Addo Elephant Park

 

I spent 3 days at a citrus farm called  De Olde Drift Guest Farm.  Very cool B&B.  It was located in the town of Addo about 20 km from the gates of Addo Elephant National Park which is actually fairly close.  Notice the logo to the left of the sign?  That logo is a kudu and it is the logo of the South African National Park  System.    


  

Kudu

 Here's some of the animals I saw on my game drives during my stay at Addo.  Kudu are big regal antelopes.  Very beautiful but skittish so hard to get good pictures of.



Cape Buffalo

 Cape buffalo are big and mean.  They are the animal most likely to kill you in the park.  When they charge, they keep coming and coming.  The guides said that Cape Buffalo have knocked cars off the road and into ravines.


Warthog

Pumba is swahili for warthog & simba is swahili  for Lion.  The Lion King should have taught you that!  

Black Backed Jackal

 This guy was working his way across a field  - he would use a paw to roll over a dung pile, he would eat the grubs left exposed and then move on to the next dung pile...   The dung piles are because of the Dung Beetle that rolls the fresh elephant, buffalo or rhino dung into balls and lays it's eggs in the middle.  There are signs all over the park warning you to not run over dung piles in the road.  So you don't squash the dung beetle larvae.




Red Hartebeest




Burchells Zebra


Zebras are beautiful.  I could sit and watch them all day long.  You can tell them apart by their stripes.






Elephants - Lots and Lots of them!



Shari



More things you don't see at home...

These cute little guys are called Dassies or Rock Hyraxes.  They are fluffy guinea pig-like animals but guess what their closest relative is?  The elephant.  You see them all over South Africa where ever there is rocky terrain.  They were in Cape Town on top of Table Mountain, and at Tsitsikamma Park right on the rocky shoreline.  As you can see they are much cuter than those evil baboons and monkeys!  However, when they open their mouths they have these big giant teeth so I'm not sure they'd actually make a very good pet.

Dassies or Rock Hyraxes



Beware of Lion Signs -- Enough Said!

In South Africa, every time you go into a state park, you have to sign a waiver that indemnifies the State from all liability in case of an accident.  I also noticed that there are signs posted all over the place, at a lot of beach side pathways and parks that say travel or use at your own risk. Traveling in South Africa is not for the faint-hearted or the sue-happy.  However, I don't believe US National Parks make you sign a waiver when you go to Yellowstone or Yosemite and technically you could get eaten by a bear.     

Guess what this is called in South Africa?

Answer:   A Robot

The first time I was given directions on how to get to a nearby travel agency, the security guard told me to go down to the next robot and turn left. (I sniggered at that!)  There are private security guards just about everywhere in South Africa.  In the malls, in front of business, on street corners in business districts.  At first it seemed really odd and kind of scary (Why do we need Security Guards on every corner?)  but after awhile it seems like second nature to see them everyplace.  They are not armed, are typically dressed nicer than most people and are very helpful. 

Woolworth's Department Stores are everywhere!

There are Woolworth's all over the place and they are like nothing you have ever seen.  They are not like the old five and dime store that used to be in the USA.  I started to say they are more like a Target but not really.  They sell high end clothing and soft good like Macy's but they also (frequently) have a grocery store inside them that sells high end, organic foods, foods to go - sort of  like a high end Whole Foods Market.  It's a weird combination but I admit I have stopped in frequently to get lunch or dinner to go.  Food to go is called Takeaways here.

That's just some of the many things I have learned since coming to South Africa.  It seems like everyday I learn something new.  More pictures to come from Addo Elephant Park.

Shari

The Garden Route...Recap

So after Cape Town, Simon's Town, Boulders Beach and the Cape of Good Hope, I had finally almost made it to the start of the Garden Route.  The Garden Route is South Africa's version of California's Pacific Coast Highway - it starts in Mossel Bay and ends in Port Elizabeth – about 500 miles.   And if you think of PCH, think how many places you could stop and spend the day looking at tide pools, rocky shores and beautiful beaches.  Well, basically that's what I'm doing.  

Mossel Bay - I arrived late (about 8 pm) due to ongoing road repair, and I was tired and stressed. Well thank goodness I had a room reserved.  Wrong!  I pull up to the B&B I had reserved and the sign in front says full.  Oh, no I think, I hope they didn't give my room away.  I pull up an insanely steep driveway – (stick shift remember...)  and the place is locked up tight.  I ring the bell and no one answers.  I walk completely around the building, trying all the doors and window and the place is locked up tight.  There is no one anywhere to be found – no guests, no proprietors, no one.  I was tired, cranky and hadn't eaten for hours and this was the first time on my trip that I had felt sorry for myself.   I took a deep breath and decided to drive on around the neighborhood and wouldn't you know it, one block over  - The Mossel Bay Guest House.  The light was on, I knocked and they welcomed me in.  It was so nice I stayed for two days.  I met the nicest couple from Seattle – BC and Lisa  (If you guys are reading this, please friend me on Facebook, I want to see the rest of  your pictures!)
 

