Category: 2019-04 US South Africa

Today we started at 7:30am in the sunshine. There were a total of 3 river crossings with 2 times “changing tires”.

Again the trail offered us up and down forest trails, cliff paths, rocks and stairs. Every now and then, idyllic jungle backdrops and gorgeous ocean views.

Cormorants sitting on the rocks, huge colorful grasshoppers in the middle of the path.

Many beautiful flowers are blooming, although winter is actually starting here.

Arriving at Oakhurst Hut Camp (2:28pm), we first had another refreshing shower. A sunset campfire, mashed potatoes, coffee and marshmallows.

Oh yes, also another fat spider on the toilet!

Silke

After a breakfast of porridge and coffee, we set off at 7:45am in drizzle. Along the cliffs to Skilderkrans, a viewpoint on the rocks.

Then came the first of eleven river crossings through the Kleinbos River. On sandals through knee-deep water. We continued past Blue Bay (beautiful sandy beach cove) and up a steep 156m climb. We reached Scott Hut at 14:55, which is located directly at the mouth of the Geelhoutbos River. In the meantime the sun was shining again. We were with the feet in the Indian Ocean and went then nevertheless rather immediately (cold) shower. Afterwards we enjoyed the last sunbeams on our balcony. At each hut there is a fireplace with grate, where you can also grill. Reiner collected firewood and we made a campfire today. We were able to heat our pot of water for soup on it.

This was accompanied by a warming grog. At dusk, an otter ran along the riverbank in front of our cabin. He swam out to sea. There was also a civit scurrying around our cabin.

Silke

At 10:00 am we checked out at the camp. Then watched the 20 min DVD of the Otter Trail and not much wiser signed the papers. There was a small booklet with map and tide times along the way. We would have liked more information beforehand and there was no outdoor gear like sleeping bags or waterproof plastic survival bags to buy or rent at the camp. Good thing we had researched that on the internet beforehand. In the “otter room” we weighed our backpacks (Reiner 22 Kg and I 16 Kg) and registered in the trail list. Maybe a bit too much? But we don’t want to freeze or starve either.

In a good mood with beautiful weather we started the Otter Trail, which is marked with yellow paws and arrows. At the Guano Cave we had the 1st rest with butter bread. There we saw seals and dolphins swimming in the water. Then we went on to the waterfall, where we could also go swimming. But the water was not so inviting, because a bit brownish, with floating particles.

We continued climbing over rocks to Ngubu Hut. We are only 5 hikers in total. The other three are Sim with son and son-in-law. There can always only a maximum of 12 hikers daily start, because there are also only 2 huts each with 6 beds at the overnight stays. The trail is usually booked up months in advance! But we have a 6-bed hut for us alone, (for the entire trail) because there were several cancellations. With two triple bunk beds per cabin luxury! We can really spread out. The Ngubu Hut offers views directly to the sea and an outdoor shower in the forest. In the toilet at night were two mouse-sized black spiders with red eyes. Fortunately not in the hut! In the evening it started to rain and thunderstorm. We prepared mashed potatoes and tea on our gas stove.

Silke

We left RELaxed City living at 10:00 am and arrived at Storms River Mouth Camp at 1:00 pm. We spend the night in a Forest Hut today. We took a short walk to the suspension bridge. The surf of the Indian Ocean is tremendous. We could see seals that had no problem bathing in the waves. Cormorants were sitting on the rocks and in a tree along the way we spotted the green and colorful Cape Parrot .

Storms River Mouth Suspension – Bridge

Cute rock lassies climbing around on a trash can in the picnic area. We also saw them running in the cliffs. In the evening we had pasta with schakalaka and then repacked our backpacks for the Otter Trail. Tomorrow we start.

Silke

No lions today! At 10:00 we returned the car and rented a new one. At Bidvest – totally uncomplicated. For our upcoming Otter Trail 5 days – 4 nights, we made daily rations. 4 x breakfast, snack, dinner.

Listened to good music on YouTube and watched another funny movie. In the evening we had mushrooms in cream sauce with homemade oven bread.

Silke

We had a wonderful last day in Addo Park. We were able to enjoy our breakfast outside at our campsite. We just had to be careful that the cheeky monkeys didn’t catch any of it.

Already at the gate the ranger gave us a hint where possibly the lions could be. At the Lismore Waterhole, in the middle of the park was then showtime. A pair of lions lay relaxed under a bush as a water buffalo came to drink. When the buffalo spotted the lions, he kept walking a little closer and snorting. As if he wanted to test what was happening. Funnily enough, a bird sat down on the buffalo’s back. When the lion finally rose and tumbled towards the waterhole, the buffalo left in a hurry! The lioness followed the lion and both drank at the water. Then the pair ran across the road to a hill. The whole thing lasted about 45 min. There were some cars in the meantime, but the lions did not let themselves be disturbed.

This time we were clearly in the right place at the right time. By the way, the lions have some kind of collar around. We drove on and saw many more elephants, zebras, kudus, warthogs, … on the way to the gate. When we arrived in Port Elizabeth we did some shopping. At the accommodation we had broccoli with green curry sauce and silken tofu.

Silke

Today we finally saw a lion. With the binoculars he was easy to recognize. Unfortunately you can only guess him on the photos. He took a nap in the sun, yawned once and then hid behind a bush. That’s kind of what our two house cats do at home.

Anyway, we were happy! After that we drove again across the whole park and saw more animals like warthogs, ostrich, elephants, zebras, a fat tortoise, the dung beetles, kudus and many birds.

 

Back at camp, we made ourselves a campfire again. For dinner we had mashed potatoes with cheese sauce and salad.

Silke

We left this morning for a self game drive and observed elephants, zebras, kudus, ostrich and many warthogs. But since there are many signs in the camp asking to avoid the elephant dung to protect the dung beetles (Circellium bacchu), we took a close look.

It’s interesting what all goes on in the muck! The female beetles roll their balls tirelessly at over 30 degrees! They are about 4-5 cm in size. They are especially worthy of protection because they spread and bury manure for meters, helping many plants to thrive.

Back at camp, we played a round of Carcassonne and sat down at the viewpoint from the waterhole for sunset. Except for a few ducks, however, no animals had shown up to drink. In the evening we heated up schakalaka and corn with beans and made a campfire in a fire bowl!

Silke