Andrew was our guide and he arrived at 7:30 AM to take us to Addo Park. It was a quick 50 minute drive to the park gates. Andrew kept us entertained with his stories gleaned from his 26 years as a guide in South Africa and Namibia. We registered at the gate and drove into the park. Immediately there were large piles of elephant dung. No animals initially, as the winds were very strong and many animals stayed hunkered down. It gave us time to talk about the history of the Addo Park. It was a sad history and one similar to that of the US. Profit and the survival of the farmers intruding into these area were the motivation that led to the near extinction of Elephants in this region. But by 1931 when the Elephant population had been reduced to only 11 animals, the park was formally established. It started with 5000 acres and 5 elephants and has grown to almost half a million acres and over 700 elephants. This is a fabulous success story and is mostly due to the incredible biodiversity of the region. The Valley Bush Velt is a subtropical thicket that boasts over 1800 species. The cover stays low and thick. This allows moisture to be conserved and the area remains green year round. More fun tidbits will follow in the next set of posts. I have decided to share this experience in four different posts. Elephants is the first post followed by birds, large animals and then small animals. Enjoy!
At the gate there are electrified wires stretched across the ground to keep the elephants in the park
Our first sighting was a lone male off in the distance
Then we saw a family group with a frisky baby, see the video link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69aW-KUF7FI
The reddish coloration is due to the color of the local iron rich soil
This group came pretty close to us as the big one to the left would indicate
Another big lone male
Magnificent but still not fully mature
An Elephant skull that had been around this area for a few years
A full grown male can be 12 feet tall
Some areas with high poaching pressures are seeing more and more tuskless elephants.
but not in Addo!
Off he goes
We watched this guy gingerly attempt to get water from the steep bank of the waterhole
This pose reminds me of a circus elephant
A family group come is for a drink
The skulls are so big and thick that even the hyenas, bone eating specialists, cant penetrate the skull
Up on the hill tops the vegetation opens up
As we were about to leave the park, Leslie spotted saw an elephant in the bushes, see video
Soon we were joined by more and more elephants, see video
All of them peacefully eating
At the closest we were only 6 feet away from them
This small one was hiding from us
Here is the mom and you can see her breast is full of milk. It is in between her front legs
The little guy is staying very close
Off they go and off we go as well. What a great way to end our safari!
