Gallery » EUROPE/AFRICA/ MIDDLE EAST » Round the World 2018 - South Africa » Addo Elephant National Park 2018 » Detailed Diary
We reached Addo National Park on Friday, 14 September. We had a long journey with two international flights (Maimi-Sao Paulo; Sao-Paulo-Johannesburg) followed by a short flight to Port Elizabeth. On this our first visit to Port Elizabeth, we spent the night at The Windermere, a lovely boutique property located in the Humewood District of town. The following morning we drove to the nearby Waterfront Spar/Tops to pick up food, wine and liquor for our six night stay at Nyathi Camp in Addo National Park.
The drive to Addo was primarily on the N2 expressway. We wanted to enter the Park at the Matylholweni Gate so that we could drive through the Park to reach Addo Rest Camp, our check-in point before proceeding to the gated Nyathi Camp. The main north/south road is not paved in the south so we had to take our time there. However, the primary road is paved in the north so we decided to take a few of the shorter loop roads in hopes of seeing more game. It definitely paid off as the loop roads were dirt roads into open spaces. Interestingly, the “meet and greet” team here in Addo is Warthogs. We’ve never seen so many Warthogs! They are like Impala in the Kruger meaning they are everywhere! We saw lots of game – including one Bull Elephant that went charging down a paved road. Thankfully it calmed down by the time it reached the paved road we were driving on and we were able to get some photographs.
We made it to Addo Rest Camp at ~2PM. The place was crazy due to several buses dropping off school children for their lunch. The buses were the problem; not the kids as the buses entered through the wrong road and caused traffic chaos. After we finally got through the area, we left our car well outside the Camp and walked to check-in. At check-in, we received directions to our outlying camp as well as an opener for the gate at the Camp. We had to pass through two other gates but those were manned by security personnel who confirmed our reservation and allowed us to pass. At the final gate, we were told we had six kilometers to drive to reach camp. What great fun – 6km of private road only used by the 11 chalets at Nyathi Camp. So, we took our time and enjoyed watching the game (and, yes, those multitudes of Warthogs). When we arrived at camp, we had unit no. 7 which was so beautiful. We had to take photographs before unpacking all our things for our six night stay. Then, we had a quick visit to the waterhole on foot. Lastly, it was time for a quick dinner and lots of rest.
Saturday, 15 September: We enjoyed a late morning as we didn’t leave Nyathi until about 8:30A. The female attendant at Nyathi told us to be on the look-out for a Rhino (no luck seeing it today but we’ll keep trying). We did find a large herd of Eland on the way out. These are huge antelope. Also, there were lots of Kudo (female and male) before we reached the gate giving us access back to the main park.
In the main park, we decided to take lots of loop roads in the northeast section of the camp. We enjoyed some nice viewings and a few interesting ones such as seeing two different Tortoises – one huge and the other very small. We also saw a pair of Black-backed Jackals – a real treat! We came upon another pair of Ostrich and this pair was in the north while the first pair we viewed was in the south. Again, we had an enjoyable day of game viewing.
Sunday, 16 September: Again, we enjoyed great private game viewing in the Nyathi area. Our first encounter was two Buffalo (by the way, in the Zulu language Nyathi means Buffalo), the male “retired generals” who are no longer part of a herd. It was a great sight. Then, Ed managed to snap a lovely bird, the African Hoopoe. As we continued, we came upon a group of Baboons as well as another herd of Eland – very special indeed. Once inside Addo, we first went to Domkrag Dam to see the birds there. Afterwards, we decided to explore the northwestern side of the park. In particular, we set targets of seeing Rooidam and Hapoor Dam. It turned out to be an excellent decision as we found “Elephant Land”. At our first Elephant encounter, we parked the car to the side of the road and enjoyed seeing a large group of females and young grazing nearby. They were so close – so amazingly close. We enjoyed every moment. Our second Elephant encounter with seeing a collared male Elephant. He was relatively calm which allowed us to take some nice photographs.
Our third Elephant encounter was again with a lone male. He was a bit more anxious so we only took a few photographs so that we wouldn’t bother him. Our fourth Elephant encounter was another group of females with young. Again, we were able to turn off the car and simply enjoy them grazing and relaxing. Our fifth Elephant encounter was seeing a group of three males at the Hapoor Dam. They had finished drinking but we still got to enjoy these huge creatures.
