South Africa - Addo Elephant Park

Addo Elephant Park South Africa

The National Parks of South Africa are such a delight. Be patient, don't expect to see all animals in one  day. These are places to chill out and truly enjoy nature at it's best.

Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape is a must visit for those who love elephants.

Whilst the main focus is on the many elephant herds, there are other animals to be seen.

"Natural & Cultural History

In the early centuries, when great herds of wild animals roamed the Addo region, the Khoesan of the Iqua, Damasqua and Gonaqua clans lived in the area.

They hunted and kept cattle but tragically were largely wiped out in the 1700s by the smallpox epidemic. Nomadic Xhosa tribes had kraals in the area, including Chief Cungwa of the Gqunukhwebe (near the Sundays River mouth and inland) and Chief Habana of the Dange (near the Wit River).

The Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) was proclaimed in 1931 to protect the remaining 11 Addo elephant. The great herds of elephant and other animal species had been all but decimated by hunters over the 1700s and 1800s. In the late 1800s, farmers began to colonise the area around the park, also taking their toll on the elephant population due to competition for water and crops.

This conflict reached a head in 1919 when farmers called on the government to exterminate the elephants. The government even appointed a Major Pretorius to shoot the remaining elephants - who killed 114 elephant between 1919 and 1920.

Public opinion then changed, leading to the proclamation of the park in 1931. The original size of the park was just over 2 000 hectares. Conflicts between elephants and farmers continued after proclamation as no adequate fence enclosed the park. Finally in 1954, Graham Armstrong (the park manager at the time) developed an elephant-proof fence constructed using tram rails and lift cables and an area of 2 270 hectares was fenced in. There were 22 elephant in the park at the time. This Armstrong fence, named after its developer, is still used around the park today. Although the park was originally proclaimed to protect a single species, priorities have now changed to conserve the rich biological diversity found in the area.

The Alexandria dunefield is home to many archeological sites - the middens of the nomadic 'Strandloper' or 'beach walker' people. These middens contain shells and bones of animals eaten by the people as well as fragments of pottery and stone implements. Interestingly, the white mussel shells found in these middens are also found in the caves of the Zuurberg Mountains, proving that these people journeyed and stored their food over vast distances.

The caves in the Zuurberg Mountains also contain rock art and stone implements.

The natural and cultural heritage of the park has been studied by the Albany Museum, recording hundreds of sites of significance."

The Speed Limit in the park is 40km per hour - this allows one to spot many smaller creatures such as the tortoise!

One may only exit your vehicle at designated spots - these are clearly marked and some have toilet facilities.

There are numerous "Look-Out" Points for game viewing

|"Domkrag

The Domkrag Dam in the game viewing area of the park is named after a giant mountain tortoise which once roamed the park. 'Domkrag' is the Afrikaans word for a 'jack', and this tortoise had a peculiar habit of walking underneath cars and lifting them up with enormous strength. Domkrag came to a sad end when he fell into an aardvark hole and couldn't get himself out. His shell is still on display in the Interpretive Centre".

"Hapoor

The magnificent elephant head which is mounted in the Interpretive Centre is that of Hapoor, the legendary dominant bull in the park for 24 years. The waterhole in the south western section of the game viewing area is named after him. 'Hap' means 'nick' in Afrikaans, while 'oor' means 'ear' and it is believed the distinctive nick in his ear was caused by a hunter's bullet. Hapoor retained a deep hatred of humans throughout his life. On more than one occasion park staff were forced to flee to safety when Hapoor made his appearance. His dominance stretched from 1944 to 1968. During the latter part of the 1960's a few younger bulls reached maturity and challenged Hapoor. These upstarts were unsuccessful until one bull named Lanky finally deposed Hapoor in 1968. Hapoor was driven from the heard and became a loner. Later that year he succeeded in climbing the park's 'Armstrong Fence', which for nearly 20 years had been elephant-proof. His freedom was to be short lived as due to his aggressive nature, it was determined he would have to be shot."

