can recommend it as a destination especially if you have an interest in things historical. There is also a pottey you could visit and we popped into an art gallery too. The exhibits were interesting and if I could choose I would have take this.
The weather was cooling down quite rapidly by the time we left and made our way to The Bontebok National Park. There was not too much to see but we were thrilled that we saw its star performers plus a few other creatures.
Star of the show
And some of his friends
The flora is stunning
Southern Black Korhaan
Back in Struisbaai we popped into the harbour and took a photograph of the stingrays cruising beneath the surface.
Such a beautiful harbour
On Friday Sharon and I made the most of the most glorious morning and walked to Agulhas.
View on our walk
The men met just over an hour later and we did the compulsory standing on the southern tip thing, took a scenic drive to Suiderstrand and then had breakfast at Potpourri.
Our Southernmost Friends
Me with the Agulhas rocks in the background
It was a lovely end to to a brilliant visit with our friends.
Spring really smiled brightly and presented us with a glorious day on Saturday. After breakfast we bade farewell to Barbara and Andrew and packed an overnight bag and made our way to Riverine on the Breede River to visit my sister and brother-in-law who were spending the weekend at their holiday house there.
We arrived at lunchtime and after taking sitting on the jetty and taking in the amazing view of the river we sat on the patio and enjoyed Tana’s delicious chicken salad.
The Breede River
The house
Sisters
After lunch we took a drive to Cape Infanta.
Relaxing together
Brian and Tana
Me, Brian, Tana
The Southern Right Whale blowing a V shape
His fin
More of him
Perfect day for fishing
Lovely place to walk along the sand
Little Egret in the shallows
Earl found this rock kestrel
We passed a farm that had emus!
And a rhebok
A Denham’s Bustard was a highlight
So after this lovely day we returned and Tana cooked us a delicious lamb curry and after chatting we went to bed after 10. We had a late lie in on Sunday before enjoying Brian’s breakfast and then took a long walk around Riverine. Then it was back to Struisbaai!
We hear lions this morning but none appear at the waterhole. We cook breakfast, chat to our neighbours and exchange details then leave for Twee Rivieren.
It is another roller coaster ride over the dunes and the scenery is great. We then take the dune road toward the Nossob – Twee Rivieren road but we have only a few sightings.
Affectionate jackals
A secretary bird
Big herds of Springbok
Ostriches descending rapidly from the ridge of a dune
Gemsbok at a waterhole
It is our grandson, Jay’s eighteenth birthday today. We have had no internet or cell phone coms so are delighted to be able to ring him when we get to Twee Rivieren – the only camp where such luxuries are available.
Happy Birthday, my boy – What’s that you say – You’ve been selected for Western Province Fishing?
Doesn’t Earlybird look cute with my pink iphone on his ear? The exciting news of Jay being selected for Western Province delights him. Watch out Shelly Beach – Here comes Jay!
We spend the afternoon relaxing and have a braai for dinner.
25 June 2015 Twee Rivieren
We set off early and are the first car in the queue. I tell Earlybird he is making a mistake choosing the Mata Mata road as it was very quiet in March and we had had all our good sightings on the Nossob road.
“The fact that we saw nothing yesterday,” I said, “is because it was the wrong time of day.”
I don’t like travelling at 40 km/hr. It is too fast in a game reserve. As we whiz by I see something right on the side of the road and yell, “Stop – lion!”
Earlybird sees it at the same time a skids to a halt. We’ve almost passed a pride of 8. The two males are proudly watching their cubs while the moms cross over to the other side of the road.
We are the only car for half an hour – nobody else comes while we’re there. We move on and alert several others as we pass them. It’s fun to see their bored expressions change when they realise that good a sighting is coming up soon!
Lions are not the only exciting things to see in a game reserve. We are very excited at our next observation.