Angels run this place!



From Mossel Bay I drove inland to a town called Oudtshoorn.  The drive to Oudtshoorn was beautiful, through scenic mountain passes.  Oudtshoorn is know as the Ostrich Capital of South Africa, (maybe the world).  Ostriches are farmed here and you can almost always find ostrich on a menu.  You know how pork is called the “other” white meat?  Well I guess ostrich is the other “other” white meat – it's really lean meat.  I tried it but I didn't really like it.  Anyway, Oudtshoorn has lots of ostrich farm and has a place called Cango Caves.   Now that was really cool.  I did the adventure tour where you have to crawl through parts of the caves.  These pictures don't do the caves justice.  They were huge caverns, insanely dark but lit with weird spot lights. 



The adventure tour was fun.  I had to slide/crawl/wiggle through a space shown above.  This was called the Letterbox.      I stayed the night in a B&B in Oudtshoorn.  It was called Riverside B&B and I was in this huge room with really ornate antiques.  I felt out of place but I picked it b/c it was the only place I found that had free Wi-Fi.



 Internet access can be hard to come by at some places.  I've noticed that places that advertise Wi-Fi may have had it for the Soccer World Cup in 2010 but don't have it anymore.  I've sat down at a cafe with a Wi-Fi sign and ordered and only then found out that they don't have it.  Now I ask before I”m seated.  Live and Learn.

The next day I left Oudtshoorn and headed back to the Coast – past George, on to Knysa and Plettenberg Bay.   These were adorable little beach towns, with really amazing wilderness areas surrounding them.  I spent the night and the entire next day there. 

Tsitsikamma National Park - I really lucked out!  I got a cabin right on the beach in the national park for the night.  This is Storms River mouth.  I took a zodiac boat ride up the storm river and I jumped on the suspension bridge.


Here's my cabin.  It was worth avoiding baboons for! 


Weather here has been hot one day, overcast the next.  So you never quite know what to wear.  But I do guarantee you need to wear sunblock and mosquito repellent.  I've been in a few places that are Malaria Free but for the most part Malaria is endemic here in South Africa.   I've lost count of the number of bites I've received since I got to Africa - easily 100+ from all sorts of bugs I don't recognize!






Sunset from cabin at Tsitsikamma National Park

I did a zip line Tree Canopy tour while I was at Tsitsikamma.  It was fun.  They fit you with a harness and you zip line from platform to platform up in the Tree Canopy.  I did it with a local family of 4 from Jeffrey's Bay and a couple from Germany.  I still owe Harald a video of him in mid-air! 

I can't say it enough how beautiful South Africa is.  They are blessed with beautiful coastlines and very  fine sand beaches.   It is relatively easy traveling because English is spoken most everywhere.  I have only met a handful  of Americans on holiday however.  Most of my time is spent with Dutch, German and English folks on holiday.

Next stop... Addo Elephant Park, Cape St. Francis and Jeffrey's Bay.  Then I'll be caught up on picture posting!
Shari

Baboons and Monkeys

Previously I posted pictures of signs warning about baboons. Remember?  

 Keep your doors locked and windows shut. I thought it was kind of funny that those cute little monkeys and baboons could be a problem. Well I was wrong. 

These cute little Vervet monkeys are nasty.   When I was walking back from the Zambia side of Victoria Falls (after Bungee Jumping – Boing!), 3 of the little guys came out of the rain forest towards me on the pathway.  No problem I thought, I veered out into the roadway but they just kept coming at me.  I finally swung my umbrella at one to shoo it away and that really pissed them off!  The big one came after me with teeth bared!   I took off running – totally intimidated by a monkey.  I was laughed at by a bunch of Zimbabwe souvenir sellers!

My next encounter was at Tsitsikamma National Park.  It is a beautiful park right on the ocean at Storms River mouth.  I was able to get a cabin in the park for the night. I'd seen baboons along the roads but when I drove up to cabin #23 and there was a big baboon going through the trash can right next to where I was supposed to park. 

 I panicked, of course, remembering my last monkey encounter.   I turned around, drove away without getting out of the car – totally intimidated by a baboon.  The big guy was gone when I returned a couple of hours later after sightseeing - whew.

When I stopped in Pringle Bay, I went into the general store to get a snack and there was a sign on the door stating to be sure to latch the door to keep the baboons out.  I asked the proprietor about that and she said that baboons are quick learners and very cunning so be careful  when you are alone.  Great.


