Protecting the environment is an obligation, not a choice

Part 4: Addo Elephant National Park and a well kept secret secret in the Karoo

Natures Valley has drawn us in for a breakfast stop at Valley's Rest. Grootrivier Pass is stunning and I'm immediately noting a return visit for the future

The Otter Trail is the oldest and most iconic hiking trail in South Africa. It starts at the Storms River Mouth and ends here at Nature's Valley. It opened in 1968 and is considered one of the finest trails in the world

Beach, Lagoon, Forest, walking and cycling trails, fishing, canoeing, birding, one runs out of fingers counting all the nature activities in store for the visitor

The dune vegetation is so thick you almost forget there's a village back there

De Vasselot camp sites along the river and forest huts run by SANParks looks like a magical spot to visit

Following the eastern road out of the valley, we stop and enjoy the spectacular view of the estuary and coast. The Bloukrans Pass is closed so we get onto the N2 towards Port Elizabeth. There are a number of stop and go's (road repairs) which slows our progress substantially but its all part of the journey

We are a bit shell-shocked. We knew Addo camping sites were small but these are tiny, packed together like sardines and with only 9 tent sites its a squeeze. Only 3 are available, the park camp is full. We feel fortunate to find this one, its a little larger but close to the camp kitchen

We make our way to the camp waterhole, noticing just how busy it is. We are so used to having a camp almost to ourselves, will we be able to adjust? A lovely silhouette of a Forktailed Drongo above and a favorite below, a Southern Boubou

A pair of Shell Ducks waddle about the waterhole

And a lone buffalo quenches his thirst

The original section of the park was founded in 1931 to provide sanctuary for the 11 last remaining elephants of the area. A success story indeed as the park now has more than 600 gentle giants

There are trains running through the night past camp (some blowing their whistle), with that and a noisy camp, we got very little sleep. We head into the reserve early to find our peace

Our sleep deprived bodies settle down as we watch a family enjoy their early morning drink as do we, caffeine should do the trick. This mother was nursing both the tiny baby and the adolescent, I've never seen that before

I will never tire watching elephants, their majesty, calm and quiet disposition is so tranquil and soothing, all thoughts fall by the wayside

How fast does a zebra have to run before it looks grey?

A gentle giant has been brought down. So many mouths will feed on the carcass

Kudu are abundant in the park. This female keeps her eyes firmly on the Hyena

The largest remaining population of flightless dung beetles make their home in the park, please, no driving over dung

An elusive Bokmakierie hops away as I focus on him. As he's in his territory, I should be able to find and snap him sometime (but as luck would have it, I couldn't)

The buffalo in Addo are disease-free and there are about 400 in the park

Rooidam in the early morning is a delight. The Spoonbills, Blackheaded and Grey Herons, and Darters herd small fish around the dam and snap them up. The fish cause the water to 'boil' as they try to escape

Buffalo Cows only calf every 2 years. How fortunate to see 2 new-born babies together

Jack's picnic site is a super stop. Lovely covered areas tucked into the botanical reserve gives a little privacy when braaiing or simply resting with a cuppa after a morning drive. Jack was a Black Rhino who lived out his last days here

A male Kudu sometimes reveals the white under his tail to signal the rest of the herd to follow

Kudu are such elegant antelope and quite curious too

A Bully Canary atop a Spekboom. This wonder plant is found all over Addo . The leaves have an acid flavour during the day and at night they become less acid. Elephants love eating the plant. It can be eaten by us too and adds a delicious flavour to a stew or use fresh in a salad. Suck a leaf to quench thirst, treat exhaustion, dehydration and heatstroke. Crushed leaves bring relief for blisters, chewing a leave can treat a sore throat and mouth infections and juiced leaves sooth rashes, insect stings and sunburn. This proudly South African indigenous plant is found in semi-desert areas and bushveld but I've seen it thrive in Kathmandu of all places and in Malta as well as the UK. It is indeed a very special plant as it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, absorbing between four to ten tonnes of carbon per hectare. It uses carbon to make plant tissue and produce oxygen and stores solar energy to perform photosynthesis at night. We should all be growing this miracle plant!

