Addo National Park

Safari Day in Addo National Park. 🦁🐘🐒🐢🐅🐆🦒🐘🦥

Where elephants are the kings, not the lions. (my impression)

Today started early: Our alarm rang at 6:40 AM, right after New Year's. Our destination was the Addo Elephant National Park, the third-largest national park in South Africa. We spent the whole day there and it was worth every minute.

Today, Kathi took the wheel. She carefully drove us over the partly bumpy roads. You drive on asphalt at times, then switch to dirt roads with potholes, all while keeping an eager eye on the bush to make sure not to miss anything.

It's hard to believe when you see the many animals today: When the park was established in 1931, there were only 11 elephants! They were almost extinct because farmers saw them as pests. Thanks to strict protective measures, the population has recovered to over 600 elephants today. The park is even a 'Big 7' conservation area, as it stretches to the coast and theoretically includes whales and great white sharks.

Our luck with lions

Especially exciting was our encounter with the lions. There aren’t that many in the main part of the park (currently estimated at about 10 to 12 individuals). We were incredibly lucky to spot two lions taking a break together.

The scene was almost funny: The 'kings of the animals' didn’t seem very royal when an elephant appeared. The big guy startled the two so much that they quickly took flight. Here in Addo, elephants clearly call the shots.

Our sightings of the day

Besides the lions and the gigantic elephant herds, we put together a proud list:

• Buffalo and zebras

• Various antelopes and ostriches

• Warthogs, meerkats, turtle, and monkeys

• And countless birds chirping everywhere in the trees.

Around noon, we took a pleasant coffee break and a short detour to the park shop.

By around 6 PM, a lovely safari day came to an end. After that, we drove back to the lodge where our ordered dinner was waiting.

Tomorrow we head back towards our next destination, the Tsitsikamma Village right by the national park for our next hike.

PS: This vacation is pretty stressful; I can hardly find time to write the blog and suddenly it’s midnight again. 😅

Internet is partly disastrous!