With Meredith feeling much better, we departed Saturday morning for Schotia private game reserve. The schedule for the weekend was pretty full, including time spent in both Schotia and Addo Elephant Park. One needs to understand that these reserves aren’t glorified zoos. Each one is thousands of acres and the animals all live by their own means within the fencing. Our schedule included a tour of Addo, lunch, a four hour game drive in Schotia, dinner, a night game drive in Schotia, sleeping in Schotia, a morning safari and then riding elephants in Addo Sunday afternoon!
As driving in South Africa was a new experience for us, we decided to leave quite early to give us plenty of time. Chokey was not very happy about starting out that early, but eventually agreed to start with quite a bit of coaxing. We took the N2 to the N10 and easily found Schotia (after we passed it and had to pull a U turn). As soon as we approached the automatically opening gate, we were greeted with the first of ferocious creatures we were to encounter that day: a big mastiff! He was barking at our car as we drove in trying to avoid hitting the dog, and he decided to stand outside my door and bark away as we parked the car. I decided that the owners of Schotia would more than likely not release an aggressive animal onto their parking lot, so I opened the door. Immediately the giant head entered the car to check things out. We seemed ok, and the gentle giant decided to allow our entrance (with a toll of scratching, rubbing and petting).
We looked around and saw a lot of open air Land Rovers…the excitement started. A young man greeted us at the door and mentioned that we were early, but since we weren’t waiting for anyone else he would take us up to Addo as soon as he finished some paperwork. Once he was finished, we hopped on a big white van. It occurred to me that he might be in cahoots with the crazy taxi drivers but as he did not have a second person hanging out the window shouting, I decided we were safe. Along the way we spotted some animals including ostriches, monkeys and some suicidal birds that carried out their intentions via being hit by the car.
“What was that?” Gretchen asked.
“It WAS a bird…” the driver responded with a laugh. That broke the ice so we talked with our driver and asked him questions for the remainder of the drive.
When we arrived, our driver told us that the guide was not there yet, so we had 20 minutes or so to look around inside the gift shop. Meredith bought some gifts for her family…I settled on some junk food. We were sitting at a picnic table outside the shop when Malcolm, our guide, came up and introduced himself and told us we would be getting into the van as soon as the other guests had arrived.
We were a bit disappointed that we were traveling by van through our first South African wildlife experience. However, it worked out wonderfully and we were easily able to see and take pictures of the goings on inside the park.
The other people we were to travel with were a father, son and grandmother from central England. We all immediately clicked and the drive was more pleasurable because of our company. There was also a woman from South Africa who sat up front with Malcolm. She was very nice but did not talk a lot on the tour.
The Addo tour consisted of seeing mostly Kudu (think a dark grey deer with spiral horns), tortoises and elephants. This was fine as Malcolm told us that we were just looking for Elephants on this particular drive. We were lucky in that we got to the watering holes right when a herd of elephants were coming to take a drink. Unfortunately for us, the weather was still too cold for them to get in and play around, but it was a lot of fun watching them anyway. Here are some pictures from our Addo tour:
After the Addo tour, Malcolm took us to lunch at one of the lodges. We ate, had some tea then back on the road. It was time for our Schotia game drives, which are what we were all really stoked for. When we arrived back at the Schotia game reserve, we received some bad news. We were not going to continue with our newly made friends and Malcolm. Our new guide’s name was Nic and we traveled with a group of Europeans (two from Holland and four from Germany) who were about our age. So, with our new group and new guide, we were off in an open air Land Rover!
The first part we saw some wildebeests (two different types) and zebras running around in a field. After those sights, we went on the hunt to find lions. Unfortunately, we could not find any at that point and had to go back for a tea break. Here are some pictures from that part:
After tea, we went off on our mission to find wild animals of the large feline variety. It was beginning to get cooler and darker when we heard them. It was amazing how far their roars carry. En route to the lions, we stopped and took pictures of giraffes and all of us had a toast (sundowner) to a great evening. From that point until dinner, we stuck with the lions. We found the younger male first, then the older male and the two females. The next set of pictures is from this time span.
We had to get to dinner, so we drove back and ate. Dinner consisted of kudu and/or chicken with either rice or mashed potatoes and carrots and peas. The three of us agreed that the meal was beyond our expectations. Our group sat at one table and Nic was our ‘waiter’. There was much discussion of travels and places we were from. Eventually, it was time for our night safari. This safari was a search for lions on the hunt. We were incredibly lucky. First of all, we saw hippos right outside the fence, but then immediately caught up with the lions.
The luckiest part of the night was to come: the hunt for food had begun. An animal (we’re not 100% sure what it was, but we think it was a red hartebeest) ran across the field with lions on its tail. We saw a mad dash behind a bush and followed. When we arrived, the prey was struggling, but, as they say, resistance is futile. We watched a live kill and four lions (the older male joined after a few minutes) devour this animal. It was gruesome, it was gross, but nobody could look away.