There was a whole family of meerkats – on the wrong side of the road for good light – and this chap was taking his guard duty very seriously
Gemsbok having a confrontation
Erich’s favourite surveying the world from the top of a dune
Male and female yellow canaries singing sweetly
Marico Flycatcher looking dapper
It was interesting to see this little steenbok digging for roots with its front hooves
I have to take back my words about this being the wrong road to take today – because in addition to our lions and other creatures we have three cheetah sightings
After we have breakfast at Kamqua picnic site we drive on a bit further toward Mata Mata and find some cars parked. They tell us we’ve missed three cheetahs trying to get lunch. Then we see them!
We follow them as they make their way through the bush.
We think they may try to hunt again but instead they lie down under a tree and so we leave them in peace.
Soon after this we spot another cheetah, on her own, sitting up on the ridge. She then walks along the ridge and disappears down the other side.
As we travel on Earlybird stops and says – Look at that gemsbok – We look and see his is standing stock still and staring up onto the dune ridge. We scan with our binoculars and after a few minutes I spot her.
She starts to move towards the springbok and gemsbok. They all move away and the springbok cross to the other side of the road.
We drive up the hill toward Killie Krankie to get a better view. She is patient and does not move for ages.
Eventually we leave as all the animals are aware of her and she won’t hunt today.
As we travel back to TR cars stop us to say they have seen the lions but when we get back to the spot they are no longer there. What a fabulous last day we have had.
I am late for school – again. I rush into the building and race toward where I think my classroom is but I can’t seem to find it. I panic – the girls will be fretting, wondering where I am. They won’t know what to do. Some will be crying – I dash across courtyard after courtyard searching for a familiar room but mine does not appear and there’s a lionroaring really close by. He’s getting closer – I must find my classroom!
A distant voice yells, “Lion! Lion! Get up there’s a lion outside.”
I wake up – it is just the same recurring dream – I am at Gharagab and finally a lion has come calling.
It is 5:15 and it is Earl who alerts me to the lion’s roar. We listen but it does not come again. We check the water hole – no sign of them. Earl gets dressed and sits at the glass door, while I snuggle under the blankets a little longer. When it’s light I get up too. The Schoffls have heard them too and Erich says he heard the first roars far off at 3 earlier this morning. While Earlybird is packing Dawid comes to show him the spoor of two lions going past our cabin – so they were here!
At 7:30 on the dot Earlybird has us in the car and off in search of the cats. We find spoor on the road and just near Dankbaar water hole, Eagle-eye Wendy calls, “what’s that?” and there in the grass sit two beautiful young black-maned lions.
We are delighted that the lions are still in the area and that we found them!
Eagle Eye Wendy spots something again. “Are those ant hills or animals?” she says.
We scan with our binos and at first see nothing then they materialize – 7 very cute suricate a but quite a distance away. How did she spot them!
We are delighted with this lovely sighting and continue to enjoy the steenbok that appear quite often, red hartebeest in playful mood and gemsbok getting their morning exercise by racing across the veld.
It’s a long trip over the desert dunes and much like a rollers coaster ride. We are delighted by the Disco 4’s performance.
We stop at all the waterholes but apart from some bird activity there is little to see.
At Nossob we have brunch at the picnic site.
Upon arrival at Bitterpan we see another CA Land Rover. Another couple arrive just after us – Dave and Jeanette from Hogsback. The land rover owner introduces himself as Lee and we chat for a whole. Later his wife Shannon joins us. The six of us braai together but Dave and Jeanette decide to do their own.
The princess sleeps with earplugs and covers her eyes with a black mask so as not to let in the early morning light so I was surprised to find her up with the sparrows and ready to go! We were out the gate by 7:05 and as we admired the gorgeous sunrise she said, “I’d better take a photograph so I’ll remember what this looks like because I’m never up to see sunrises!”
A sunrise fit for a princess
She is sitting comfortably in the front seat and has warned me not to take photos of her without make-up – but she somehow manages to get it on between sightings – while we’re watching birds I suspect!
