Eastern Cape - February 2017

The first booked stop was Mokala National Park near Kimberley. The road there had many roadworks stoppages. AT only ten minutes each it does not take many to really extend your schedule.

There are just a few camp sites each with their own shower and toilets and a kitchen with a stove and fridge. They are positioned so you can get very nice sunrise and sunset views.

The whole area is very attractive and they had enjoyed recent rains. As usual the pictures were taken as a reminder of the time we enjoyed there.

We traveled 3900 kilometers on this jaunt.

They are on YouTube and the address is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2WzlzCioXc&feature=youtu.be

 

After Mokala we went to Mountain Zebra National Park again. We met a friend who was with other friends and I failed to take a picture of the group by mistake. In the park we had two exceptional animal sightings, lions and a black rhinoceros. The 4x4 routes are always an adventure and we both enjoyed driving them.

Pictures are at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=893eHR3JUN4&feature=youtu.be

 

Next we went to the Camdeboo which we had visited with friends a few years back. It is now a National Park and well worth visiting. We managed to do all the routes in spite of inferior signs Without a GPS and lots of luck we would still be trying to find the one entrance gate to the other half of the park. Some of the routes were extreme in that they were uncomfortably rocky. Also when wet you were advised not to attempt some of the routes which become extremely slippery. This would be true as in even slightly wet parts the vehicle slid so much that you had no control and you could easily fall off the mountain if the route was very wet. The campsites are large but some are quite far from the showers and toilets. The campsite is situated near the dam and there is an uninspiring lookout where the steps carry a warning to beware of ice. That has put me off from considering going there in winter. On the top of one mountain we saw quite a few really large tortoises which was a surprise.

Pictures are at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LrC2_RskRM&feature=youtu.be

 

From the Camdeboo we headed for Addo National Park in the hope of acquiring a camp site. To get there we decided to go via back roads to the Suurberg Pass. Addo was full so on we went north heading closer to the coast. The wind came up and we headed inland and camped at Bathurst. The next day we headed for the passes again via back roads. We traveled as far as Elliot where we stayed at The Guardians Lodge which was very pleasant. At the lodge we enjoyed four dogs which we did not have to feed or groom or think of veterinary bills. We often enjoy pets on our travels. On the way to Elliot we passed over swollen rivers and knew that it must have rained hard inland.

Pictures are at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcaTj9E4ycg&feature=youtu.be

 

Next we headed for the Rhodes area over the passes. We had a pizza in Rhodes and were disappointed at how the place had deteriorated. On we headed and using Tracks4Africa on an i-pad we found Carmelkspruit where we had a really beautiful camp site. That night it started to rain - and rain hard. The next morning we were in two minds trying to decide to wait until it stopped raining or pack up in the rain. The rain became less of a downpour and we packed and headed out. Most of the trip home was in extremely heavy rain and sometimes overtaking vehicles was quite dangerous because of the very bad visibility in the spray passing big trucks. On arrival at home it was dry for the first time that day.

Pictures are at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdcmfbYWxBQ&feature=youtu.be