Places of Interest - South Africa

"addo" national park

introduction

The park is located about 5 km from the entrance of the hostel and a quarter of an hour later we drive under the first gate through the buffer area. I was lucky again - yesterday I hitchhiked from "Graaff Reinet" and got picked up by a guy who took me all the way to the entrance of the hostel. In the afternoon I got into conversation with an Australian girl and a boy from Tanzania and invited me on a half day safari in their car to the Addo park. Now we drive into the entrance. There is a second complex where you have to register and here you can pay the entrance fee. It is 7:45 am when we enter the actual park and we are excited.

the northern part

The first thing that strikes me entering the park is that I don’t see actual jungle and/or tall trees with high bushes. The bush is very low and dense and it’s very hard to spot anything like this. We drive over an asphalt road and ofcourse we asked at the entrance if they spotted any cheetahs or lions anywhere this morning. You have to be at "Acid Head" said the old man and we look for it on the map we have received from reception. Here the asphalt changed into gravel and it turns out that we are driving up a hill. We drive through Woodsland. A beautiful view is our part that reaches all the way to the Indian Ocean where we see foam heads on the water, a small island off the coast and a yellow sandy beach. Just before this a sea of greeneryq, but also parts that are quite open with grass and a water hole.

While we drive a semi-loop around the "Cadawn Lookout Point" it shows again that spotting animals here is going to be very difficult. The couple, who aren’t really a couple, doesn’t really help either. The boy should be looking to his left instead of straight ahead and they argue more about a flight back then to pay attention for wild life. We see small animals and a number of hartebeast, but large animals are missing altogether. The only thing we really encounter is one after the other warthog that we have also seen in Kruger. A little disappointed we take the "Mpunzi" loop where we suddenly see an ostrich head above the green. With the map we determine that we might be better off in the southern part where it is more open. We cross a large road and arrive in the southern part of the park.

the Southern part

First thing we do is to drive up the big "Harvey" loop what works out well. After again numerous warthogs we meet the first lonely elephant on a large open field. Once a considerable herd of elephants roamed in the Eastern Cape - man would kill the whole group except for eleven ones. Here in Addo you can see the offspring of the herd. There are more than 450 at present. Here you have a beautiful view of the ocean below and suddenly we see another elephant walking. We also see zebras, more warthogs and some impala's but there are not many. We drive first the Mbotyi and Ngulube loop. Here a big orange elephant comes our way. Now we know why the hostel is so named because it is really true - this large one has washed itself beautifully in the dust and is really completely orange. After seeing another elephant we almost ride over a turtle that wants to cross the road. A lizard also wants to cross the road but quickly returns. I would love to see a cheetah or lion, but I think I have to give up that idea. Because the time is already there we decide to drive back (we have also seen everything in the south - roadswise) to the northern part. So the park is apparently not that big, but there seem to be plans to double the water and land area to enlarge it significantly. I ask if there is some time left for the couple to make an extra drive through the "Mbabala" loop but we see nothing special we haven’t spot before. We pass a camp, picnic area and very dense bushes where spotting is almost impossible. We decide to leave the park and go back to Zuurkop. It turns out that it is now much busier than this morning which is also remarkable. Through Woodlands we drive out of the park again. It is about one in the afternoon and we drive back to the hostel.

tips & advice (2015)

There is no public transport to and from Addo park - the only thing you can do is switch a few times busses (if you want to go to Port Elizabeth) but you will be on the road for hours and in terms of costs you can take a shuttle from the hostel as well . The best thing is to ask someone from the hostel (or park) if someone goes to PE. The last option is hitchhking and then you can best walk to Addo village (4km from the hostel) and at the petrol station you can show your sign PE to passing traffic and maybe get lucky.

Name: "Orange Elephant Backpackers"

Address: R335, Main Road

Price: 60R (camping)

Phone nr. : 042 233 0023

Website: www.addobackpackers.com

Content:

This is to my knowledge the closest backpacker hostel of Addo at about 5 km from the main (north) gate of the "Addo elephants" NP. It is a large area with a large cozy bar where many classrooms pop up to listen to a band, ping-pong or sit on the large nice semi-hippie terrace. The rest of the site is full of trees, shrubs, grass and a number of huts that you can rent. An outdoor shower, a braai, hammocks and then a large parking lot. You can camp right here in the garden or sleep in the dormitory near the main building. Here are outside toilets and showers and a large outdoor terrace. Inside is a reception where you can book tours to Addo (650 or 1000R incl. lunch) or to the cheetah stay (380R). Also here are rooms that you can rent. There is a decent kitchen with free coffee and tea and internet. You have to search though for electricity plugs. The owner is also somewhat stiff and difficult, but with the right approach you can capture his heart and it turns out to be a very suitable guy. His passion is freedom and engines (tip). There are many volunteers here who help in the reception, garden or bar. There are also four domestic dogs present. Shuttles can also be arranged easily.

Spending time NP “Addo”:

You can book a half day tour to the "Addo Elephant Park" which costs 650R excluding lunch but includes entrance fee of 232R. You can also book an entire day for 1000R including lunch and entrance fee. In the park, admission prices for tours are significantly higher. Finally, you can also book a tour to the "cheetah" resort for 380R. Entrance for this center including informative tour and time with a tame cheetah costs 80R. Finally you can also make "bush" walks and/or a horse ride.

Animals in Addo include elephants, lions, zebras, hartebeast, black rhinos, buffalo, leopards, but now also three cheetahs, the great white shark and whales.

If you go along with a trip, the chance that you will encounter large wild cats is a lot bigger. They tip each other if something has been spotted so that they know exactly where to go. In addition, the guides know where to look and how to spot. Disadvantages are the high costs. You can also visit the park with your own car.

TIPS:

I would always bring water, food, a cap and sunglasses if you go on a safari and a vest because sometimes it gets chilly in the jeep when the windows are open. The park is very dusty and you will certainly return slightly orange. In the southern part of the park there are more open fields so you can easier spot animals. Elephants seem to like this area also.