Spring in South Africa – Part Two

PART TWO: FINDING GIRAFFES AND DODGING COWS

Amy: Being the wildlife lovers that we are, we couldn’t pass up the chance for some mini-safaris in South Africa. We took the suggestion to visit Oribi Gorge in the southeastern area of the country. In South Africa, we found that in addition to staying at backpacker lodging that “self-catering” accommodations are very affordable and are perfect for cooking our own meals. We booked an adorable little cabin on the water at Lake Eland Game Reserve. Since it was mid-week and not yet peak season there were only a few other visitors. The cabin was located inside the nature reserve and we were hopeful that we would awaken with a giraffe or zebra outside our window.

As guests of the reserve we were able to do self-guided drives and hikes to check out the gorge and animals. Our favorites were the eland (the largest type of antelope), the blesbok, a baby zebra, and a family of giraffes. The animals seemed to have a lovely and spacious home in the reserve, which we hope is truly the case. We also were able to hike a bit and came across the giraffes along the trail. We didn’t get too close as they had babies and we wanted to give them space.

The area was quite pretty and we stopped at a coffee shop with views of the gorge and interesting conversation with some friendly South Africans. We have loved chatting about travels and local issues and hearing differing points of view. Our time was capped off with some hiking to a suspension bridge and down the gorge, and evening viewings of zebra and eland outside our cabin.

 

We continued our drive across the country and experienced the varying roads and communities of South Africa across the Eastern Cape. The impacts of the previous national policies continue to show disparities across the country. The roads would change in quality quickly depending on the municipality and suddenly we’d be in the midst of a bustling town or large city packed with pedestrians crossing everywhere. Along the highway livestock would frequently wander into the road and we started a game to see who could first spot the cow, goat, sheep, donkey, or occasional monkey in the road.

After a long and, at times, challenging drive we made a quick overnight stop at Buccaneers Backpacker with sweeping ocean views, a tasty Mexican (sorta) dinner, and a very large stick bug in the shared bathroom. This was also one of the first times that I started feeling a bit travel weary. We are so blessed to be on extended travel and every so often I guess it will be tough being in new places and figuring out where to go and what to do. We also still really miss our beloved dog, Boomer. Some days we miss just taking him for a morning walk in the park or playing in the backyard in our former home.

With a renewed spirit in the morning, we headed toward Addo Elephant National Park and the drive was shorter and much easier. We arrived at the Orange Elephant Backpacker and signed up for a guided drive through the National Park the next day. We joined Renette as our lively guide and had many laughs on our day in the little van seeking out the animals. We loved getting to see some of our favorites from our Tanzania safari, especially some large elephants, and a few new finds like the kudu, monitor lizard, bush pig, and the super cute dung beetle. The Orange Elephant included a fun pub called Thirsty Herds and we capped off our nights with a cold Windhoek or Black Label brew with the locals and volunteers.

The next day we were headed into a new Province and would experience a different view of the country. More to come in Part 3.

(Dates: November 3-8)