A Magnificent Loop in the Southern Rainbow Nation (page 8 of 14)

Mkhaya I agree!

Thanks everyone for your interesting contributions that help enrich this travel journal 😎. Now, Black & White rhino, no more secrets for me . Otherwise, for the pinotage, I’ll still have to taste it to give my opinion 🙂.

I spared you one peculiarity of Addo.

Tuskless elephants.

Normally, a tuskless elephant was an abnormality in the wild. They struggle to feed themselves, don’t attract the pretty females (or handsome males), etc... So it was a dormant gene. That was before... Before humans arrived and killed for their tusks.

This gene, kept in reserve by Mother Nature, found its purpose. And now, Addo’s elephants—with their reduced population—are tuskless (and defenseless).

To help elephants regain their tusks, they reintroduced some magnificent tuskers...partly from Kruger.

Those tuskers did their job well...now, in Addo, tusks are on the horizon.

It’s already noon when we hit the roads of Addo again. We’re back at the Haboor watering hole—it’s incredible how many elephants there are. They’re waiting their turn, family by family, to get into the water.





Elephant story: A matriarch is giving her family a lesson .



But then an intruder tries to butt into their family business .



The two giants face off—confrontation is near 😕.



The little ones are scared and hide under their mother’s trunk .



Well, honor is saved—the troublemaker leaves with his tail between his legs. Oops!

Meanwhile, the young ones, carefree, play in the water.



We stay there for over an hour—it’s stunning.

Another mud bath, which I’m not sure what benefits it has, but it’s a bit dark 😕.





Next, we head to a viewpoint to spot lions. We see one, but it’s a bit static .



Zebras also have their own dedicated watering hole but share it with a kudu.







At 2 PM, we return to camp to pick up the rondavel reserved for the second night—we’ve got number 1. It’s located right above the watering hole where an elephant is drinking.

The rondavels consist of a bedroom and bathroom, with the fridge outside. The kitchen is shared with the other five, and it has all the necessary utensils for cooking.







So, if you have to choose, go for the chalets—they’re fully equipped. What’s even more surprising is that they’re the same price. Go figure!

It's 3 PM, and here we go again. The guard at the entrance—the same one since yesterday afternoon—doesn’t even ask for our permit anymore. But every time, they ask if we’re going to see the lions when we leave and if we saw any when we return. It’s become a little game now. Well, this is only the fourth time we’ve gone on safari!

It’s much less hot than yesterday, around 25°C, but the wind is blowing a bit. As a result, we’re eating a lot of dust on the roads, especially if we forget to close the back window.

We decide, like this morning, to head to the southern part. We have 3.5 hours ahead of us. We drive for an hour without any major sightings—it’s a bit disappointing for an afternoon :(.





Of course, there are elephants everywhere, bursting out of the bushes—front, back, next to the cars 🤪.







Despite all these giants, we notice that here, they’re not aggressive like we felt in Kruger Park. Also, they don’t have the same color? Gray in Kruger and more brown here—but is that just because of mud baths?

Just at the last watering hole before camp, a jackal comes to drink.





When we arrive at our accommodation, two buffaloes are at the watering hole right in front of us.





A fantastic day, filled with back-and-forth drives, but the kind we love—full of surprises. We end up again at the Cattle Baron restaurant, fish for both of us tonight, after enjoying the last sunset over Addo.





But the day isn’t over yet—we’re going to check the Hide to see if there are any animals. Jackpot, like yesterday, an elephant shows up at 9:30 PM, but no black rhino tonight :(.



To be continued here

I spared you one peculiarity of Addo.

Tuskless elephants.

Normally, a tuskless elephant was abnormal in the wild. Struggles to feed itself, doesn’t attract the pretty females (or handsome males), etc... So the gene was dormant. That was before... Before humans arrived and killed for tusks.

This gene kept in reserve by Mother Nature found its purpose. And there you have Addo’s elephants—reduced in population...tuskless (and defenseless).

For elephants to grow tusks again...they reintroduced some impressive tuskers...partly from Kruger.

Tuskers who did their job well...now, in Addo, tusks are back on the horizon.

Ah! Yes, I can confirm, Addo’s elephants have grown beautiful tusks again.



Thanks, Michel 🙂.

For your elephants, there’s the lone male who’s getting closer, but the other one is a female

For your elephants, there’s the lone male getting closer, but the other one’s a female

Oh no! 😏 😏 😏 My story just fell apart 🤪.

Monday, December 31: Addo - Oudtshoorn

Well, another early rise to try and spot the big cats that keep eluding us—we don’t have much hope, but if we don’t try, we’ve got zero chance... At 5:30 AM, just like yesterday, we pass through the camp gate, heading south in the park.