Warthogs are able to go long periods without water, as much as several months in the dry season, receiving moisture from roots and bulbs

The drives through Addo are scenic, hilly, lush, full of surprises

Red Hartebeest have excellent hearing and smell but their eyesight is poor. When alarmed they flee, reaching speeds of 55km/h and they zigzag as they run to confuse predators

A Southern Anteating Chat gives us the beady eye

A drive to Carol's rest brings rewards. 3 giants are slowly ascending the hill. We wait at the waterhole for their arrival and as they approach, the family of warthog mudwallowing, takes flight

The first 2 coat themselves in sunscreen. The latecomer is noticeably the dominant male as one leaves the waterhole before he arrives and heads towards a vehicle. Does he recognize it? We chat with the occupants when we eventually leave. They are Honorary Rangers. Maybe the Ellie did know them after all

This magnificent male is in his prime with 2 1/2 twists in his horns and the fringe under his chin identifies him as a Greater Kudu

A Blackheaded Oriole visits us in camp for scrapes off the braai while a immature Weaver waits its turn

Its a lonely life for a Bull Elephant but they keep the gene pool varied as they travel from one herd to another looking for a mate

An extraordinary tree in our camp, it looks like its hugging itself

We love spotting small game and this Savanah Hare isn't bothered by our surveillance

Oxpeckers are the cleanup crew for many herbivores although certain species like Lechwe, duikers and reedbuck are avoided by the birds and Elephants will actively dislodge them when they land

Black-backed Jackals join in the feast and harass the Hyena. We found out from the honorary rangers, that 2 bulls fought and this one was pierced in the stomach and succumbed to its injuries

And still the Kudu look on, very aware of the predators

The white sand dunes of the coastal park seen from a lookout point in the south of Addo

Mr. Bull enjoys a shower and a mud bath

A herd of thirsty Zebra approach the waterhole

Mr. Bull plays the intolerant Pachyderm and sprays the drinking Zebra

Then turns his back and allows them to drink

I think he's just having some fun

A Jackal Buzzard views his domain. Its call is reminiscent of a black-backed jackal, hence the name

Some waterholes have been protected by hanging electric strands from a wire fence to encourage Elephants to spread across Addo and allow the veld to recover. A herd of Zebra are patiently waiting for Buffalo to move away from the waterhole and one is being taken advantage of

Its raining Elephants, Addo is certainly the place to enjoy spectacular interactions with them

A young bull viewed from a lovely elevated site, strolls around the dam intently. He reaches a fountain where fresh water is being pumped into the dam and placing his trunk over the fountain, sucks a trunkful of beautiful water. They are so clever

We've decided to cut our visit short. Camp is just too busy and noisy for our liking. Addo is a beautiful park and we've had wonderful sightings, heard lion roaring at night, which is the most thrilling sound ever. With schools starting later then planned due to Covid and the holidays falling into this week had not been anticipated when we booked our trip. The whole of the western and eastern Cape seem to be visiting given that overseas travel is not on the cards for the foreseeable future. Besides, the weather is going to take a turn for the worse with rain expected so we'll find ourselves somewhere quiet and dry for the last few days of our travels

We haven't traveled our country for so long, we'd forgotten what a spectacular land this is. Olifantskop is another beautiful pass

Cookhouse is a valley of green. Stopping at a filling station, I get chatting with a young farmer who tells me the Fish River runs through the valley and has water all year round. I am puzzled by that statement. Then I find out about the Orange-Fish Tunnel. Its the longest continuous enclosed aqueduct in the Southern hemisphere, running 83km, built to divert water from the Orange River to the Fish River Valley and the Sundays River. Wow, you're never too old to learn something new about your country

We stop in Craddock for breakfast. Had I time, I'd have loved to explore the beautiful Hotel and restored historic buildings that have been turned into guest houses in Market Street. The Shed dishes up a wonderful breakfast and we are in luck, after a couple of "sorry, we're fully booked" rejections we get a fantastic response from Hillston farm in the Karoo. They will let us use their country house. Sounds awesome. As we have time to kill, we head down the R390 to Hofmeyr and in true small town tradition, we find a great tea and cake pitstop

We have yet to dodge a pothole on this trip, come on Free State, fix our roads! The R56 is pristine (or the part we've driven is)

A short drive along the Groot-Brak Rivier (This is the source) to find our country lodgings

Wide open spaces, not a sole in sight, the silence is deafening

The first items unpacked (only because we can't get into the back of the vehicle until they're off)

The country house is a mid century home and decorated accordingly. Childhood memories come flooding back

We have a 360 view of the Zuurberg mountains

The weather turns and what we witness is unbelievably beautiful

A full-moon rises and when we wake, we watch the splendor of it setting

and turn around to watch a perfect dose of beauty, magic, inspiration and hope on the other side of the spectrum

Back on our bikes to cycle a world that seems arid but is a land of secret beauty and infinite variety

A herd of Springbok run across our path and we look into the distance at something odd. Is it a sheep on a termite mound?

