31 August 2021

Every year my hubby and I take turns surprising each other for our wedding anniversary. This year it was my turn and knowing that the elephant is my hubby’s all-time favourite animal, it made sense to book a long weekend at Addo Elephant National Park, 1640 square kilometres, and just over a 4-hour drive from George. Entering from the Mathyolweni Gate, which is in the south of Addo, we drove the length of the Park to get to Addo Main Camp, (approximately 41km) which is where I had booked our camping site. On entering Mathyolweni Gate you are given a map, which we used to plan the next 3 days. The weather was extremely comfortable in August, temperatures ranging between 22-27 degrees during the day but quite chilly in the early mornings. Not much rain had fallen so many of the waterholes were empty, except the odd man-made one. This didn’t stop the herds of elephants enjoying the mud, and it was truly special sitting at one of these “mud holes” for over an hour watching herd after herd rolling and playing, the babies were just the cutest. I booked a caravan site (which is slightly bigger than the tent sites) in Addo Main Camp, complete with a wooden table and bench, electricity point and tap, which seem to be standard on all sites. Each site has ample shade and is situated very close to the ablution facilities and kitchen. The kitchen does have a freezer (no fridge), 2 plate stoves and sinks. Ablution facilities have 2 showers (with doors and toiletry holders) and 1 bath and are extremely clean. Addo Main Camp has a Cattle Baron restaurant (bookings for dinner is advised), a well-stocked curio shop and a petrol station, and of course, there are game drives departing in the early evening and morning. After dinner each evening, we would plan our driving course for the next day. We got up early in the morning and headed to the underground hide with our coffee and rusks. Sitting at the hide in the chilly air, squinting through the mist, trying to make out if there is an animal arriving to drink, surrounded by a deathly silence, was my idea of fun, not sure hubby agreed though, as he gleefully prepared our “camping breakfast” afterwards- eggs, bacon and mushrooms just taste better on a skottel! On the first day, we covered the loops in the north, which wasn’t long at all, so we could get back to the camp and enjoy the Bird Hide and explore what the camp had to offer. On the second day, we explored the centre of Addo, stopping for a picnic lunch at Jack’s Picnic Site. We had to queue for a picnic table (be warned, it gets 100 times worse in December so get there early if possible), but what a lovely setup! On our final day, we travelled down to the south and drove the many loops, this is where we found our pride of lion and lionesses. Please don’t be fooled into thinking that Addo is a miniature version of the Kruger Park, it is not, and has a beauty all its own. There are animals, like the giraffe, that you won’t find here, simply because the vegetation is not conducive to their type of habitat. Addo does have the Big 5, but what I found so special and different were the little mammals that we saw, often we spend our game drives looking in the distance for the big animals but do yourself a favour, investigate the undergrowth, there you will see the fox, mongoose, meerkat or hare – all equally as special. If you would like to plan a trip then please get in touch.

26 August 2021

My hubby and I visited the Kruger National Park in November, which is warned as one of the hottest times of the year. We measured 48 degrees at a picnic spot! It is also the time when there are lots and lots of babies, compared to June/July, when it is much cooler and probably more pleasant to visit if you are someone who struggles with the heat. My Top Tip: If you are a birding enthusiast, I would not recommend June/July as this is when the birds migrate. We spent 7 days camping at Lower Sabie, it is one of the smaller rest camps, situated in the southern part of the Park, close to Crocodile Bridge. This area is well known for some of the best game viewing in the Park and did not disappoint. We drove in at Malelane Gate, and it took us about 4 hours to get to Lower Sabie. The game viewing was wonderful along this stretch. We saw 3 of the Big 5, and it was only our first day! 7 days may be a little bit too long for those who struggle with the heat, but it did give us plenty of time for wonderful sightings, and anyway, you don’t have to be out game viewing every day, if you’re lucky, as we were, to have a pool in the rest camp, you can laze in the cool water. The campsite at Lower Sabie is very well laid out, there are plenty of trees for shade, power points so you don’t need to worry about making food by candlelight, and the ablution blocks are very clean and very close to your site. I just wish they could have an “ice cold” setting on the shower after a day’s game viewing in such heat! The campsites are very quiet, no loud music nor rowdy children. Everyone seems to be there with one thing on their mind – to go to bed as early as possible and get up early enough to be at the gate when it opens at 4.30 am. I am not really a morning person, but I promise you I was out of that tent very early each morning, sometimes to admire the sunrise and tranquillity from the deck of the restaurant, other times in excitement and anticipation of spotting lion on our drive as the sun rose. The Park is very well signposted, a GPS in your car would be useful, and I would suggest buying a map from the rest camp. I would have liked to have bought a map as I entered the Park (as our car does not have GPS) but these are only sold at the main rest camps and not at the entrance to the Park. On one of our longer days (we covered 300km) we drove up to Skukuza with the intention of having lunch at the Skukuza Golf Club – apparently, their burgers are yummy – but we ended up exploring the Skukuza Wetland Boardwalk, which is a 260m boardwalk through the wetland, close to the golf course, and high enough for hippo and buffalo to graze underneath. This is a real must as there is also a lovely nursery at the end of the boardwalk for all the plant lovers. Just a way down from Lower Sabie is Sunset Dam, our “go-to” place for sundowners at the end of a full day. We would just sit on the edge of the dam (in our car of course) and watch the hippos, crocodiles and birds, and the odd buck that would venture to the water’s edge for a drink. It is a peaceful place! My favourite part of the trip was watching an Impala give birth – it was a very special experience! Lower Sabie has a Mugg and Bean situated on a deck overlooking the river, a very tranquil place at 5 am when the sun rises. There is a very big curio shop and an ablution facility for Muslims situated at the main reception area. The Kruger Park is on a level of its own, it does wonders for your soul. If you would like to plan a trip to the Kruger then please get in touch.