Addo Elephant Park National Park, 29th March 2025

Gqberha, South africa.

A day trip to Addo Elephant Park National Park, 29th March 2025

Barry of Allan Tours was early at the port side gate and on the quiet roads able to get us north east of Gqberha to the entrance gate at Addo by 0930 and to sign in with the South African National Parks. The beautiful blue day followed rain yesterday so the landscapes looked immaculate and the birds were in full song. Unfortunately the Elephants had mostly moved to the far north of the park away from their usual water holes close to the network of tracks and roads. The locally endemic Flightless Dung Beetle was pretty easy to see as it set about manufacturing cricket ball sized balls of dung and great that most vehicles were aware of their restricted range and ecological value and able to dodge squashing them. It was good to appreciate that the core of the national park, for nearly 100 years has been a managed re-wilding of former agricultural areas where hunting had all but exterminated the native mammals. Congratulations to all past and present concerned with its safeguarding, and more recent extensions, for the nation and appreciation by many thousands of visitors from all parts of the world. 

As well as seeing Angulate Tortoise and Leopard Tortoise and eventually African Elephant and Plains Zebra at close quarters the birds and mammal sightings were consistently fabulous and the Warthog’s consistently entertaining. As some heat haze built photography became a little more hit and miss but our time at Addo is well summarised by some of the thousands of photographs taken during the visit….

Some mammals from Addo: Warthog; Red Hartebeast; Plain's Zebra; Kudu and African Bush Elephant.

A few of birds seen at Addo: Ostrich; Secretary Bird; Denham's Bustard; Southern Anteater- chat; South African Shelduck; Fiscal Shrike; Greater Striped Swallow; Cape Sparrow; Cape Longclaw, Red-faced Francolin and Bokmakierie.

 Flightless Dung Beetle