Day 7

Day seven
Thursday 23rd January 2020
Current position
Treetops Guest House
44 Albert Rd
Walmer
Port Elizabeth
6075
South Africa
S 33°58'41.92104
E 25°36'27.82728

Ros was up first at seven and her first words as she drew back the curtains were ooooooh thank goodness the sun's out. Which was just what we needed for our Safari.
Carl from the Safari Company picked us up at nine in his Landrover Discovery and we joined a couple of young lads already on board. One from France the other from Switzerland. They both spoke a little English but were very quiet. They were working on a game reserve for the next couple of months tending to rescued animals.
During the hours drive to the Game Reserve Carl outlined our itinery and explained how the reserve came into being in 2004 and how it has developed since then.
On arrival at the Addo reserve he checked us in and with all the relevant paperwork duly signed a man at the barrier waved us through. To start with the tracks were paved but soon they became dirt with the Disco making light work of them. The two young lads said little and added nothing to any conversation we tried to strike up with them. Carl was a quiet chap too but once we got him onto animal conservation he was off telling us how there were too many elephants in the reserve which needed to be culled but this could not be done because of the Animal Rights Groups. Apparently there were only eleven elephants when the park was opened but now there are seven hundred and fifty and he is worried that the Park will not be able to sustain these numbers in the future. He also told us that if the animals could be exploited commercially then they would survive. He gave the example of farming Rhino's for their horns. A Rhino's horn once harvested grows back in four years. If the horns were sold legally the price of poached horns where the animal is killed would fall hence saving the Rhino's. There again resistance is met from the Animal Rights Groups. Our conversation was punctuated with stops to admire the various animals that we came upon. Namely warthogs zebras elephants including their tiny babies antelope buffalo wilderbeast and so many others that their names escape me.
Carl also told us that the recent rain was the first real rain they have have had since April 2019. In fact there have been drought conditions for the last four years. He said that two weeks ago the grass in the park was a scorched brown and it was only in the last two weeks that it had started to become green.
It seemed in no time that we were at the lodge in the Schotia private game reserve for a nice lunch where we managed to get a few words out of the two young lads.
We then jumped aboard a Landrover Defender with a canvas roof open sides which had been decked out with three rows of seats up high so we could gain a good view of the animals. The afternoon tracks were a rougher ride than the mornings and the old Landrover rocked and rolled as Carl meandered to miss the larger potholes. The new passengers who joined us were more lively. A couple from Sweden and younger couple from German and they all spoke good English. We saw the big animals this afternoon namely giraffe buffalo elephant hippo and crocodile but the star of the day was mummy and daddy lion tending to and playing with their three young cubs.
Carl was a good driver and somehow managed to get ahead of the other vehicles to give us the best view of the wildlife.
At around seven thirty we stopped at another lodge for our evening meal there were two large wood burning fires to keep us warm throughout the chilly evening and the smell of wood smoke was pleasant as it drifted upwards to the rafters.
Relaxing with our fellow travellers over a meal of grilled chicken and lamb served with a selection of vegetables was very welcome after the rigours of the day. At around nine we were loaded back into the Discovery for the hour or so drive back to the Guesthouse.
Needless to say on our return we fell into bed and were soon fast asleep.