On the banana plantations, all the big bunches of bananas are kept covered in blue plastic.  I asked the tour guide why and he said that “Monkeys always make a mess.  They will tear down and wreck the entire bunch even if they only ate one banana because that's their nature.”  The farmers hate the monkeys/baboons and shoot them whenever they get the chance. 


I guess I'm really thankful we don't have baboons and monkeys in the USA.  Can you imagine if cats were the size of monkeys and had thumbs and could open car doors?   I think cats would be a lot like monkeys,  they would probably steal your lunch, your purse, your credit cards and stuff!  However, I do think they'd be very neat and clean about it. 

On the other hand, if dogs were like monkeys and had opposable thumbs, I don't think they'd steal your stuff  I think dogs would be so busy throwing tennis balls for themselves and other dogs that the thought of stealing your stuff would never occur to them!


Shari
PS You know how I call people Knuckleheads when they are annoying me?  Well from now on I'm going to call them Monkeys!

On the way to the Cape of Good Hope

Here are some more photos of African Penguins at Boulders Beach.  I can't tell you how adorable the little guys are.  They waddle around and hop from rock to rock.   It  amazed me to see penguins on the beach,  I had (mistakenly) assumed they were always in the cold, icy places -- waiting to be eaten by a polar bear.  Actually, Gary Larsen lied to us, polar bears are at the North Pole and penguins are at the South Pole.  So polar bears really don't eat penguins - they are probably more likely to snack on one of Santa's Elves!  No, not really.

African Penguin



  Here's a picture of a penguin with her baby penguin.  Baby penguins are almost blue-gray in color and have soft, downy coats.  The young will moult and lose the down coat which will be replaced with the distinctive black and white fur.  The spots and markings on a penguin are unique - scientist use these markings to tell one penguin from another.

Cute Penguin Couple

Penguins mate for life.  You see them standing around in pairs or couple along the beach.  I thought it was adorable.  African penguins are also called Jackass Penguins.  You know why?  Because they bray like donkeys.  It's really funny.  One of them brays and all the rest join in. 


My next stop was the Cape of Good Hope.  Notice how it says the most south-western and the the most Southern point of Africa?  That's because Cape Agulhas is actually the southern most point of Africa.  That's where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

I've seen dozens of beautiful lighthouses in my driving along the coast of Africa.  Most of then are still in use.  In fact, the one in Cape Town has a really loud fog horn that is used with the light to warn ships of the shallow waters.



Light house at Cape of Good Hope

By the time I get finish driving the Whale Route and the Garden Route I will have driven about 500 miles and I will have stopped at most of the red dots on the map above. 
Shari

Simon's Town - On my way to the Cape of Good Hope

So at the suggestion of Sandy and David Stubchaer, I rented a car in Cape Town and am driving to Port Elizabeth.  It's almost 800 km or about 500 miles.  I rented a Nissan Micra which makes my Geo Prizm look big! It is a 5 speed manual transmission rather than an automatic.  So far, every taxi or limo service I've used have all had stick shifts.  When I went to rent this car, the cheapest 4 or 5 models were all stick shift, you had to get up to an expensive sedan before automatic was offered.

In South Africa, they drive on the opposite side of the road.  Now that takes some getting used to.  I think I'm finally getting the hang of driving on the other side of the road. I've only had 3 drivers flash their headlights at me in fear as I was driving on the "wrong" side of the road - I was coming straight at 'em!   No worries.  I actually prefer driving with traffic because that way all I have to do is follow the driver in front of me and I'm guaranteed to be on the correct side of the road.

My plan was to drive the Garden Route in about 4 days.  Wrong!  I have continually underestimated how cool South Africa is and how many interesting things to do and places to see.  There are so many things to see it took me 4 days just to get to the start of the Garden Route in Mossel Bay. 

I picked up the car and headed to Simon's town.  It's a cute little fishing port.  They have this statue of a Great Dane (named Abel Seaman Just Nuisance). He was a dog who would escort the sailors to and from town.   Just Nuisance was the adopted mascot of the Royal British Navy and he was actually enlisted as a sailor so he could ride the local train for free.  When he died he was given a full military burial.



Just Nuisance statue at Jubilee square, Simon's Town


Here's something that made me pull off to the side of the road and take a picture!

I was actually warned by a taxi driver in Cape Town to beware of the baboons.  I thought he was joking but no.  I ran into all sorts of Danger!  Baboons!  Keep windows shut and door locked signs!  Apparently, baboons will hang out around rest stops looking for food.  They will even wait until you leave your car then they will try to open the doors looking for food.  Sometimes they will menace/terrorize people if they see you are eating something. 

These baboons weren't very big but I saw some really big and scary ones!

