Getting our Ellie Fix (March 2016)

[Mel]

All ears?



I plan to do this according to species, not a day by day tale and might even mix up the species in order for you not to have to look at 5 pages of elephants before seeing anything else. But this will still take a little while since I'm not done with sorting through my photos and unfortunately, I also got a job that asks to be done

Our itinery for Addo:

22 March Matyholweni (FA 3)
23 March Matyholweni (FA 3)
24 March Matyholweni (FA 3)
25 March Main Camp (CH2S)
26 March Main Camp (CH2S)
27 March Main Camp (CH2S)

We were really lucky with the allocation of our units: Got no. 10 at Matyholweni and no. 38 at the Main Camp - without even asking.
However, no. 38 in the Main Camp turned out to leak when we experienced some heavy rain in the evening of the 23rd and the rain was falling right on top of a plugged in microwave.

Talking of rain: It stayed mostly dry in Addo. The first two days were sunny, then we had a bit of sun and cloud mix, a bit more rain on the 27th and rather coolish when we left on the 28th. What all days had in common was the wind that picked up each early afternoon and would only calm down again with sunset. Luckily, the animals are not as spoilt as they are in the KTP where they will hide away from the blowing wind.

We were really lucky with decent sized elephant herds for the first three days but after the rains they vanished into the bushes and people who only entered the park at the Easter weekend struggled to find ellies in general but larger herds in particular.

Although we once again didn't see any blackies, we had excellent sightings that kept us happy and enterained. Plus, Addo is a beautiful park and doing the same loop two or three times a day didn't bother us the least. However, when we go again, I'll make sure to go to Mountain Zebra over Easter instead. Addo was awfully packed that weekend and cars were piling up at the special sightings. Partly, it felt as bad as being in Kruger since behaviour from some people certainly wan't at its best.

On a positive note: We hardly witnessed littering - despite the season. But we did see quite a bit of protruding and getting out of the car and the ocassional speeding as well.

[Dewi]

All ears as you said Mel.

I'll squeeze myself in the trunk for this jaunt around the park with you if you don't mind.

Great ellie pic.

[Toko]

A very blue sky

[Puff Addy]

Hi Mel,

Matyholweni was the first place we stayed on our first trip to SA in 2014. It is a great location in that not only do you have the southern part of Addo on your doorstep, but it also gives you faster access to the Sundays RIver saltpans as well as the mouth and dunes of said river. It is also quicker to get to Alexandria Forest from there than from the main rest camp.

We are glad we stayed there when we did, as SANParks has now priced the place beyond what we consider "normal" for this type of accommodation.

[Richprins]

Mello!

Interesting info!

[Lisbeth]

Nice ears

[Alf]

Oooh elephant way toooooo close

[PRWIN]

and info on the cat sightings will be there Dec

[Lisbeth]

Oooh elephant way toooooo close

The Addo elephants are much calmer than the Kruger ones

[PJL]

You're right about Easter... it gets very busy these days - particularly with the southern entrance being so close for people to get to.

Looking forward to hearing more about your stay