We drive around until 10ish finding the usual suspects – warthogs, a variety of buck, zebra play-fighting the odd elephant and lots of birds the highlight being a bar-throated apalis. Two pale chanting goshawks in a tree are also great and of course the bokmakieries are iconic in Addo.
The beautiful bokmakierie
Pale Chanting Goshawk
Denim’s Bustard
Bar-throated Apalis
Back at the hut we shower, the princess tarts up and Earl and I go to the communal kitchen to make breakfast. The princess has specific requests – no tomato and no kidneys please! Dad presents her with eggs, bacon and banana cooked to perfection. We slum it on scrambled eggs and kidneys – somehow I think we got the better deal!
When Her Highness is ready we set off for another game drive. We hear on the grapevine aka the Addo Face Book page that there were two male lions on the Gorah Loop 2 hours ago so we head there without expecting much. There are a few gathered parked on a bend and we see two lions a little way off but fast asleep. We snap a photo just to say that we’ve seen them then move on to enjoy more exciting things.
The King of the Jungle does not interest our royal passenger in this lazy state
Our drive is fruitful and we have fun watching Princess’s favourite creatures, marvelling at the Kudu and eland, amazed at the number of warhogs abound and are thrilled at how plentiful the game is. We spot one jackal but he is no mood to pose for a portrait.
We’re happy for a photo shoot
Mongoose
Zebra confrontation
An elephant tussle
A bum view
We go past the lions once more – still fast asleep and then go back to camp for lunch. The Cattle Baron has edged into the Sanparks. I hope all goes well and that I won’t have to do battle and change their name to the Battle Caron. The service is good. The Princess and the Earl order beef burgers. I settle for a house salad. The latter is stunning. The princess needs to do Battle with Caron. Her burger is inedible – “If I throw it against the wall it will bounce,” she tells the longsuffering waitress. “Let me try the chicken burger instead, please.” This turns out to be just perfect. The chips, too, are done to perfections. The Earl eats his burger but admits it was rather disgusting. “You should stick to Banting,”I say smugly. My salad is full of greens, tomato, avo, cheese and grated egg. Yum!
After a loo break we set straight off for another game drive. It is now 3:30. We head for Gorah Loop and get there around 4 – the lions have not moved – still dead to the world. We see a tail flick slightly so know they are in fact alive. Off we go in search of the ellies. We find lots and enjoy all the other game and birds too. “We should go to the lion sighting at 5,” I say. “They’ll wake up then.”
“They’ll only wake up if buffalo turn up,” says the Princess knowing that this is their favourite food.
So we continue on our way and enjoy the other things to see in this beautiful park.
We find ourselves back at the lion spot just after 5 – but they’re fast asleep. We switch off the engine and wait to see if anything will happen.
Suddenly the Princess yells – The buffalo are here! And sure enough there is a biggish herd, alert and sniffing the air.
What can they smell
They’re aware but are very short sighted and don’t actually see them. A few separate from the rest and begin grazing in the bushes behind the lions. One of the lions sits up,
The other rolls over and lies on his back.
Just let me sleep!
The grazers suddenly realise the lions are there and return to the herd. They regroup and start walking toward the lions. The boys leap up and start running toward the parked cars. The buffs chase after them and see them off. Wow – what an exciting sighting. See the video on Youtube
We follow the lions for some time and marvel at seeing elephants in the background too.
That was a rude awakening!
The gate closes at six and so the whole fleet of us head back to camp.
After packing up for an early departure tomorrow we decide it is too cold to do a braai so The Princess treats us to dinner at The Cattle Baron – they haven’t misbehaved enough to call them Battle Caron.
The Earl orders ribs – The Princess and I have grilled calamari tubes and share a Greek Salad. Perfect! The Earl is not 100% happy with the ribs – the sauce has a very strong taste that is not to his liking – It’s a half portion but he can’t finish it! We chat to the manager about our concerns and he takes it well and says he will investigate what the chef is doing and suggest some amendments to the way he does burgers and ribs! Everything else is perfect.
