AN ELEPHANTINE EXPERIENCE
STRETCHING FROM THE KAROO TO THE ISLANDS IN ALGOA BAY, ADDO IS A VAST CONSERVATION AREA PROTECTING ALL MANNER OF FLORA AND FAUNA, FROM MEERKATS TO MARINE LIFE, SEMI-ARID SCRUBLAND TO COASTAL WOODLAND. THE ACTION ADVENTURE STARTS HERE
Standing aboard the Raggy Charters tour boat, parked next to the guano-stained rocks of Algoa Bayʼs Bird Island, I sucked in a lungful of salty air and watched in awe as a tornado of Cape gannets circled around a red and white lighthouse.
There were thousands of them; tens of thousands perhaps; swirling like a blizzard over the sea, diving into the water and raining down destruction on any ill-fated fish below. I saw a whale nearby, too – a humpback by the looks of it – and next to her, a pod of bottlenose dolphins.
ALGOA BAY MARINE PROTECTED AREA
ʻThe seven small islands of Algoa Bay are extremely important to many types of marine organisms,ʼ announced the boatʼs skipper over a din of squawking birds. ʻThey offer sanctuary to 4 000 penguins and are home to the only breeding population of roseate terns in the country. That rock over there,ʼ he said pointing to a small outcropping, ʻis the most easterly seal colony on the continent, and then there are these…ʼ He waved his hand around in a vague sweeping motion, indicating the gannets that were everywhere.
ʻItʼs hard to count them, but we figure there are around 250 000, which makes this the largest colony in the world.ʼ
The 1 200km² Algoa Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA) with its islands and undeveloped coast, are not only safeguarding the future of marine mammals, birds and fish stocks in the Eastern Cape, but also that of abalone and great white sharks, too. The latter can be met face to face on a newly launched cage-diving operation out of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).
The following day I went back out to sea, but this time with Pro Dive, a scuba-diving outfit with a licence to operate within the MPA. Here we explored a submerged pinnacle near St Croix Island named Evanʼs Peak, where all manner of fabulous creatures reside.
There were bright orange sponges and vibrant soft corals, as well as fish of all shapes and colours, the most exciting of which was a large ragged-toothed shark which glided slowly past. I watched her sink into the darker depths below and had to ask myself the question: ʻCan this really be Addo Elephant National Park? But it is.
ADDO’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS & GROWTH
Once, not so very long ago, South Africans knew Addo only as a smallish safari destination where you could drive through dense brush and be guaranteed of an elephant encounter or two. A nice weekend add-on to a Garden Route vacation.
But since its humble beginnings in the 1930s as a 2 000-hectare ʻzooʼ built for a handful of beleaguered elephants, Addo has steadily grown in both size and purpose.
Now in 2021, after numerous expansions, the park is almost 3 000km² and has a mission to save not only elephants (of which there are now some 700 individuals) but also to preserve numerous endangered biomes.
Addo has six distinct habitats (Nama Karoo, fynbos, forest, subtropical thicket, coastal and marine) and a kaleidoscope of residents ranging from perlemon and pufferfish to rhino, lion and hyena.
I recently set out with my family to explore all eight of Addoʼs varied sectors, from the glittering shores of Darlington Dam in the Karoo, all the way down to the rolling dunes and rocky islets of the southern coastal region. We hiked and we boated, we drove and we rode on horses and at the end of our 10-day jaunt, concluded that Addo surely has to be the most varied and diverse national park in all of Africa – if not the world.
ADDO’S CORE
The two primary game drive areas (Colchester and Main Camp sectors) have a bit of a reputation for being clogged up with impenetrable thicket but there are some decent circuit routes where this notorious vegetation gives way to open landscapes alive with zebra, hartebeest, buffalo, and of course, elephants. On the Gorah Loop, along with several routes situated in the southern Colchester sector, youʼll also likely get good wildlife sightings, including black rhinos, hyena, and lions.
We spent two days in this core area, staying at the cute cottages of the Matyholweni Rest Camp from which we ventured out on well-graded roads. We ticked off meerkats and secretary birds, warthogs and bat-eared foxes, and we even saw a lion lazing in the open; a magnificent specimen with a big black Kalahari mane.
Thereʼs plenty to keep you busy for a few days in this popular part of the park, and when not exploring in your own car, you can join an open vehicle guided game- or night drive, or hang out in an underground viewing hide right in front of an active waterhole. The elephant interactions there are pure joy to behold.
But as great as this all is, there is oh so much more to Addo than just game drives and the Big Five.
WOODY CAPE
Down in the coastal section known as the Woody Cape you can hike through evergreen forests, and desert-like scenery more akin to Namibia than what you might expect from the Eastern Cape.
The best way to take it all in is on the two-day Alexandria Hiking Trail; a somewhat gruelling circular trek of 36km, which is one of the most striking and scenically surprising hikes in all South Africa. We ambled through cool verdant forests where Narina trogons flit, and then scrambled up and down towering sand dunes and along lonely stretches of beach that made us feel as if we had been transported to the Skeleton Coast – but for the numerous primeval shell middens left behind by ancient Khoisan tribes.
If the thought of hiking 36km, much of it through soft sand, seems a bit much for you, fear not. You can still get a taste of what Woody Cape has on several easy forest trails situated close to the Langebos huts and the Umsintsi honeymoon cottage. Take a scenic drive to the coastal village of Canon Rocks where youʼll find a much less demanding 7km trail, or else access the dunes further west from the N2 at Colchester. This is just a short drive from the Matyholweni Rest Camp.
