We have joined a cruise critic tour today for the park.  There are 8 of us joining together in a van to the park.  When we arrive outside we find we also have another shipmate who is in our group, bringing our total to a nice small 11.  We meet Graeme our guide who directs us to our van, where our driver (whose name I’ve now forgotten) greets us and gets us settled.  We aren’t thinking when we get in first, and take the first row of seats which is where Graeme will sit.  I take the single seat across and Ed has to move back 3 rows – so we are separated for the drive.  I figure we’ll meet up again in the park, assuming we’ll change vehicles, but it turns out we aren’t getting in an open air cantor, we are staying here in the van for the full day.  Oops!  I’m lonely already!

As we drive the hour+ out to the park, Graeme gives us the background on what we will see.  Addo is the 3^rd largest national park in South Africa with 180,000 hectares of marine preserve and 160,000 hectares of terrestrial preserve.  We actually drive past the marine preserve which stretches from the highway over huge white sand dunes out to the coastal waters.  We, of course,  are going to the inland preserve where we will be exploring only 28,000 hectares that are the most accessible to visitors.  The park started in 1931 with only 11 elephants.  Now there are over 700 plus every other animal you can think of including the Big 5 (lion, leopard, cape buffalo, elephant and black rhino).  There are also the Big 2 marine animals, southern right whales and great white sharks, in the marine area.  I think Graeme said this is the only park in SA (maybe the world) where you can see all 7.

Because we are on a private tour with a smaller vehicle, we will enter the park in the south through the Matyholweni gate.  The larger buses from the ship cannot enter here and must go up North, so those folks will only get to explore the northern section of the park.  Yay private tours!  We have a bathroom stop here, then it’s off into the park.  There has been a lot of rain lately which increases our chances of seeing wildlife because the watering holes will be more plentiful. 

We start spotting wildlife right away.  There is a family of skittish wart hogs along the side of the road, then a cape buffalo grazing very close as well.  A second pair of buffaloes lopes down the road in front of us and as we turn the corner and go out into a more open plain section, there is a whole herd of adorable zebras standing alongside, seeming to pose for us.  They are everywhere it seems, and so gorgeous, I could look at them all day.  Their unique and individual patterns are just mesmerizing, and the little babies are just too darn cuddly cute.  Good thing we’re not allowed out of the vehicles or I’d get myself in tons of trouble thinking they are more domesticated than they really are.

Next up, more warthogs at a watering hole, then some Eland which are huge African antelopes with incredible curvy antlers.  More zebras in the distance on another road that bisects the emerald green fields.  Then a male ostrich right next to the van. Males are black in color and when they have red on their legs and tail, they are in heat – which is how this one appears!  They have huge eyes and can see extremely well.  Their eyes can actually be used for cornea transplants in humans.  Who knew?

After driving through a few areas and taking different loops and routes, we finally luck into the main event:  The elephants.  We first spy a little family group with a mama, a little baby about 1 year old and another youth, probably a few years old.  They are calmly walking alongside the road and into the thicket.  So cool.  But that’s not the end.  I talked about zebras everywhere (and they are), there are elephants everywhere!  We see them in the distance, huge brown beasts standing out against the emerald grass and azure skies, walking, grazing, fighting (the young bulls are testing their strengths against each other  Its is just amazing the number of animals we see in such a short period of time.

We also spot herds (I should say hordes) of kudu, which are like our American deer.  These guys are definitely in abundance.  More Eland.  A Bushbock (another antelope).  And a dung beetle, which is huge!  I guess it has to be to be able to push the dung balls around and get them to their nests or wherever they take them.  Driving further north we reach the main Northern section of the park, cross over the boundary road and head to Jack’s picnic area for a bathroom break.  This is a fenced in enclosure with bathrooms and picnic areas where you can get out of your vehicle in relative safety.  It was named after Jack, an elephant, who loved it here and would always come up here.  When he died, they named the area after him.

Going further north, we head toward the Zuurkop lookout point, but on the way find an old bull elephant at a watering hole who looks right at us as if to challenge the van, but who after a few tense minutes decides we aren’t worth the effort and saunters away. Way in the distance, in the watering hole, are egrets and a pair of mating turtles (that would be much better to see if we had binoculars).  We arrive unscathed at the viewpoint and take in the fabulous sight lines across the African landscape.  There are farms in the distance, rolling hills, and the typical African bush all around us.  Plus there is the great photo op with the Beware of Lions sign.  Can’t resist that one!

Heading back down to lower levels, we stop at the Domkrag Dam but see only birds.  We were looking for the rhinos, but they aren’t here right now.  Nonetheless, it is a lovely place to stop and actually get out to stretch your legs and enjoy the great breeze that has kept us cool all morning.  As we are heading to the main lodge for lunch, we stumble upon a close up elephant encounter. There is a herd grazing on the side of the road with a little bitty (well, in elephant terms) baby who come really close to the cars, cross the street in front of us and walk within feet of us as they go back further in the bush.  So cool!  And that baby is so cute and teeny.  It just fits under the mama’s belly, which means it isn’t 1 year old yet.  Probably only a few months. Sweet! 

As we are leaving, I get the quintessential elephant butt shot – 3 elephants in a row feeding away from us – with a youngster on the side.  So awesome!  And we’re only half done with the tour!