Anyway, enough about baboons!  

Check out the Giant Penguins of South Africa.  They are huge, bigger than Godzilla....

Bigger than a ten story building....

This one looks kind of sinister.  Doesn't he look like he wants to squash that building!?!

Not really.   I'll put up the cute penguin pictures tomorrow.   
Shari

Cape Town Rocks!

Sorry I've been a bit slow posting pictures lately but I've been having so much fun in Cape Town that I just haven't found the time to upload pictures and blog.   I'll let the pictures tell the story....

It is very easy for tourists to visit Cape Town without driving a car.  There are these big red sightseeing buses that make one of two loops around the city stopping at all the favorite tourist attractions.  For a set price you can hop on and off, as many times as you need to visit all the sights.  I was able to catch the Go Bus just across the street from  my hotel.  Very nice!

My first stop was Table Mountain - a big flat topped mountain right in the middle of town.  The cable car you see hold up to 20 people as we make our way to the top.  You can also hike up to or down from the mountain.  I rode the cable  car both ways as the weather was hot and humid,  in the mid 30's Celsius.  (Come on guys, you can do the math!)  Trust me, it was hot and humid.

Victoria and Alfred  Waterfront aka V & A Waterfront.  Tons of things to do there -- as you can see
ferris wheel, boat rides, lots of shopping and restaurants and a really nice aquarium.  This is where you catch the boat to Robben Island for the tour of the infamous prison.  Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 year imprisioned on Robben Island.   Here's a picture of his cell.

 Our guide was also imprisoned here as a political prisoner from 1986 until he was released in 1991.  He now lives on the island.  I asked him how he could go back to a place he was imprisoned and he said that at the time, he really needed a job but  now he couldn't see himself anyplace but here.   He said he was imprisoned here for being a member of the ANC, the African National Congress - a banned political party.

Statues of the 4 South African  laureates at the V&A waterfront.   Each won a Nobel Peace prize.   Can you name them?
L - R)
Albert Luthuli - 1961
Bishop Desmond Tutu - 1984
F.W. de Klerk - 1993 co-winner with
Nelson Mandela -1993


Table Mountain as seen from the ferry to Robben Island with a covering of clouds.  The tour was sobering, learning about apartheid and why the 4 men in the picture above were awarded Nobel Peace Prizes. 
More pictures to come later.
Shari

Beautiful Cape Town Sunset




From my 12th floor window

 

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls is considered one of the seven Wonders of the Natural World.  The falls are 328 feet high which makes them twice as high as Niagara Falls in the US.  The falls are formed by the Zambezi River which is also the border between the countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia.  I flew into the Zimbabwe side but walked over to the Zambia side of the river.  I did not get my passport stamped  in Zambia because the visa costs $10 to enter Zambia from Zimbabwe but it will cost you $30 to get back let back into Zimbabwe so you can go back to your hotel!

I got to the hotel, checked in and walked around Victoria Falls Village.  I saw a tour company office that was jammed full of people so I walked over to check it out.  Surprise!  Americans -- I've only talked to one other American since I arrived in Africa so it was nice to hear US accents and slang for a change.   Plus, they were the nicest, friendliest bunch of folks from all over the US and they invited me to go on the Sunset River Cruise with them.  They had been in Africa for several weeks building Churches/Schools and were at Victoria Falls for a little R&R. 

Hippos on the Sunset Cruise

Sunset on the Sunset Cruise












































The falls are amazing.  The thing that surprised me was how really loud Victoria Falls are.  The sound is a continuous, thunderous roar, 24/7.  Vic Falls stretches on for 1 ¼ miles and as since it is summer (wet season) here, they are really flowing.   The day before I tried to walk down Path No 1 but only made it part way b/c a smaller waterfall had formed and flooded the path l was following.  

Path No. 1 - and yes, it really is that steep!


At the entrance to the falls, there are signs that warn you to cover your camera and bring an umbrella or slicker and Gosh – they aren't kidding.  I carried my umbrella but that was the wettest I think I have ever been in my life.  Soaked  to the skin! 


It's really hard getting good pictures in the rain/mist/fall spray but I figured out that if you stand in one place for awhile, the winds will blow the mists out and you'll get a very short window to get a picture of the waterfall with some blue sky behind it.

Towards the end of the trail you reach a place called Danger Point.  Now that's aptly named because it is a rocky point with no rails, just a sign that says "DANGER".  The winds at Danger Point are very strong - raging, swirling around. It's really wet too, standing water on all the stone pathways making them slick.  No pictures because it was misting/raining so hard I was afraid I'd drown my camera!

I now really appreciate those beautiful postcards of Victoria Falls because most of the time, the mist is so heavy that it completely obscures the view of Victoria Falls.
Shari