GORAH ELEPHANT CAMP
Our next port of call was to the upmarket Gorah Elephant Camp; a gorgeous fivestar lodge situated right in the middle of one of the most game-rich regions of Addo. Here we were treated to all the usual goodies you can expect from an exclusive safari experience: amazing food; beautiful accommodation, excellent guides and heaps of excursions into the surrounding bush.
Gorah operates on a private concession within the national park, so youʼll never have to share a sighting with the hoi polloi. The dam situated right in front of the lodgeʼs unfenced patio must have the sweetest water in all of Addo judging by the constant activity there; and at any time – day or night – we saw scores of elephants, buffalo and other thirsty game.
We even got to spend some early-morning quality time on foot with a clan of habituated meerkats who allowed us to watch them from mere metres away.
To observe these little critters, lined up in front of the rising sun like little soldiers on inspection, was nothing short of enchanting.
The Bedrogfontein route winds through forests and OVER MOUNTAINS MADE NOTORIOUS by bloody Anglo Boer War battles
NYATHI
North of Main Camp area you enter the 14 000-hectare Nyathi section, a place of secluded plains ensconced in valleys of forested mountains. The scenery here is quite different from the main game drive areas of Addo but alas, most of it is off limits to casual visitors due to the steep and muddy nature of the roads.
There are several ways to get into Nyathi, though. The first is to saddle up for one of the parkʼs twice daily horse treks (in the morning for novice riders, the afternoon for those with experience). Iʼm a fairly confident rider but as soon as Thando Ntamo, Addoʼs horse whisperer, began his safety brief, I started to feel like I may have signed up for a suicide mission.
ʻIf you see a lion donʼt gallop away. Instead, get off your horse. Hold the reins and stand your ground.ʼ
Yeah right, I thought to myself. I canʼt see myself doing that. But Thando had a very big rifle and a casual assuredness which inspired my trust and confidence.
The horses themselves were also as cool as cucumbers, even while surrounded by elephants, and although my palms were clammy and my jaw clenched tighter than a duckʼs poophole for most of the two-hour excursion, I thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of riding among Addoʼs big game. The fact that we didnʼt see buffalo, lion or rhinos, Iʼll consider a plus.
That same evening we stayed at SANParksʼ version of luxury accommodation; a series of chic self-catering apartments situated on a bluff overlooking one of the most scenic areas of Nyathi. Another way to experience this region is to spend a night or two at the Riverbend Lodge; a five-star safari operator with an exclusive licence to conduct game drives throughout the sector.
Black rhinos are particularly fond of the dense vegetation found atop the Zuurberg foothills and, as the only vehicles likely to be able to traverse these steep roads would be a military tank or a Land Cruiser, itʼs fortunate that Riverbend Lodge has a whole fleet of the latter vehicles.
Our guide took us up to the highest points where we drove from dung midden to dung midden (the rhino equivalent of a social media app) and eventually came face to face with one of these magnificent beasts. He snorted and crashed around a bit, before vanishing into a valley far, far below. It was magic. Pure, pure magic.
KABOUGA AND DARLINGTON
Next, we moved further north to the Kabouga and Darlington sections to try our own hand at an ʻoff-roadʼ adventure on the 45km Bedrogfontien 4×4 trail. Commencing from the Kabouga House (a fully equipped self catering cottage) or from Mvubu (a basic bush camping site on the banks of the Sundays River) we set out into what felt like the absolute middle of nowhere.
Despite being the largest areas within Addo by far, the Darlington and Kabouga sections are rarely visited by tourists, because most of them are completely inaccessible. The Bedrogfontien route, which requires low range and high clearance, takes around six hours to complete. It winds through forests and over mountains made notorious by bloody Anglo Boer War battles, as well as traversing open Karoo panoramas where oryx eke out a living in a parched and arid land.
The fynbos-covered meadows, the expansive views and the blissful feeling of being surrounded by nature on all sides was so powerful at times that I felt inclined to leap from the car, swing my kids in circles and burst into a Von Trapp family song… but I didnʼt because there were rhinos, elephants, and buffalo out there and they might have taken offence.
Concluding at the picturesque Darlington Dam where flamingos and hippos can sometimes be seen, we paused for a lakeside picnic and then headed off on public roads to our final port of call: the lovely Narina Bush Camp, situated in the Zuurberg section of Addo.
ZUURBERG
Up there, in the grassy mountains, we found a special kind of peace. The fully equipped camp – which consists of four furnished army tents, a lapa and a heated bush shower – is situated beneath a verdant canopy of Afromontane forests. But take a steep hike upwards and youʼll soon find yourself in an open landscape of flowery fynbos, peppered with tall and ancient cycad trees.
There are yet more fynbos-focused Zuurberg hiking trails about half an hour drive north from Addo Main Gate up the scenic R335, and it was there, after 10 days of adventure, that I sat on a disused termite hill and drank in a fantastic 360-degree panorama.
To the north lay the hazy horizons of the Great Karoo, while the east and west were filled with scenes of sloping mountains coated in fynbos and forests. To the south, through binoculars, I could just about see the sea and dunes of Algoa Bay along with the Bird Island lighthouse and its gannet-filled skies. Itʼs a huge expanse of protected habitats, alive as nature intended.
At the start of our trip, 15 metres below the ocean, I had asked myself the question, ʻCan this really be Addo Elephant National Park?ʼ
And there, up in the clouds, with sugarbirds and protea flowers all round, the answer was obvious. Yes, of course it is. This is Addo Elephant National Park…. but itʼs as much a place for sardines, trogons and yellowwoods as it is for those magnificent namesake pachyderms.
It’s a huge expanse of PROTECTED HABITATS, alive as NATURE INTENDED