30 August 2011

The Mini vs Maxi Challenge - From the West to the East

Day three of the tour dawned bright and sunny in Tsistikamma. It is one of those paces that is full of charm and beauty, which makes it difficult to leave, especially after the wonderful hospitality of our hosts Chris and Irma.


To get the most of the atmosphere I took an early morning walk before breakfast, through the gardens and the picturesque village, which is set below the majestic mountains of the Tsitsikamma. Imagine waking up to this every morning.



A two and a half drive brought us to the Elephant House at Addo, where we were ushered into an establishment that was full character and old world charm, with its wide verandas and lush well kept gardens.



This is a place to stay if you are looking for peace and quite, good accommodation and excellent food. Our gourmet three course lunch with our host that was superb, to say the least.




The Elephant House is a stone's throw away from the Addo Elephant National Park, which was our next destination. As we were driving on to Stutterheim after the tour, we decided to  do a self drive in the MAXI teams VW Amarok. This vehicle is amazing. It is just as comfortable on the dirt roads as it is on the tar.


The Addo Elephant National Park is one of my favourite places in the Eastern Cape. Whenever I go there I am never disappointed. This time was no exception. I have never seen the Park looking so lush. The countryside is awash with a blaze of colour from all the flowers - it looks like spring has sprung early this year.

With all the vegetation and surface water the animals were not as concentrated as they were in the drier months, but we were not disappointed - here are three of my favourites, elephants, kudu and warthog.





From here our next stop was the Manderson Hotel at Stutterheim, but that is tomorrow's story.

4 comments:

Judy said...

I just found out my daughter is going to South Africa next month, to study baboons near Lajuma. But, knowing her, I will see more scenery in your blog than she will send me photos of...

Max-e said...

Hi Judy, Lajuma is in the Soutpansberg Mountains far to the North of Port Elizabeth. It is a really beautiful part of the country, with a large plain to the South and the start of the low veldt to the North, which has its own arid beauty and that is where the Boabab trees start. You definitely need to get her enthusiatic about photography,

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

I love the Tsitsikamma and the early morning air is amazing for taking a walk around the village and into the forest.

Kris said...

I followed your blog from Kentucky for a couple of years. Now I've moved to Virginia and still enjoy it. Your world is so removed from mine. And who doesn't love a warthog! Thanks so much for sharing.