We spent 2 nights and 1 full day at Stormsriver mouth. The morning started off clear and sunny, soon to be replaced with a thick sea mist which came and went for most of the day. In the morning we walked to the suspension bridge and crossed it and took the required pictures. For this event the mist lifted just long enough. It is beautiful there, with the lovely boardwalk all the way to the suspension bridge and all through the indigenous forest.Some of us were more energetic than others and some of us was even energetic enough to walk to the waterfall, which is part of the first day's walk on the Otter trail. It is well worth doing it, although the waterfall was pretty mush just a "fall" with hardly any water to go with it. The walk is deceptive as the first 1.5 km is a gentle walk through the forest but then it changes into pick a route over the boulders and along the rocks, definitely not for the faint hearted or unfit. Having said this, Dick did do it with some inner motivation as he wanted to take the picture of the waterfall. The 3 of us that went covered the full hike in 2.5 hours and the notice said it is a 3.5 hr hike, so we felt quite chuffed. We also felt that we had earned our supper and the wine that evening. The evenings on our trip is really pleasant as we all get together every night and we make a good fire and we braai and our group are good experimental eaters and Ostrich steaks are now high on the preferred braai meat list, as well as "boerewors" and even Mrs Balls.
Yesterday we booked into Addo Elephant park at about lunch time and as always in the park it is a "geskarrel" to get your own campsite. Here you are not allocated a specific site and it is a mad scramble to pick your site, as shade and sun movement is ever important. Never the less we all found a space and settled down for the day. The next big decision every day is always "where are we doing the braai tonight". Last night it was ion David and Irene's plot, as they had the best facilities. We made a huge fire and had to go to bed before it was even burnt out. While we were still sitting and chatting and having a last glass of wine, we were visited by a Spotted Genet. It is really a rare night animal, however this one sat around like she was on a photo shoot. Posed here and there and looked at the camera and away and eventually just left as soundlessly as she had appeared. She made our evening. When all had gone to bed, Dick and I still sat outside our van for a while only to be visited by a porcupine. He just walked across our site and went to scuffle and dig in the hedge next to us and then a little while late walked away as if it was his own property. I was so chuffed,as I have never seen a living , walking and snorting porcupine.
This morning we were up and off at 6am and spent the whole morning driving in the park, from the top to the very bottom. It was chilly and the animals were obviously cold and not ready for viewing. We even saw a huge Warthog lying down on a hole to keep warm and he was fast asleep, He was alive, as he opened one eye when Dick took a picture. We saw hardly any elephants this morning, but last night on our drive we saw lots and some really big herds.This morning we were also lucky to see 3 lions who had obviously eaten not too long before as they were so lazy and sleepy and just doing what lions do best. We got some nice pics, I hope.One thing about the park is that it is green and the vegetation is lush. There are hundreds of Kudu all around, as well as plenty big Tortoises and Warthogs. Strangely we have seen very little of the Flightless dungbeetles this time. When we were here in Feb. 2009, we could hardly drive there were so many on the road.
Tonight our group is off on a Night game drive and tomorrow we are off to Gariepdam where we are spending the night and the next day to the Drakensberg.
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