In addition to our Elephant encounters, we saw the “usual suspects” like Zebra, Kudu and Warthogs (everywhere there are Warthogs). At 5:00P we took a drive on the 6km road through Nyathi. Again, we saw the “usual suspects” but we also found two male Elephants. They were grazing not too far from the road. The most interesting thing that occurred with these guys was watching one Elephant eat will perched on its hind knees; a very interesting posture indeed! We stayed with them until it was time to leave to be back in the locked Nyathi Camp by 6:00P.
Monday, September 17: We were out early as we decided to go explore the southwestern section of the main park. We didn’t take any photographs in the Nyathi region. Soon after we entered the Addo region, we found a lovely Black-headed Heron. These are rare birds so it was a real treat to sit beside it and take photographs. It is a truly stunning bird!
It was definitely an Elephant encounter day (as the Park name attests). Our first Ellie was a youngster at a waterhole. The second and third Ellies were lone males. Interestingly, we saw another Tortoise in this area of Addo. What was amazing about the southwest was seeing the views of the sand dunes and the sea; amazing! Later in our drive we spotted an Ostrich pair displaying a ritual courtship before ultimately mating. Again, Elephant encounters were abundant. We also saw a lovely Red Hartebeest as well as Kudu that were very close.
As we continued to make our way back north, we saw more Tortoises; they are definitely abundant here. We also came across a group of Baboons. We were able to photograph a Chanting Goshawk, a real treat! On final sighting was seeing a lone male Elephant displaying that “fifth leg”. We definitely gave him lots of space. We made our way back to Nyathi and were back in camp before the 6:00P deadline.
Tuesday, 18 September: We left the Nyathi area and it was quiet. So, we crossed into the main park and our gaming began near Hapoor Dam where there were lots of Ellies. We then headed to the southwest of the park. We saw a lone Buffalo at a waterhole. We then drove Harvey’s Loop where we encountered a huge Tusker with a hole in its ear. Again, we saw more Buffalo. Perhaps one of the more beautiful sightings was a group of Red Hartebeest with sand dunes & the sea as the background.
We returned back to the Nyathi Rest Camp and took a break before enjoying a game drive in this private area of Addo. We were so lucky on this drive. We saw Elands, Baboons, a Tortoise and Kudus. We also saw Red Hartebeest. However, the “icing on the cake” was seeing the Black Rhino that had been newly released in this area. Wow, what a treat! We definitely enjoyed a “clink, clink” when back in our abode after enjoying that final sighting!
Wednesday, 19 September: We woke up to a gray, dreary day. King, a camp staff member, stopped by to make sure we saw the nearby Buffalo. He warned us it would likely rain and gaming would be difficult. So true as there were no Warthogs as we left Nyathi. We stopped by dam where we saw a Brown Hyena running. Our only photo was it running away from us. Shortly afterwards, it began to rain. We went to Rooidam and there was no action at all. Ultimately we drove to the interpretative Center and viewed information there. It continued to rain so we returned to camp at 1:00P.
It was still dreary in the afternoon but we decided to take a run out at 4:30P. It was very, very quiet but it was still a worthwhile drive. Our first sighting was a group of Ostrich near a group of Zebra. There were five Ostrich in total – three males and two females. We watched as one of the males chased another away; obviously vying for the females. It was still dreary and very cold. Our only other sighting was a group of five Buffalo – two males and three females. Afterwards it was time to return to our cozy home and enjoy our final evening at Nyathi.
Thursday, 20 September: We left camp at about 9:00A after packing and dressing in civilized travel clothing. We said goodbye to camp staff. On our private road out, we once again saw a Buffalo. Once in the main Addo area, we stopped by the dam and chatted with a female birdwatcher. She explained that what we had originally thought was a White-headed Duck was a Red-knobbed Coot. She also confirmed that we were shooting photographs of a Grey Heron. Afterwards it was time to return our gate opener at the Main Camp Reception and begin our drive to Port Elizabeth out the main gate.
The drive back was uneventful except that the R342 was a terrible road with no shoulders and lots of drivers going too fast. Once we reached Port Elizabeth (~72 km) the road vastly improved and we eventually were on the N2 which we had taken out when we went to the Park’s south entrance. We followed the signs to the airport and returned our car at 11:00A. Thankfully, the BA/Commair Desk was open and we were able to check-in and relax in the Premier Lounge until our flight departed for Johannesburg. We enjoyed the short flight back and then walked over to the InterContinental for the night. It was nice to be welcomed as family by the front desk personnel (Neruska), the Concierge (Manuela) and our porter (Miza). We took a short time to repack so that we could leave two bags at the hotel and only travel to Kruger Park with one bag and one soft bag. Then, we relaxed and were in bed by 10P in anticipation of a 10A flight the following morning to Skukuza.
