Monday – April 14, 2025
Today’s featured image is a sign you don’t see everywhere. Actually, you probably only see it where there are large numbers of elephants. As you can see, the South Africans take their elephant dung and the dung handlers very seriously. Unfortunately we did not see any dung beetles on our trip today but we know they are hard at work keeping that dung rolling.
We weren’t sure what to expect from the excursion we selected for today (last Summer). We wanted Kelsey to have the experience of a safari and that is how this excursion was billed. Our prior safari experience was mini-vans with pop up tops that had 5 or 6 passengers (including the driver). This excursion was using a bus with 30-40 passengers, a driver and a guide. So not exactly what we had hoped for. But the main idea was to see animals – and we did that!
We left Port Elizabeth for one of South Africa’s national parks – Addo Elephant Park. The bus we were in wasn’t like other tour buses – it had windows with no tint and no air conditioning (other than sliding open the windows along the side). As we made our way to the park the guide (Terry) told us we would be entering the park in the upper area because buses could not navigate the lower entrance. He said we should all act as lookouts and if we saw something of interest we should yell out “STOP”. Took about an hour and a half to reach the entrance and once there, we made the mandatory toilet stop.
Off we went to look for wildlife. First thing I saw was the sign regarding dung beetles – not one of the big 5 you would normally think of on a safari but it would be nice to get a photo of a dung beetle at work. As we drove down the road we can to a bottleneck of cars on both sides which blocked traffic. We couldn’t see why people had stopped and in a park where animals roam free you don’t get out of your vehicle to walk down and ask what is happening. Eventually the traffic thinned and someone on the left side of the bus yelled “STOP”. They had spied female lions resting about 50-60 yards from the road. You can see a photo of one of them – the other was hidden behind brush. Note that the lion wears a collar. Terry said there are 2 prides of lions in the park and they keep track of their locations so they prides don’t clash. They are also handy in case a lion decides to do a walkabout and leave the park area.
After a reasonable time looking at the lions (the one visible eventually turned her head away from us) we moved forward and began to hear “STOP” as other animals were seen on both sides of the bus. You can get a sense for what we saw as you look through the photos and videos in today’s media. Animal with the greatest representation we saw was the Burchell’s zebra (punda Melia – Swahili for zebra). We came across one group where several males appeared to be fighting for dominance. They would engage for a few seconds then break off, wait and start again.
F.Y.I. When I add to the website I upload the media first then go back and write this dribble. So if you want the latest video and photos, click on the “CRUISE ITINERARY” and then the day you wish to see. I have uploaded media through 4/17/2025 as of today.
Next up on our animal hit parade were the warthogs (Pumbaa for you Lion King followers). We saw several groups but most would duck behind bushes (they are fairly short) before I could get photos. There is at least one photo with a couple piggies in it. Across the road was a greater male kudu sitting in the grass with a couple hartebeests near him. You can gauge the age of the male kudu my counting the number of twists in their horns. This one appears to be 2 years old – so fairly young. He eventually stood up and I got a photo showing his profile.
I like a photo near those of the kudu that has 3 different animals in it – Burchell’s zebra, hartebeest and female kudu. They all look a peach just eating or lounging. Kind of like retirement. A bit further up the road there was a group of 3 kudu – a youngster and 2 females. As we approached the youngster was spooked and started running – so the females followed after.
Finally we saw an African elephant – at least the South end of a North bound one. Since the park we are in is and elephant park you would expect to see one at some point. I believe the actual number is around 650 – but the park covers 695 square miles.
As we were driving looking for more elephants several meerkats (Timon for the Lion King crowd) popped their heads up and down from their holes in the ground. They were operating like the whack-a-moles at Chucky Cheese and I had trouble getting a clear photo of any. I managed to get one that shows the pesky fellow from the top of his head to his neck – you’ll need to enlarge the image but I think you will agree he is smiling.
We saw more zebra (there were lots of them out today) then came across guineafowl. Terry said he had eaten them in the past and that they were not tasty and the meat was tough. That ruined our dinner plans as Jan and I were going to jump from the bus and try to catch a couple for our table to share.
You’re probably tired of the word “zebra” by now but our next encounter was with a mommy zebra and her baby (not exactly a newborn but definitely born this year).
As we drove a massive beast appeared in the bushes chewing grass. This Cape buffalo did not have any manners as he had chewed grass stuck below his lower lip (see photo). Terry said the buffalo appeared to be older – not sure how he could tell that – but I would not want to get on his bad side – he was BIG!
Not far from the buffalo sighting we saw a leopard tortoise crossing the road (to get to the other side) and watched as it methodically moved along and disappeared into the brush. We drove further on the road and finally found more elephants. There was a small herd on a grassy hill walking slowly toward the brush. We saw both adults and one infant. Including this group we saw a little over 1% of the park’s elephants today. This park does not import animals from other areas of Africa so it didn’t include one of our favorites – the cheetah (Duma in Swahili). It does have rhinos but we didn’t see those. It also does not have any giraffes. There are private game preserves in the area that do house a wider variety of animals but we wanted Kelsey’s experience to be the most true-to-life for this area of the continent – and she enjoyed seeing the animals today.
This evening’s entertainment was Zulu dancing and singing. We didn’t understand what was being said but it was interesting to watch and they acted out the intent of each number (they put a brief description of the purpose of the number on a screen).
Tomorrow is a day at sea then we dock at Cape Town and take a trip to the top of Table Mountain.
Here is a link to the video and photos from today’s visit to Port Elizabeth.
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