Wild Game Reserves and Safaris in South Africa

Our trip to South Africa was going to start, like most, in Cape Town. After three days there, visiting Table Mountain, Robben Island, the Winelands and the Cape Peninsula, we were to rent a car, travel in the general direction of the Garden Route as far as Port Elizabeth, and from there, fly back to Cape Town. We figured out early on, before traveling to South Africa, that we would only have about two to three days at most at a reserve, and that we needed to pack as much as we could into that time.

There's no shortage of private and government sponsored reserves between the Western and Eastern Capes. Tour operators even do "safari" day trips from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. It's difficult though to recommend these tours. Most are a bit gimmicky, being nothing more than small private zoos.

As we researched our options, one in particular began to cement itself as a firm favorite; Addo Elephant National Park - located just seventy five kilometers (about 50 miles) from Port Elizabeth and just off the Garden Route. It was certainly big enough at 148,000 hectares; contained the "Big 5", i.e. elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalo and leopards; and also was in a "malaria-free" part of South Africa, meaning that no vaccinations were necessary. Decision made, we booked two nights accommodation over the phone, packed, and left for Cape Town.

The reserve consists of a mix of all types of environment; from open tracts of savannah to woody glens; rocky mountainous regions to sandy coast lines. The principle area for viewing the larger game consists of pretty dense bushveld which is very thick and quite high.

We went on our first tour that afternoon. Bless the guide's eyesight, because neither of us was much good at spotting any animals at first. Eventually though you learn to adjust your eyes and ears for tell-tale signs. We saw dozens of different animals all around; warthogs, zebra, ostrich, kudu and springbok among others - but no big game. The guide did his best in the time we had, often putting the four-wheel drive to the test by veering off-road to areas that had proven lucky in the past.

On one of these excursions we arrived at an area carpeted in huge bones. We had no idea what we were looking at. The guide turned off the engine and stopped talking. Suddenly we could hear it - the unmistakable sound of something very large breaking through the bush to our right. Seconds later the head of a large bull elephant appeared. He stared at us for a little while, before making his way up to the truck on Sarah's side.

"Please don't touch him," the guide asked. "We try to avoid any human contact".

"OK," replied Sarah unconvinced, "but what if he touches me".

Retreating to the area littered with bones, he lowered his trunk almost to the ground, swinging it back-and-forth over them, whilst moving with an almost ballerina like-grace between the remains. This is quite an achievement when you have feet almost a meter (36 inches) across. Having finished this impromptu dance, he moved back towards the bush.

"They often come here to pay their respects," the guide finally explained. "These bones belong to a great elephant that died here last year".

The following morning we ventured out on a horseback safari ride. That same afternoon, we went out on another guided game tour. This time the weather was perfect and the animals were out in their droves. Herds of buffalo, zebra and elephants congregated about the watering holes.

At one point on the drive, the guide shouted "Look there - a leopard ...," as everyone jumped to the front for a better view, he slowly added "... turtle". The object of our excitement was a large ponderous black and yellow spotted shell plodding into the bush.

That same night we went on our last game tour. Night-time safari is a completely different experience from that during daylight hours. The guides mount a huge spotlight to the front of the truck, weaving it back-and-forth into the bush. We hadn't expected to see all that much, just hoping against hope that we might catch a glimpse of one of the lions in the park. Rumor had it that a number of lions had been spotted in a distant part of the reserve, so we headed off in that direction.

The first sweep of the spotlight was certainly a sight to behold. Thousands of pairs of eyes seemed to jump out from all around. During the daytime only the larger animals out in the open are readily apparent. At night-time eyes loom out of the darkness all around.

About twenty minutes into the drive, the truck stopped dead in its tracks and the light was trained on a point in the distance. We were told that a lion was walking towards us. He crossed our path on the way to his hunting grounds. We were close enough to look right into his yellow eyes, to hear him breathing and to get a close up of a full set of teeth. His swollen belly swayed from side-to-side.

"Sure sign," according to the guide "that he'd just eaten".

Someone asked whether there was any chance of a lion attacking the trucks.

"Not if you keep your head and shoulders inside," was the blunt reply.

"They can't see you if you stay within the confines of the truck. But wave your arm around outside, and well ... It'll be the last photo you take".

As the tour came to an end, we were left exhilarated and wanting more. It was very difficult to pack up and leave the following morning. There's a lot of luck involved, but the rewards are fantastic.

If You Go

Addo Elephant National Park

http://www.addoelephantpark.com/

National Parks Accommodation Reservations

www.sanparks.org

Telephone:

PRETORIA: +27 (0)12 428 9111

CAPE TOWN: +27 (0)21 552 0008

DURBAN: +27 (0)31 304 4934

E-mail: reservations@sanparks.org