Our Great African Adventure - Garden Route Section days 16 to 20

The unspoilt Nature's Valley

The Garden Route: day 16

We started today going for a play in the waves, they weren’t as exciting as the previous time, but it was a lovely way to start the morning. This was followed by a long drive, 4 hours, to Addo just outside Addo Elephant National Park, which is long for us, particularly as we didn’t feel particularly secure on the last 45 minutes of road. 

We stopped on the way at the beautiful seaside location of Nature's Valley (location: 33°58'52.2"S 23°34'04.5"E), where the Groot River forms a big lagoon

Snack break on our Addo Game Drive with Roche

where it meets the Indian Ocean in an unspoilt valley. Lunch stop was after a long drive along the N2, over Storms River, at Jeffreys Bay (location: 34°03'19.1"S 24°55'27.4"E), surfing capital of the world apparently (but not on the day we were there).

We’d driven down some of it on the Exodus trip and had been warned by Chantel that there may be demonstrations and we might have to divert. We were fine then, and fortunately fine now as we hadn’t realised that was where we were going, but there was evidence of fires and blockades on the road. Then there was a sign warning of carjackings and thefts, and then

Pauline & Jackie enjoying a swim at Silos Guesthouse

lots of litter blown from two townships and a general feeling of unease. Safely however we arrived at Addo to find it wasn’t really a town, which wasn’t a problem in itself as we knew the B&B was on a citrus farm (location: Silos Guesthouse). It was a beautiful looking place with a very inviting looking pool, which we all went in, as it was very hot. This was the main cause of our disappointment with the place though, the heat not the pool, in the “2 bedroom apartment” only one of the rooms had air conditioning, the one with beds made for two. The other room had twin beds but only one made up. (Did she think we were going to smuggle someone else in?) 

Baby warthogs learning to fight

After mum had a terrible nights sleep we asked for the other bed to be made up to give us sleeping options. This however was obviously a problem, the beds were changed but this time only one made up in the room with AC! Still no flexibility then, AND our hostess had taken the hump!

The Garden Route: day 17

We’d booked a game drive through Addo with the guest house vehicle and driver, Roché was lovely, knowledgeable, friendly and entertaining. He warned us it was going to be a hot one, which we already knew, and he was right.

A queue of zebra

The wind which was quite strong at times was like a hairdryer on hot, or what it feels like when you open the oven when cooking a roast. Unbelievable.

We saw lots of zebra, and then, hogging a waterhole, lots of elephants. Other waterholes had buffalo just sitting in them and then finally a group of about 50 elephants at a hole. It was an amazing sight. The group included the third set of twins ever to have been born at Addo, in September last year, still very tiny and very cute.

Our tally of new animals for mum was added to with a jackal, a green tree snake and many warthogs. Sadly no giraffes, there aren’t any as there is no record of there ever having been any. A great day but so, so hot, into the 40’s left us all wilting. A storm had been suggested which never really happened but the wind did change direction and it did rain overnight.

Here's our game drives in Addo & one in Amakhala Game Reserves

The Garden Route: day 18

Elephants with twin babies in Addo

Amakhala private game reserve was our final ‘proper’ destination. Only an hour by the most direct route, we managed to take 4 1/2 by taking ourselves back through Addo. What a difference a day makes, it was slightly overcast and low 20’s which made for a pleasant drive. We saw giraffes before we entered the park, in a reserve next door, which was a bit of a surprise. We then saw very few zebra and it took over 2 hours to find our first elephant. We did see a lion, sort of, having been given the heads up by Roché as we passed him out with more clients. We were pleased with our drive, but how very different from the previous day.

Part of the herd of at least 50 elephants at a waterhole in Addo on a very hot day

A fabulous African scene

Leeuwenbosch Country House is our bit of luxury, it is a beautiful, but slightly run down, old colonial house. We are in a room Prince Harry stayed in a few years ago and love the feel of the place. The staff can’t do enough for you and yet are friendly not obsequious (location: Leeuwenbosch Country House).

High tea was served at 14.30 before our first game drive at 16.00. We entered the park and immediately hit ‘giraffe alley’ they were everywhere. Fabulous. Many warthogs, rhino in the distance and two lionesses. We stopped for a ‘sundowner’ G&T and snacks

A buffalo cooling off under a hot African sun

overlooking a fabulous view before returning to the lodge. Then to ‘Bill’s bar for pre-dinner drinks followed by a lovely 3 course dinner. Bill and Rose were in the bar, they started the reserve 25 years ago, changing the land from beef and sheep farming to a wildlife reserve to the amazement of their neighbours and employees. It’s a great story.

The Garden Route: day 19

Light breakfast at 05.30, first drive at 06.00. Oubiet our guide an amazing man, full of passion, at home chatting to us, and knowing all the animals in German for our other 4 guests. We saw big cats with legs, actually moving, not just lying under a bush. Two lionesses and two cheetah brothers. The lionesses were funny, mother and daughter, with the daughter giving mum a little bounce before getting so irritated by the jackal that was running around yipping she gave him a little chase. The cheetahs were also on the move, so beautiful to see. The eyes and ears of a hippo and then a mum and baby rhino made us all coo as did the just less than 20 elephants travelling over the hill. Then the light mizzle turned to rain and we returned to the lodge for brunch!

