The Lion. King of the Jungle but also one of the laziest animals around. But why not? When one is King you take it easy and just do the necessary, like hunt and eat. Addo Elephant National Park as well as most of the private game reserves around Port Elizabeth have lions so if you get to visit any of these you have a good chance of having a royal encounter.
People from all over the world travel to Africa on a daily basis to, amongst many things, see elephants in the wild. Here in Port Elizabeth we are extremely privileged to have Addo Elephant National Park as well as many private game reserves right on our doorstep. I could easily hop in my car and within an hour be watching wild elephants in their natural environment in Addo. From 9 - 13 September is South African National Parks Week and…
What is the difference between visiting a game reserve and a zoo? At a zoo the animals are kept in enclosures with little freedom and visitors are guaranteed to see them although the sightings include walls, buildings, fences and cages. At a game reserve you will see the animals in their natural environment and as they are free to roam throughout the reserve but there is no guarantee to see them. So which would you rather do? Personally I would take my chances and…
When you ask visitors which of the Big 5 they would like to see the lion and elephant always comes up first followed by the rhino and then the leopard. For some reason the buffalo always seem to be forgotten. Why? Because people see it as little more than wild cattle? Perhaps. What they don't realise is that the very docile and quiet looking Cape Buffalo are aggravated very easily and then turns into a killing machine, goring those in its…
Going anywhere with the KidZ in a car, and that includes the local supermarket a couple of blocks from home, more often than not result in a back seat battle of some sorts. When those back seat battles start to take on epic proportions and I'm forced to stop in a cloud of dust on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere to threaten them that I will be kicking them out the car and leave them just there, then you know…
In summer people head to the beach on nice sunny days, but during winter when the water is called the best you can do at the beach is go for a walk. So what is the alternative? Easy, head out to Addo Elephant National Park and enjoy some of the best African Elephant sightings you will have anywhere in the world.
If I stand on my toes I can see the weekend. Just like this yellow mongoose I recently spotted at Addo Elephant National Park. Most people who see him standing like that may think it's a meerkat, but that would be a case of mistaken identities. Have an awesome weekend!
Some visitors to game reserves often get as excited about seeing something like a zebra than they are when seeing elephants or lions. Perhaps we as locals take these animals for granted as we see them often in game reserves and don't get as excited by them. I kinda lost what I was trying to say with this now other than seeing zebra is always exciting for me even if they aren't part of the Big 5. I found these two Burchell's Zebra…
Port Elizabeth is usually associated with elephants due to its close proximity to the Addo Elephant National Park. Most visitors to the city, both local and international, spend at least a day in the park with others staying over at some of the park's variety accommodation options. Its easy to get to Addo from Port Elizabeth and its possible to sit and watch elephants less than an hour after leaving home or your hotel. The park can be accessed via the main…
Addo is a funny place in a backside kinda way. Unless the elephants are actually heading in your direction, the chances are good that as soon as you have lined up your shot that the animal will turn his back and all you get is a booty shot. Bummer!