My grandmother, Barbara Summers, once spoke words of wisdom that, at this point, echoed in my mind, and it is true indeed, “Nature is not kind…”
Now that our thirst for blood was satisfied, it was time to turn in for the night. We all agreed to start our morning safari at 6:45 am. The three of us were staying in a separate location from the others, and we were dropped off first. All three of us had expected modest accommodations with adequate facilities. Our expectations were surpassed by a beautiful complex with running hot water and a large room with tea and biscuits laid out for us. It was late, so we hung out in the large room for a bit, took some pictures, then retired to our rooms. The rooms themselves were not particularly large. However, what they lacked in size they made up for in amenities. Although the toilet was located a couple of doors down, there were outlets for us to use and a shower for each room. There was even a snack bowl with all sorts of goodies for us to eat. Finally, after seeing the beautiful southern sky, we fell asleep exhausted.
The next morning we got ready in the rooms and walked out to find ourselves greeted by a group of horses. They were very friendly and decided that our jackets were theirs to nibble on. Nic arrived with the rest of the group a tad late and once again we were off. This time, we were going out on foot. Nic assured us that lions were not in this part of this section and it was used to house the rhinoceroses. Despite an hour and a half walk, there were no rhinos to be found. I suppose one can’t be greedy and if I had to choose which lucky sight to have seen, I definitely would have chosen the live kill. Nic made sure he got us back in time because we had to work fast in order to get to the Addo elephant rides. They were about two hours away.
Gretchen, Meredith and I said goodbye to our European friends and Nic our guide before we were driven back to good old Chokey. We got back in Chokey, got clearance from the mastiff and headed up the highway. There were three routes to get there, but one was a 4 x 4 route, so that was automatically eliminated. We took the advice of everyone and decided on a route that was shorter, but had a more challenging terrain.
To say ‘more challenging’ is a bit of an understatement. We took our VW Jetta onto roads that had potholes and rocks up to the size of basketballs. I believe our maximum speed reached 20 kilometers per hour (about 12 miles per hour). At many points the survival of our car was in question. Narrow roads and steep cliffs to the sides demanded guardrails…or one would have thought. The most ironic part was that guard rails began once we were past the dangerous part and on relatively level ground. Words cannot describe the difficulty of the drive, but the good news is that we made it with plenty of time to spare!
Excitement was in the air as we saw the elephants approach. There were only three of us, so we were lucky enough to each have our own elephant. My elephant’s name was Duma (meaning sound of thunder), Gretchen road Mpaku (which is derived from the name of a tree) and Meredith was on the one-tusked Taba (translated as happy). I have never had an experience quite like this. We road the elephants bareback with a guide in front of us. Whereas it was awesome being on the back of these creatures, it was also surprisingly uncomfortable. I had expected them to be softer, but instead found them to be boney. By the end of the hour-long elephant ride (normally it is only a half an hour, but since it was only the three of us they gave us special treatment) I was ready to be done. The experience was great, but all three of us were in a bit of pain and we all found ourselves walking bow-legged…incredibly bow-legged as one might imagine!
The next part of our experience was feeding the elephants. We followed them over to an eating area, which the elephants walked right to as they knew their routine (the fact that they did not need guidance amazed me). There were two ways of feeding the elephants. One was to drop the pellets in their trunk and the elephant would put them in his mouth (all three were males). The second was to say “Trunk up!” Upon that command the elephants lifted their trunks and opened their mouths. We were able to stick our hands inside their mouths and throw the pellets back. I know what you’re thinking…disgusting…but it was really cool. Gretchen made the mistake of walking in between two of the elephants wither her bucket and was bombarded with trunks!
Next stop: the watering hole. The elephants were very ready for it and decided to not allow us to pass by first. Taking the advice of the guides, we ran to our next location, dodging elephant splashing and spraying where we went to have lunch. The food was great. (All of these places ensure you are well fed with wonderful food).
Our bellies were full as were our cameras, so it was time to head back to our Port Elizabeth abode. We gathered our things and got into the car. The key turned…and nothing…not even an attempt to turn over. So, the key was turned again…again, nothing. Panic at the aspect of being in the middle of nowhere with no way of getting home had not set in quite yet, but the thought had crossed our minds. The men working at the elephant ride office walked down and tried as well. Nothing…at this point we found the key chain (which had fallen off earlier), and called the number on it. There was some confusion as to whom we should call and who could help us, but the right people were contacted despite the phone tag. One of the guides had one last idea before the care rental (or car hire, as they say here) people called back. He went back down with Meredith as Gretchen and I observed from above. We saw the car roll back and heard the engine start! It was a miracle! Apparently, the guide popped the automatic car into neutral and was able to start Chokey without the use of the part from which his name is derived. The three of us tucked this helpful hint in the back of our minds (after all, we all assumed we would need it sooner or later…probably the former) as we said goodbye for the second time.
All three of us questioned whether our poor car could make it back the way we came, so we received directions to the longer but smoother route and headed that way. This too was a long trip, but much easier on the car and after a couple of hours we were safely back at our flat. Another successful adventure leaving us exhausted and filled with great memories.
Coming soon is the third installment in this trilogy of epic proportions which critics already hail as one of the top three posts of the trilogy…don’t miss it!
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