This is a black headed heron. Apparently they eat anything they can catch. this one had just caught a lizzard, if you click on the photo and zoom in on his mouth you can just make out the back legs and tail poking out of its beak. A moment later and it was gone

4 hours till our next feeding was spent very comfortably relaxing as the weather cleared up and our German friends left. No new guests so a private game drive. Feeling we’ve seen most things we told Oubiet not to rush so it became almost a walking safari in the jeep, lovely, beetles, plants, birds, and still a cheetah looking very grumpy. He could see the kill, he could smell the kill but sadly he couldn’t eat the kill. It belonged to a cheetah from Shamwari, the neighbouring reserve, who was lying there looking very fat! Sundowner, drinks and dinner followed the same delightful pattern.

This tree is a Acacia Karoo or sweet thorn tree and there's a few interesting things about it. See those very big thorns near the top? They were injected with a growth hormone by a wasp that then lays an egg inside to act as an incubator for its young. Later ants crawl into the hole created by the wasp and live in them. If a browsing animal (giraffe, elephant) starts to nibble at the tree the ants come out to attack in a symbiotic relationship. The trees second line of defence is that once an animal starts nibbling its leaves it creates tannin which surges through the tree to put off animals, at the same time it sends off a scent to nearby similar trees that causes them to raise their tannin levels too. The giraffes counter to this is to always browse up wind of the tree, so the scent blows to trees in the opposite direction to the way its eating so no early alert is received by the trees it nibbles. How very cunning!  

The Garden Route: day 20

Our fabulous room at Leeuwenbosch Country House

Same routine, different animals. The lionesses in a similar place to yesterday, but today having killed a warthog. They had just left it when we arrived and were having a drink from a puddle before relaxing to digest in the shade. The noisy jackal from yesterday was quiet today as we’d been told, he yips about if predators are present, as a warning, but is quiet if they have a kill in case he can sneak in and help himself. We watched him do just that, running off with a leg which he hid behind a bush under the watchful eye of the lionesses. We drove round to be closer to him and watched him bury a small piece before having a go at the stomach. This was tolerated by the lions but when he moved to the main body (some distance from the head which had appeared to be the ‘big’ bit) one of them leisurely came back sending him scampering off into the distance! Fantastic bit of ‘real life’ to see. No rain today so a stop for coffee and muffins before passing the cheetah brothers, relaxing under a bush but so close to a huge group of impala we feel there will be one less before the end of the day!

Here's another Youtube video in Amakhala Game Reserve we recorded this morning of two lionesses immediately after they killed a warthog:


Oubiet has suggested a night drive for us tonight but with new guests arriving today we are not sure of the logistics, but either way, we have one more drive today and one more tomorrow.

Here's the grumpy cheetah in Amakhala that couldn't reach the kill made by his brother in the adjoining game park

Jackie watches him through binoculars. If you click on the photo and zoom in you'll see him

And here's the successful, very content and full cheetah

Here's his kill, a Kudu, just the other side of the fence to our cheetah

Then he rolled over and we could see the size of his tummy!

Here's another African scene, Red Hartebeest with an elephant behind

A nice scene here, but look closely, there's danger for those Kudu in front of the bushes at the back. Underneath the nearer bush in this photo are two cheetah relaxing. If one of those comes too close they could be history!

Ouboet, our guide in Amakhala telling us about these bones of a male giraffe that lost a fight with another giraffe last June

A gemsbok

Warthogs and zebra living side-by-side. Warthogs quite often go down onto their elbows to feed

I like this photo of a baby zebra with its mum

We saw giraffes, lots of giraffes

And this is how they reach down to drink water

Did we mention rhinos? Here's a mum and baby white rhino with glossy blue starlings by each. They like to stay close as rhinos disturb the soil and expose insects and grubs they can feed on

Baby rhino having a drink from mum

Here's a couple of birds on the back of a rhino. Think they might be Oxpeckers

We saw big herds of buffalo and, in this photo is another red billed oxpecker sitting on one

Setting off this morning at sunrise for our fourth (of six) game drive with Ouboet at the wheel

Long shadows in the morning light

And early morning views down into the valley below. There's actually three rhino walking across the grass down there, but we could only pick them out through binoculars

Stopping for our morning coffee and cake. Its a fabulous way of life!

And suddenly round a corner is a giraffe browsing a tree

Here's a yellow mongoose

A howling black backed Jackal

A lioness trotting straight towards us

But lucky for us strode right past us

This baby zebra is less than a week old

A couple of Wildebeest

An Eland

A baby vervet monkey playing in a tree

And then two more popped their heads over the top to see what was going on

Rhino footprints

OK, so here's a few birds, lets see how many I can get right...A hoopoe

Slightly blurred photo but he had a fabulous song that he was in the middle of. Its possibly a Bokmakierie

Now here's a problem.....we think an ant eating chat

Might have to come back to this one! Found it, it's a Red Necked Spurfowl

We have a few more bird photos but we're not going to disgrace ourselves any more. This tree is a Spekboom also known as Pork Bush and Elephants food. Elephants love its juicy leaves and we can eat them too. It tastes slightly sour, a bit like a kiwi fruit. Its got some medicinal properties, its apparently a good hangover cure and its a mild laxative