During the summer months, Hapoor Dam is one of the best viewing areas. We were totally blown away by the discipline shown by the various elephant herds. Standing in the blazing South African sun, they all waited patiently for their turn at the waterhole/dam. If one herd perhaps took just a tad too long, somebody would issue a warning rumble and they would all meekly start exiting the area and the next in line would move down. If only we, as humans, could exercise the same tolerance and patience, life would be much simpler and peaceful!

 

There were many babies when we visited in January - so, so special to see. It's incredible that they don't get squashed as they walk underneath the adults with their enormous bodies and legs. The playfulness and the family dynamics can keep one spellbound for hours.

We love the warthogs - those little tails and the way they kneel down to get the best food remains my favourite to watch. The babies were also special - feeding time for twins forced the mom to stand still for a short while as they are normally always on the move!

"Warthogs are day animals and spend most of their time looking for food. They are normally found in family groups. Warthogs have the peculiar habit of kneeling on the front knees while feeding and foraging in a localised area. They shelter in burrows at night, which they enter tail first. Socially, three main groups are encountered, namely solitary boars, bachelor groups and matriarchal groups."

Driving slowly one morning, we were forced to stop for a very large herd of buffalo. They were very cautious and stopped on the road to gaze at us curiously before crossing over to their next grazing spot. 

As their eyesight is not great, they use their incredible sense of smell to determine if the situation poses a treat or not.

Buffalo are good swimmers and we saw one, lone buffalo hogging a small waterhole every day that we drove past. He was mainly lying in the water and all on his own. 

Gestation periods in buffalo are roughly 11 months and a 2 year interval between breeding is common. A mother and calf bond is very strong as is the family bonds in the herd. They are large in size, thick bossed horns and tasseled looking ears. Their coats are thick and they range from reddish brown to black in colour, their faces, undersides and legs are often a paler shade. They have very serious looking faces and have been said to have a face “that you owe” money to. The reason for any animal being part of the African Big 5 is due to its difficulty and aggressiveness while being hunted. These are thus the most dangerous animals to hunt. 

Buffalo live up to 20 years and weigh between 550 - 800 kg with the females being on the slightly smaller side.

If you get tired of sitting in the car watching all those amazing animals, you can take some time out to go hiking in the Zuurberg Mountains. This is part of Addo national Park so the Wild Card can be used for entry. The road up the mountain is fun (!!) and the section to the gate is rather bumpy but we made it in our Mazda CX5. 

The trails are either a 1 hour (approx. 2.4 km)  or a 3 hour longer hike that should not be attempted during the heat of the day.  We chose the shorter hike due to time constraints and a later start. The trail is very scenic and heads down into the gorge, levels out for a short while and then climbs back up again. Do take care, in places the drop down is pretty steep!

It was rather dry being January and summer = even a lonely frog could not find water and he looked very forlorn and lost!

This is a fairly easy hike and well worth it for the tranquility, great views and being close to nature.

I am not sure whether this male ostrich was calling to another ostrich or whether I just happened to catch him with his mouth open between his grazing!

We enjoyed watching some black backed jackals near a water hole - they were very relaxed and obviously did not feel threatened by anything at all. Eventually, one trotted off up the hill while they others remained taking it easy.

Fossil deposits have revealed that the black-backed jackal is one of the oldest known dog species. It has remained pretty much unchanged since the Pleistocene epoch, up to 2.5 million years ago. Like all jackals, this species forms monogamous, life-long pair bonds. What’s more, youngsters from one year’s litter often act as ‘helpers’, suppressing their own breeding ambitions and remaining with their parents for a year or more in order to help them raise the next litter. This habit is known to have a greater bearing on pup survival rates in black-backed jackals, than in any other jackal species. 

With so much to see, Addo Elelphant Park is truly a magical place.

We also enjoyed the SpekBoom Hide - one can sit there for hours and just absorb the interaction between the various herds as they wander towards the water hole, enjoy a dust bath and chase away the warthogs when they come too close!

 

Please do plan your trip - the summer months are probably the best for lots of action, many young babies and animals on the move. We did once visit in winter (rainy season) when the elephants were lost in the dense bush and very rarely seen!! But perhaps that was just our bad luck.

Until next time....

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