The Great South African Adventure
Van & Vicki Pershing
		click on any picture to enlarge
Visit to Addo Elephant Park and Scotia Game Reserve
29 Dec 15: The Addo Elephant Park is a national park located within an hour of Port Elizabeth. Scotia Game Reserve is a private park adjoining Addo. click on any picture to enlarge
The Land Rover was our transportation through the Scotia Game Reserve.
The Addo Elephant Park is the home of several hundred elephants. This herd is all female, babies still under their mom's care and adolescents. The big boys are not allowed.
A few short video segment of the main herd at the watering hole.
After a nice bath in the muddy water: Feeling refreshed!
Addo has many animals and birds but it's main purpose is for the elephants. Here are eras and warthogs are also plentiful on the reserve.
Scotia Game Reserve, on the other hand, does not specialize in any particular species. This picture shows a horse, a couple cows, a warthog, and a couple rhinos peacefully having lunch together.
Ahhhh! That feels sooo good! These rhinos were tranquilized by poachers and had their horns cut off. Luckily the staff discovered them in time to save their lives.
Giraffes are always a favorite.
Beware of the odd crocodile as you enter the pond for a swim. This bad boy was about 15 feet in length.
Possibly the biggest highlight of the day was a nice encounter with the lions on the reserve. There are only three: mom, dad and son.
The whole family passed within just a few feet of the Land Rover. Lucky for us they were on their way to dinner and didn't have time to stop for a snack. The family does their own hunting and are not given any food other than what they kill themselves. The park has two sections that are divided by a lion-proof fence and so their little section has plenty of food, mostly antelopes, for the taking without having to compete with the others animals.
At the end of the day we had a nice Dutch oven dinner under the grass canopy. The guide told us the stew was warthog, but tasted an awful lot like beef. After dinner we were taken the long way out of the park to be able to see a little of the night life. Unfortunately, conditions we not optimal for picture taking.