This morning, the animals are sleeping in, just like yesterday—loads of warthogs, and even a little family with piglets 🙂.







And of course, more elephants 😉.











A few animals out and about—a hare, a secretary bird, a lone buffalo, and a tortoise.









A few more deer before we leave the park.





And that’s the end of our stay in Addo Park. In two days, we’ve covered all the roads in the park without spotting any big cats 🙁. But we’re not too down about it—far from it! We already know as we leave the park that we’ll be coming back to South Africa 😎.

We pass through the park gate at 10:30 AM—it should take about 4.5 to 5 hours to reach Oudtshoorn. Well, that’s the theory anyway! 🙂

For the first 35 kilometers, we still feel like we’re in the park since it’s an unpaved road, and we drive through vast orange groves.



After that, we merge onto the R75, which is smooth with very little traffic. The landscape is pretty monotonous until Jansenville, where we stop to fill up on gas. What’s surprising are the speed limits: 120 km/h on a two-way road, even though it’s hard to go faster than 100 km/h here, and 120 km/h on divided highways like a freeway too.





Next, we take the R337, which starts off smooth until Klipplaat, where it turns into a gravel road. Apparently, our map wasn’t detailed enough to show what kind of road we’d be driving on. So there we are, stuck on this road… 🤪 😕 for over 60 km, following the railway tracks.







And then, what had to happen, happened—we got a flat tire. The tire was completely shredded 😠. It’s at least 35 degrees out, and it takes us 40 minutes to put on the spare. During all that time, we didn’t see a single person 😮.



We set off again, feeling pretty uneasy. We try to admire the scenery as we pass dried-up riverbeds.









Luckily, these little goats come along and bring back our smiles—finally, a bit of civilization! !😎



At 3:30 PM, we turn onto the R129—it took us 2 hours to cover 67 km. Wow, that’s slow!

The road is unusual: a concrete strip in the middle, and when you pass someone, you both move to the sides. Here, we’d be driving at 100 km/h, but back home, it’d be 50 km/h.





It’s already 4 PM when we arrive in Willowmore. We stop at a gas station with a garage to ask if they have tires.



In 20 minutes, all fixed—the tire is changed. We’re feeling much better, but instead of taking the R341, we end up on the N9, which takes a big detour. Who knows why! 🤪 The landscape gets more and more mountainous.



Our first ostrich farm.

We finally arrive in Oudtshoorn at 6:30 PM—it took us 8 hours instead of the planned 4.5.

The Little Karoo Ranch, where we booked for two nights, is 15 km further on. We’re so relieved to get there! The access is a bit tricky since it’s up high, but the view is stunning. Pascal, our host, is a really friendly French-speaking Swiss guy 🙂.

We settle into our tent—it’s still really hot out. Apparently, it hit 45°C this afternoon. Wow, that’s starting to get *too* hot! 😕

Actually, it’s a luxury tent because it has everything we need. The bathroom is in a wooden structure, and the bathtub even has hydrotherapy jets. We take a quick dip to unwind after this pretty exhausting day. It’s so nice 😊.









We don’t linger, though, because dinner’s waiting for us on the terrace, where we can watch the sunset. There’s just one family with two kids and another couple. The meal is excellent—ostrich is on the menu—and Pascal gives us tips for tomorrow’s day out.





To be continued here

Gotta say, you really didn’t take the easiest route!

Gotta say, you really didn’t take the easiest route!

Yeah, I know... we had to backtrack to Jansenville to fill up the tank because this time my husband *should’ve* listened to me and done it in Addo. So! Was it running on fumes or a flat tire? 😛 Actually, we should’ve turned back, but the problem was we didn’t know when we’d end up on a gravel road 🤪. Next time, we’ll buy a more detailed map 😊.

Tuesday, January 1st : Little Karoo – Swartberg Pass

Breakfast is served on the terrace, and it's already quite warm even though it's not yet 8 AM.



We take the time to return to Oudtshoorn to fill up the tank—just being cautious 😉. On the way back, a mohair farm stops us for a few moments. These Angora goats are so cute! Oh, right—the Angora goat produces mohair wool 😮.





Alright, let’s go wild—the night did us good, and we’re off for a 22 km gravel road to cross the Swartberg Pass. No fear here! !😏





During the climb, the scenery is already pretty awesome.









We arrive at the pass just before 11:30 AM. You can see the road built into the mountainside.





The pass road was built by convicts under the command of Thomas Charles Bain starting in 1881 and was inaugurated on January 10, 1888. The dry-stone constructions supporting the winding road are particularly impressive. At the summit, there’s also the only access to the isolated Gamkaskloof valley, also known as The Hell.

Then a stop at Die Top before starting the descent.







We spend a long time admiring the canyon below 😎. The last photo was taken for Bruno’s contest 😛. We’re pretty small compared to nature!