Addo Elephant park is fabulous. It is teeming with game, Jack’s picnic site is amazing, the facilities are clean and well-maintained and service is good. Next time we plan to visit one of the other rest camps – perhaps Spekbook tented will be fun. It overlooks a waterhole.
Friday 15 May 2015 Addo Elephant to Struisbaai
We left the park at 7:00 am and made our way to the South Gate. We spotted lots of warthogs but not as much game as when we came in. The elephants were there to bid the princess farewell.
We went to our B&B to collect a pack of beers we’d left in the fridge and the headed to Jeffrey’s Bay where we met Jim and Maureen at In Food Bakery for breakfast. It was so good to see them and hear about their wonderful experiences in Etosha and Kgalagadi. Their friend Joy also joined us a little later.
The breakfasts were delicious. I ordered paoched eggs, spinach and salmon which came with a croissant. Hold the croissant I told the waitress. Would you like Banting bread instead, she offered. Banting bread? Well why not – if it’s awful I just won’t eat it. Well it was delicious! One could eat it without butter or jam as it tasted like a savoury loaf on its own. Yummy – Banting certainly is an easy and satisfying diet to follow.
Don’t ask if I’ve lost weight – I don’t think much – I’ve been eating too much – I’m on holiday after all! But I’ve felt good and not at all hungry. I definitely have not put on any weight and I’m really doing this for health and not reduction reasons. But I am hoping the belly fat will miraculously disappear eventually! Even in my sixties I care! The plan is to be stricter about the orange list and the amount we eat when we settle in Struisbaai in July.
We arrived in Struisbaai at 5, unpacked the essentials and made a braai for supper. We watched TV for a bit and then collapsed into bed.
Saturday 16 May 2015 Homeward Bound
Earl did all the things needed at the house this morning and by 10:30 we were on the road for home. We stopped in Bredasdorp to refuel, pay an account and shop for takkies for Laurie. The latter two were unsuccessful as there was load shedding and the municipality didn’t open on Saturdays!
We dropped the Princess off at her flat at 1:15 and we arrived in Sun Valley at 2:00 pm. Another wonderful trip under the belt!
Today is our last full day in the park. We are up at the usual early hour of 5:15 and ready to leave by 6:15. From tomorrow gate opening time moves to 7:00 am.
It is still overcast but the air temperature is warm. We take the Rooiputs Road. Just before Rooiputs Jim and Maureen stop ahead of us. I look to the right and spot one cheetah, then Earl says there is one in the tree – then a second one jumps down from the tree. We watch the three cheetah play and roll and generally get going for the morning. Soon other cars gather and we all jostle for position while watching what the cheetahs will do. Eventually they make their way to the ridge and disappear.
At 7:15 we find a tawny eagle that is very photographable. There is a Lanner in the same tree.
At quarter to eight we find the same two male lions we saw yesterday. They are fat and lazy and do very little but sleep. We wonder where the females are and Earl finds them on a distant dune but they do not make a proper appearance. After watching the more wakeful male do his ablutions we move on as the loo is calling.
At Melkvlei we have a brief loo break then move on to see if we can find the other cheetahs but don’t have any luck so we return to Melkvlei for breakfast.
Later we find one of the males on the move. We hear the first one had already gone over the ridge.
We then make our way back to Twee Rivieren stopping to enjoy the smaller things.
Back at camp, I do the laundry and make sandwiches for lunch. The Pearl Spotted owl is back in our tree and while photographing him I find a brubru as well. Earl takes a nap and I wander around camp to do some birding. When he wakes he joins me. We then go for a short drive to find more birds. We do find a Brant’s Whistling Rat!
Brubru
Groundscraper Thrush
Ground Squirrel emerging from his hole
Brant’s Whistling Rat
Secretary Bird on top of tree
Scaly Feathered Finch
For supper Maureen makes a delicious lamb chop curry. We turn in at 9. Tomorrow we will wake a little later, pack up and leave KTP at about 9.
Diary of an Adventurous Retiree 
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