Return visit to Addo Elephant National Park

More than just elephants, but they do steel the show.

Yes, I’ve been to Addo Elephant National Park before, however, it IS one of my South African favorites.  And I Love to visit the game parks because who could ever get tired of seeing wild animals in their natural environment.

But you have to get up early for the best viewing which isn’t easy for me yet well worth it.

Sometimes we’d follow the elephants down the road, or they’d follow us like in Kruger National Park.

It’s not always about the Big game either as there’s plenty more to see.  Like the cute little striped mouse in yesterday’s post.  Rock monitor about 6 feet long.  Zebra agate snail.  Two dung beetles pushing a dung ball.

Plus so many birds:  yellow-billed kite, black-necked heron, ostrich, Egyptian goose, mousebird and jackal buzzard.

Elephants of all sizes.  Every day by the Hapoor Dam we saw elephants.  Usually lots and lots of elephants.  One day Joan counted 130 elephants, and that was only the ones she could clearly see.

Of course it’s always nice to see big animals as well, especially if not seen in every park visited like the Eland.

Then there’s many of the usually seen:  a very muddy buffalo, black-back jackal, red hartebeest and warthog that outnumber the elephants.

Did I mention the elephants?  One group would come to the water, drink, splash and play, then move off and another group would come in.  Rinse and repeat.  One huge male seemed to preside over the dam a couple different days.

They do share the waterholes with others.

Some find the hyena repulsive but I think them rather cute, especially the youngsters.  Was thinking of getting a hyena tattoo of one peaking over my shoulder.  What do you think?

Can you tell how deep the water is?

Zebras seen from the underground bird hide gives a different perspective.

They walk right between the vehicles, and sometimes get very close.  But the Addo elephants are a relaxed and friendly lot, or so Joan says.  One actually sniffed the back of Joan’s truck and I swear left a trunk print.  Maybe it smelled the ripening bananas in back.

In fact sometimes the animals come quite close.  Maybe even a little too close.  I think this hyena took a sniff of me through the open window.  And let me tell you, they stink from rolling in carrion.

Sometimes the elephants are quite comical like this one that must have spent several minutes trying to figure where to put its foot because this little stump was in the way.  Not like it’s easy to look straight down past all that trunk when your eyes are on the sides of your head.

Everyone wants to see lions.  Although there’s not an over abundance of lions in Addo with only 12 reintroduced starting in the early 2000s more will be born.  But we did get lucky and saw this collared gal sleeping along the road.

I’ve heard said that eyes are the window to the soul and was trying to look into an elephants eye but their eyelashes are so long it’s not easy to do.

We camped in the park four days, five nights with electric and spotty internet.  I’ll make a return visit to Addo Elephant National Park every time I go to South Africa.  I just can’t seem to get enough of the elephants.

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