Week 7 was my second week without teaching. Thus, I decided to spend it exploring a bit more of South Africa. I went with Onno (The Netherlands), Marieke (The Netherlands), and Emily (United States) to the east coast of South Africa, to Addo Elephant National Park. There we would be able to drive around the park in a sort of self-guided safari. We rented a Renault Koleos from Drive South Africa and come Monday morning were on our way! I have to admit, however, I don't remember much of the eight hour drive there...I slept for most of it. :p
As we got close to Port Elizabeth and Addo Town (situated right next to Addo Elephant National Park), we needed to figure out where we would stay that night. Emily and I called a few places and found a good price at Avoca River Cabins & Luxury Treehouse. Split between the four of us, it was going to cost around just $10 a night! We had some trouble finding it when it got dark and as we pulled in, we could not see much of the scenery.
The hostess was very kind and gave us some leftovers to eat - we hadn't stopped for dinner. From Avoca's office, we drove down to the huts we would be staying in.
We also had access to a large communal area for us to eat and cook. There was even a fire pit!
In the morning, we got a better view of the area - it was beautiful!
We went to a nearby grocery store to buy food for the rest of the day, and had a nice breakfast at Avoca.
We were ready to get started on our safari and quickly headed over! Pulling into the park, we registered and took care of the entrance fees. As we pulled onto the park roads, we saw khudu and, in the distance, a few elephants.
To get a better view, we headed to the park store for binoculars and then were back in the park. We saw some more animals, such as a blue heron and a tortoise.
Going along, we saw some more khudu and a closer elephant!
Further on, we saw some female khudu right next to the car trail.
Nearby, there was also the remains of a khudu....
Later on, we got to experience a real zebra crossing. :p
Another cool animal we saw was the jackal.
Soon, we got a real treat. We managed to find elephants right along and even on the road!
As they were walking by, one of the elephants stopped to...well...pee. It was pretty, um, impressive.
Using the binoculars, we managed to get some more close-up photos.
Anyway, we continued through the park, seeing more elephants along the way!
All in all, it had been a fun day spent in Addo Elephant Park. That night we had a braai at Avoca and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.
The next morning, I awoke to find I had crushed a spider in my sleep! Eeeww...
On our way out, we took photos of the fields around us. Avoca is actually an orange and lemon orchard! It makes for a beautiful and serene place to stay.
We drove back to Addo for our second day in the park.
Again, we saw lots of elephants and even a buffalo!
We got really close to another khudu - there were really a whole lot of khudu!
Throughout the park, we had also seen lots of warthogs running around.
Ostrich were also found at occasional points in the park.
However, at this point, what we really wanted to see was a lion or a leopard. Unfortunately, after spending a whole day searching and searching we did not find a single one. :( However, we did have a very close encounter with an elephant that left some of us with slightly elevated heart rates. :P
To have a better chance to see some lions we decided to go on a guided night game drive.
Unfortunately, it was quite dark and we did not manage to really get any good photos. We did not get to see any lions anyway. :( However, it was pretty neat to see a rhino - though it was a bit too far away to see well. When we got back to Avoca, the girls joked that the cat there would have to be our feline sighting. :p
Thursday morning was the last day of our trip, the drive back home to Cape Town. On the way back, we made a stop at Bloukrans Bridge for the girls to do the now second tallest bungee jump!
Afterwards, we drove the rest of the way back and eventually arrived in Cape Town.
That night was Frankie's last night with us, so our whole house went out for dinner. :D What a week! It had been a wonderful trip and a great opportunity.
As we got close to Port Elizabeth and Addo Town (situated right next to Addo Elephant National Park), we needed to figure out where we would stay that night. Emily and I called a few places and found a good price at Avoca River Cabins & Luxury Treehouse. Split between the four of us, it was going to cost around just $10 a night! We had some trouble finding it when it got dark and as we pulled in, we could not see much of the scenery.
The hostess was very kind and gave us some leftovers to eat - we hadn't stopped for dinner. From Avoca's office, we drove down to the huts we would be staying in.
We also had access to a large communal area for us to eat and cook. There was even a fire pit!
In the morning, we got a better view of the area - it was beautiful!
We went to a nearby grocery store to buy food for the rest of the day, and had a nice breakfast at Avoca.
We were ready to get started on our safari and quickly headed over! Pulling into the park, we registered and took care of the entrance fees. As we pulled onto the park roads, we saw khudu and, in the distance, a few elephants.
To get a better view, we headed to the park store for binoculars and then were back in the park. We saw some more animals, such as a blue heron and a tortoise.
Going along, we saw some more khudu and a closer elephant!
Further on, we saw some female khudu right next to the car trail.
Nearby, there was also the remains of a khudu....
Later on, we got to experience a real zebra crossing. :p
Another cool animal we saw was the jackal.
Soon, we got a real treat. We managed to find elephants right along and even on the road!
As they were walking by, one of the elephants stopped to...well...pee. It was pretty, um, impressive.
Using the binoculars, we managed to get some more close-up photos.
Anyway, we continued through the park, seeing more elephants along the way!
All in all, it had been a fun day spent in Addo Elephant Park. That night we had a braai at Avoca and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.
The next morning, I awoke to find I had crushed a spider in my sleep! Eeeww...
On our way out, we took photos of the fields around us. Avoca is actually an orange and lemon orchard! It makes for a beautiful and serene place to stay.
We drove back to Addo for our second day in the park.
Again, we saw lots of elephants and even a buffalo!
We got really close to another khudu - there were really a whole lot of khudu!
Throughout the park, we had also seen lots of warthogs running around.
Ostrich were also found at occasional points in the park.
However, at this point, what we really wanted to see was a lion or a leopard. Unfortunately, after spending a whole day searching and searching we did not find a single one. :( However, we did have a very close encounter with an elephant that left some of us with slightly elevated heart rates. :P
To have a better chance to see some lions we decided to go on a guided night game drive.
Unfortunately, it was quite dark and we did not manage to really get any good photos. We did not get to see any lions anyway. :( However, it was pretty neat to see a rhino - though it was a bit too far away to see well. When we got back to Avoca, the girls joked that the cat there would have to be our feline sighting. :p
Thursday morning was the last day of our trip, the drive back home to Cape Town. On the way back, we made a stop at Bloukrans Bridge for the girls to do the now second tallest bungee jump!
Afterwards, we drove the rest of the way back and eventually arrived in Cape Town.
That night was Frankie's last night with us, so our whole house went out for dinner. :D What a week! It had been a wonderful trip and a great opportunity.
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