Addo Outings 2014

[nan]

large one... paws with nails... I would also go for Hyena

it's rained sometime in the park ... it's very strange
in all case, superb colors after rain and superb flowers too ... twice

[Lisbeth]

Beautiful colors and flowers have grown even on the caravan No idea on the spoor

[Toko]

Lush green

[PJL]

And stop 'complaining' about the state of the roads - still looks like a piece of cake compared to KTP.

You're right Mel, the roads aren't all that bad... just a few potholes due to the rain and cars going along. But I can't remember so much wash-out on the roads for a while.

large one... paws with nails... I would also go for Hyena

Yep - nan & Mel I'm pretty sure it was a hyena as well. It was the location of the print which had me confused - about 2km in from the south gate, so really far down in the south. The furthest south I had previously heard of them going was to the crossroads, but apparently some people have very occasionally seen a very large hyena down in that area

Before more photos, I thought I'd share some of the sightings of the day which were quite a highlight for me, but due to circumstances didn't get captured on camera...

First up we had a good sighting of a big male bushpig near the crossroads. He jumped into the bushes before I had a chance to take any photos, and then crossed the road behind us. They're seldom seen, so it was great to have such a good view of him.

We also saw a very unusual-looking bird of prey up near Zuurkop. It flew off before I had a chance to snap away . After studying my bird guide I believe it can only have been a honey buzzard - not something which we get here, but vagrants are spotted on rare occasions as they travel through the area.

Finally, on our way home (and not in the park area) we saw a cape fur seal relaxing on the sand in the estuary of the Swartkops river. I can't remember ever seeing one there before

[PJL]

It was a cold start to the day on Saturday, which is perhaps why we were able to approach so close to this Cape Longclaw. It was rather fluffed up against the cold, but enjoying the warmth of the morning sun. I haven't seen one so close before

[Mel]

I'm not on good terms with Cape longclaws... The last time I visited one gave me a really hard time in capturing it.
What a beauty though! Yellow and orange are some of my favourite colours, so any bird that has them all over it,
must be very pretty.

I cannot comment on the honey buzzard or the Cape fur seal, as I don't know much about them, apart from that they exist.
But I do know that a bushpig is a marvellous sighting. Well done!

[nan]

wow well done, Cape Fur Seal, Bushpig and Honey Buzzard (I saw one here in Central Europe)

magnificent Cape Longclaw

[PJL]

Thanks Mel & nan

One of the absolute highlights of my day came as we found a small herd of elephant grazing on either side of the road. We stopped a good 100m from them and turned the engine off so as not to disturb them. We were the only car travelling in our direction, but the herd soon attracted about 8 cars coming the other way. They were all fantastically calm, and the little baby in tow seemed rather sleepy.







Eventually they decided to move along past our car - here's a short video showing some of them moving past us:
http://youtu.be/OqxdiD8H-gQ

As you'll see, they come very close by the car and most often the Addo ellies are not concerned by our presence. After the video, there was just the mother and calf left and mom decided it was time to catch up with the rest of the herd. Being on our side of the road she was already fairly close to our car, but she decided to pass the same side as the others. I thought she would lead the little one in a wide arc around the car, but she came directly past the side of our car! As she walked by, her hide filled the door window, and I could have touched her without even fully stretching out my arm We held our breath - and there was no way I was going to dare to move to take video or photos - until she and her baby had passed us. One of the game drive vehicles from Gorah Elephant Camp was waiting in the queue on the other side, and as we drove away their guide gave us 2 thumbs up - realising just how incredibly close she had gone by us.

I don't think there can be anywhere else in the world where a wild elephant would willingly come past a vehicle like that. The kids and I stared at each other in amazement afterwards... it'll be something they will never forget

[Mel]

I don't think there can be anywhere else in the world where a wild elephant would willingly come past a vehicle like that.

The first time this happened to us was at Harpoor Dam in 2007. Back than we had rented such a small car that we called it an elephant roller-skate.
We were watching the ellies drinking at the dam when seemingly out of nowhere another big one came walking up from behind. There was nowhere
to go and while he was passing the car, I was unable to breathe, so frightened I was. He never even batted an eyelid though.

The second time in 2012, I was pretty scared when an ellies got that close. Luckily, Ronnie was around and seemed to be totally unfazed about it,
so I realized we would be okay. However, I'm sure I'll get nervous again when it happens the next time. Even though we also watched a bull
putting his trunk INTO a car without anything happening.

The little one is adorable!

[nan]

a d o r a b l e... is the right word