Multi generations of elephants make up this herd of mostly females crossing a river to access grasses on the bank for breakfast in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Elephants have an ordered social structure where herds of closely related females with their offspring follow the dominant matriarchal cow. Adult males join the herd when a female is in heat. Adolescent males leave the herd to form small bachelor groups or travel alone at about age 14.
Lion at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 3-19-14
Sorry, I just had to do it. What with traveling, having fun and sometimes limited internet access the last three months I just haven’t had time. I’ve really missed reading your every blog post and tried to catch up. But it just won’t work. There aren’t enough hours in a day, or my life. 978 unread posts put my blog reader on overload. And my brain. So I hit the button “mark all as read” and am starting over.
Rhinos at Pilanesberg Game Reserve 3-30-14
After 10 days at Pilanesberg Game Reserve Joan and I left Sunday morning and headed towards Johannesburg. We’ll be camping not far out of town at Roodeplaat Dam for two nights. We’ve come full circle as this is where we spent our first night upon my arrival in South Africa. We traveled about 5,000 miles and visited 10 South African National Parks.
Giraffe at Kruger National Park 2-14-14
I fly out Tuesday night at 8:25 pm South African time. Then land at JFK at 6:40am Wednesday Eastern time and have a four hour layover. Finally back in Phoenix at 12:49 pm Mountain time (in Arizona that’s without daylight savings) then have a two hour shuttle ride to Prescott where my dear friend Berta picks me up and a one hour drive home. I’m sure to be hyped up and totally exhausted at the same time.
Leopard at Pilanesberg Game Reserve 3-30-14
I’m sorry to be leaving but am anxiously awaiting my own bed, toilet, shower, espresso maker and more. Three months of tent camping is wearing on me. It’s been an amazing journey and Joan and I have had a wonderful time. And we didn’t even kill each other. In fact we are already making plans for next year’s visit. I know we’ll miss each other even as we look forward to having our personal spaces back.
Elephants at Addo National Park 3-8-14
Then I have a ‘to do’ list a mile long. Replenish groceries, eye glasses readjusted as they won’t fold anymore, truck needs an oil change, cameras must be cleaned professionally, try to recover photos from SD cards without paying a fortune, file an insurance claim on the stolen computer as they wouldn’t do it by email, and buy yet another computer but this time thinking a desk top with a nice big screen. (I’m open to suggestions on the last one.)
And in two weeks from my return I head back to the North Rim of Grand Canyon to prepare for the May 15th opening for 2014. But I still have a lot of posts to write about this amazing journey of a South African diversity Eco Tour.
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.