It's a lazy and hot Friday morning at Kuzuko Lodge. The sun's already baking down without a cloud in the sky. The pride spots a kudu and the two female take the lead in the hunt. It's a patient wait watching it through the spekboom as it stands browsing unaware. Then the chase is on. Adrenalin pumping. Excitement. Hunger. Fear. Everything happens so fast yet everything else stands still. The kudu stood no chance as she gets taken down in…
Oh how I wish I had a 4x4. A proper bakkie (or SUV, I'm not picky) to explore the backroads with. I love my Polo, don't get me wrong, but I feel for her every time I hit a dirt road. But a bigger vehicle would allow me to discover places I've been avoiding. Crossing the Zuurberg Pass, taking the Elands River road, have a proper Wild Coast trip, do the Baviaanskloof from end to end for the first time,…
Ellies love to cover themselves in water and mud. You will often see that they arrive at the waterholes in Addo, have a drink and and then start to spray water over their backs or roll around in the water and mud. I have to correct myself though. They don't literally spray themselves, but rather throw the water from their trunks with a swinging motion. Why do they do it though? The elephant's skin may look think and rough, but…
One of the spots you can get out of your car in Addo Elephant National Park is Domkrag Dam. It was named after a mountain tortoise called Domkrag that used to walk under cars and looked like he was trying to lift them up. Domkrag is the Afrikaans word for jack, as in a jack to lift a car. Other places you are allowed to get out of your car includes Zuurkop, the Spekboom enclosure, Jack's picnic spot, Algoa Bay…
A Buffalo having a drink at one of the waterholes in Addo Elephant National Park with the Zuurberg Mountains in the background. The Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is one of Africa's Big 5, are grazers that feed mainly on grass and are known to kill lions while defending their own. A bull can weigh between 650 to 1000 kg, the distance between the tips of its horns can reach upwards of one meter and the buffalo kills more hunters than…
I think one of visitors to Addo Elephant National Park's favorite parts is seeing baby elephants. They are cute and look cuddly, are very inquisitive and draws many ooohhh's and aaahhh's. Here are a couple of "Did you know" facts about baby elephants. An elephant's gestation period is 22 months. The longest pregnancy of all mammals. A baby elephant is called a calf When a calf is born it can weigh up to 90kg and stands about 1 meter high…
How beautiful is that sky at Sardinia Bay? No wonder it's the most popular spot to go and view the sunset here in Port Elizabeth
Last week while Miggie was playing cricket at Heatherbank Cricket Club / Youth Cricket Academy in Walmer, I strolled around the field to get some pics of her batting. Passing the nets I noticed foot prints in the cement and had a closer look. They weren't dog prints or cat prints or even those of some little kid. It looks like an Egyptian Goose decided to take a stroll through the cement while it was still wet.
It's a weird feeling standing under the Van Stadens bridge. It's not an angle many see it from and you get a much better idea of the size and magnitude of the bridge when you are underneath it. Then add the "kadoef kadoef" as the cars and trucks pass overhead. Definitely a weird feeling. It's an easy walk to get below the bridge from the bridge lookout picnic spot so you don't have to do one of the longer trails…
Last Saturday we went for a walk at the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve and followed the River Walk up to the point where you walk under the Van Stadens Bridge. It truly is a sight from below, but I think I'll keep that photo for a second post. The bridge was completed on 12 October 1971 and stretches 198m across the gorge and is 125m at its highest point. The bridge was designed by Italian engineers and the two halves of…