Then the descent to the bottom of the valley is truly stunning.







Our last stop is by the river, where only a tiny trickle of water flows.







It’s already 1 p.m. when we take a short break in Prince Albert. There’s no one in the streets, and the shops are closed—normal, since it’s New Year’s Day 😉.







Cute trash cans 🙂.









On the outskirts of town, a few olive groves create a beautiful scene with the surrounding mountains.







We then continue through the mountains to De Rust. A baboon crosses right in front of us and takes refuge on the rock .

It's 2:30 PM, and we stop at Meiringspoort Falls to cool off a bit. There are quite a few people here—normal for this heat, as everyone’s looking for some relief on this public holiday. For our part, we just dipped our feet in since the water still looks pretty cold 😉.







After that, we head back to Oudtshoorn—we want to visit an ostrich farm. We’re lucky; we arrive at Safari Ostrich Farm just in time for the last tour at 4 PM. The cost is R146, and the tour lasts a good hour. Nowadays, it’s forbidden to ride ostriches—a new VPI regulation against animal cruelty, which isn’t a bad thing.

First, there’s an explanation, then we take a tour in a trailer pulled by a tractor. We enter the enclosure with the ostriches—it’s really fun 🙂. The males are black with beautiful white feathers, highly prized by the ladies. In fact, they go to great lengths dancing to impress their lady (or ladies), since they can have two or three .













Next, we walk around the different enclosures to see the chicks, emus, and white ostriches.









Ostriches do nothing but eat, even from your hand. And those eggs are *huge*!



On our way back, we pass the Angora goats again—it’s impressive. They’re all gathering in one spot, and there are hundreds of them. We waited a while to see why they’d all come together when earlier in the day they were spread across different enclosures, but we never figured it out—no one came to feed them .





When we arrive at Petit Karoo Ranch, we meet our host Pascal’s springboks 🙂.



After this amazing day, tonight’s menu features… ostrich!

To be continued here

Hi Isabelle,

I just discovered your travel journal. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

I would’ve loved to walk down Table Mountain, but with my parents, it wasn’t possible.

You weren’t lucky at De Hoop. This reserve is one of our absolute favorites.

For Kirstenbosch, to see lots of flowers, you need to come during the southern hemisphere spring. In October, the park was stunning—flowers were everywhere.

At Boulders, we were at the second parking lot, just like Montagnard described. It was actually written in my journal that we had to go all the way there. 😛 But Montagnard’s map is way clearer. And then there are those who still can’t find the place... definitely not Guillaume.

Anyway, you had a wonderful trip, and I’m discovering spots we didn’t visit. Thanks!

See you soon, Carmen

By the way, I really love your photo of those colorful huts taken from behind. They look stunning on that white sand beach.

Hi Isabelle,

I just discovered your travel journal. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

Hello Carmen, Thanks for stopping by South Africa! 🙂 By the way, we thought of you a lot while having breakfast in De Kelders. We scanned the ocean but didn’t see... any whales 🙁.

I would’ve loved to hike down Table Mountain, but with my parents, it wasn’t possible.

Yes, I can confirm—especially via India Ravine 🙁. Maybe next time? 😉

You weren’t lucky at De Hoop. This reserve is one of our favorite spots.

Exactly, that’s why I tried to book a night at De Hoop Collection, but it wasn’t possible during high season . We were unlucky with the wind because we couldn’t walk in the dunes 🙁. Still, we really don’t regret going—it’s such a stunning place 😎.

To see lots of flowers, you need to come during the southern spring. In October, the park was gorgeous, with flowers everywhere.

Oh yeah, but naively, I thought there’d be summer flowers . With the water shortage in the region, I realize it’d be impossible to manage.

For Boulders, we were at the second parking lot, as described by Montagnard. It was clearly written in my journal that you had to go all the way there. 😛 But Montagnard’s map is much clearer. And some people just can’t find the place... unlike Guillaume.

At Boulders, it was so crowded that both referenced parking lots were full. Later, they even blocked access 🙁. We had to park 400m before the first one. I’d seen the path leading to the beach, but it wasn’t until I saw Bruno’s map that I realized where it went. There were no signs at all. Oh well, next time we’ll have no excuses .

Anyway, you had a great trip, and I’m discovering places we didn’t visit. Thanks!

And there’s still so much to explore... we can’t wait to go back 😎.

See you soon

Our next trip will also be to a country you know well—and I’ve already devoured your travel journals about it 😛.

Awesome travel journal! I visited the Cape region 2 years ago and I’m normally heading back in July to do a Jo’burg to Cape Town crossing via Lesotho and Eswatini in about a month 🙂

Some of your posts with other members had me laughing out loud 😎