No, its a llama, well this is unexpected. Now this is more like it, horse comes trotting over to say 'good morning'

The track ends, we've missed something, we hunt around for a while then turn back and find a fork in the track we'd missed. Before long the house appears in the distance. What do they say about being careful of what you wish for? I'd been thinking that I don't want the cycle to end, its so quiet, lovely, enjoyable and then we get lost (well, not really but you know what I mean)

The reservoir cools one of us down

A Familiar Chat takes a liking to the handlebars as a perch

A puzzling pair, cannot identify them, but no.2 is an arid west subspecies of Fiscal Shrike with his white brow, and next to him is a male Mountain Chat, we've only seen the female of the species who is dark brown

A spitting drizzle starts as we take a walk to the little dam near the house. We need to hurry back home

Little did we know what was in store for us, a show, Karoo style. Our veranda, the seating, the landscape is the stage and Mother Nature puts on a performance that takes our breath away

"Nature itself is the best physician" Hippocrates

Our short stay in the Karoo has been remarkable. We are given a map to drive a scenic route as we head home and cross the Groot Brak, starting as a small stream that winds its way down to the Western Cape region of Mossel Bay some 500km away

A Black Eagle soars overhead

A stunning drive through the Karoo, past farms, spotting Goshawks, down a small pass before heading back onto the R5. We stop at the Karoo Plaaz in Steynsburg for a coffee and homemade (you guessed it) pies before heading on the R390 to Gariep Dam. I'm feeling a little downcast, we've been on the road for almost 5 weeks and its coming to an end

The road is good, the scenery lovely. 5 Blue Cranes take off, fly over us and as we stop to watch them, I feel so fortunate to have my soul mate to run wild with

We drive into Oviston to check out the largest dam in South Africa. The surface area is 374km/sq and was built in the mid 1960's. The inlet of the Orange-Fish River tunnel (below) was opened in 1975. Sadly Oviston feels as if we've entered the twilight zone. It was established in the 60's to accommodate workers on the Tunnel and we find it in a state of ill-repair

We cross the Orange River near Norvalspont Village. The first bridge was built over the Orange in 1889 allowing the British to cross the River on their first campaign against the Voortrekkers

Waschbank River Lodge is our last night stop. It's quite spectacular location on the Orange River makes it a perfect stopover

4 B&B rooms face the river. There are also self catering cottages behind the rooms

I hear some twittering noises and hunt down a pair of Whitefronted Bee-eaters. These birds make my heart sing

We step out in the farm road to stretch our legs and get caught in a shower

And it doesn't stop, for the rest of the day, it buckets down

We delve into a history lesson. When the Boers resorted to guerrilla tactics, many local people sought security at Norval's Pont and the population swelled dramatically. The Norvalspont concentration camp was established in Nov 1900 to relieve the Bloemfontein camp. By February 1901, 3479 detainees were residing in the camp. A school was opened to educate the 500 children. Due to the overcrowding, illness broke out soon after the camp was opened and by July of 1901, 412 people are believed to have died from Measles, scarlet fever and diphtheria

The ferry at Norval's Pont before a bridge was built, at a cost of 1 Pound a trip

Thomas Bain was not only a master road builder. He was also an artist. This is his painting of British Troops crossing the Orange River at Norval's Pont in 1852

On the 12 December 1890, the first railway bridge was opened across the Orange River at Norval's Pont

A map of the Waschbank property. Its website announces "Captivating, Comforting, Charming, Calming and Compelling. Yes, 5 times over. There's plenty to do here or do nothing at all except rest

What an adventure its been, 5 weeks, 5899km, meeting fabulous people from all walks of life, traversing 32 mountain passes while exploring our beautiful, colorful country in the company of a champion companion. Satisfaction is measured by our own soul, mind and heart. life is better when you cry a little, laugh a lot and are thankful for everything you've got

Until next time, say YES to new adventures