South Africa Map

                     

                        Southern Africa Map

 

latest picture: April 7, 2015

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169  Addo Elephant National Park: Elephants

(Loxodonta africana) are trotting through a

bush path to the next waterhole. Herds are

made up of related females and their young,

led by the eldest female, called the matriarch

170  A group of elephants at the Marion

Baree Waterhole: They pop their trunk

into the remaining sparse water to quench

their thirst. An elephant needs up to

26 gallons [100 lt.] of water a day

171  Two elephant babies wallow and

squirt each other with mud. They are

surrounded with love, care and

watchfulness of the adults

172  Guided by the matriarch, the

herd moves to the next waterhole. The

matriarch shows the other members of

the herd the water sources she knows,

which the rest can memorize for the future

173  Confidently, the elephant baby follows

the two adults at Hapoor Dam. Elephants

live in a matriarchal society. Females are

dominant in family groups

174  Safaris today! The tourist run at the

Hapoor Dam waterhole! Today about

600 elephants live in the 180‘000 hectares

comprising Addo Elephant National Park.

The yearly number of visitors is about

140’000 – thus sometimes humans

outnumber the elephants in the park

175  At specially designated lookout

points it’s allowed to leave the car.

Emil enjoys the sweeping view over the

plain of Addo Elephant National Park

176  The track meanders through a

part of the Addo sanctuary where dense

vegetation prevents spotting animals

177  Who is approaching? Does the

singular beauty of these curved horns

eventually belong to a Kudu? Yes, it’s a

Greater Kudu bull (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)

178  Common zebras (Equus quagga)

are waiting until the African buffalo

(Syncerus caffer) has quenched its thirst.

Buffalos are gregarious animals and often

live in herds of several thousands

179  The intensive brown of the coat

and its peculiar curved horns belong to

the African red hartebeest antelope

(Alcelaphus buselaphus)

180  African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer)

and warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus)

are sharing the waterhole

181  Ostriches (Struthio camelus) and

elephants (Loxodonta africana): Ostriches

can live up to 75 years. They swallow pebbles

that help to grind the swallowed foodstuff. An

adult carries about 1kg of stones in its stomach

182  A pale chanting goshawk (Melierax

canorus) – a bird of prey – sits majestically

on a dry branch. It hunts lizards,

insects and small mammals

183  Common elands (Taurotragus oryx):

With 25 miles per hour [40km/h] they

are the slowest antelopes

184  Around the little pond at the

”Homestead Caravan Park“ in Addo weaver

birds (Ploceus velatus) have built their nests

on the deep hanging branches of a conifer …..

185  ….. just besides reed is growing,

which fronds are glistening beautifully

light purple in the sun

186  The red torch ginger (Etlingera

elatior) with its crimson wax like flowers

blossomed in the garden of the

”Homestead Caravan Park“ in Addo

187  During the flowering season, the

yucca (mound lily) (Yucca gloriosa)

exposes its dense white ”bellflowers“

188  The sky behind the stately palm tree

is streaked rose as the sun disappears

189  Honeysuckle (Lonicera): Once a

blossom variation of color with red pistils

190  In a field of columnar cacti

(Echinopsis) a few start to flower …..

191  ….. their sparkling white blossoms

are a feast for the eyes in the dry landscape

192  Common daisies (Bellis perennis)

are always an enjoyable sight. They are

also suitable to make flower chains

193  View from Camdeboo National

Park over the historical town of Graaf-

Reinet, also called the ”Juwel of Karoo“.

It is surrounded by the foothills of the

Sneeuberg mountains and the fourth

oldest European city in South Africa

194  The “Dutch Reformed Church” in

Graaff-Reinet is a small copy of the

Salisbury Cathedral in England. It belongs

to the over 200 beautiful historic buildings

that now mostly are in private possession …..

195  ….. another view of the church

in the Gothic style, built 1886

196  From the cliffs viewpoint at the

77 sq.mi. [200km²] big Camdeboo

National Park the view stretches

over the timeless dry Karoo plain

in the Eastern Cape province

197  Liliana is admiring in the ”Valley of

Desolation“ of the Camdeboo National Park

the very old and up to 330 ft. [100m] tall

pillars, called dolerite, which were formed by

erosion over a period of 200 million years

198  Our LandCruiser is on its way

down from the hills of the Camdeboo

National Park to the Nqweba Dam

where bucks are grazing on the green

belt of its shore

199  Evening mood over the Nqweba

Dam at the Camdeboo National Park

200  Always a lovely sight: A rainbow

spanning over the skies

201  There is a tangible tranquility over the

4 sq.mi. [10.3km²] small Nqweba Dam

in the Camdeboo National Park

202  We are criss-crossing the little

lonely paths in the Camdeboo

National Park

203  A female nyala (Tragelaphus angasii):

Nyalas are very shy and cautious. They are

mainly active in the early morning and late

afternoon when it is not yet too hot

204  A yellow ‚redhot poker’, called

also tritoma torch lily or knofflers

(Kniphofia uvaria), in the

Camdeboo National Park

205  A beauty of a foam grasshopper

(Orthoptera) in its sparkling dark

blue-red colors, with the ‘binomial

name’ (Dictyophorus spumans)

206  The long needles of this spiky

small “floor cacti” (Echinocereus)

glow like silver in the sunlight

207  Watch out! They are long, thick,

hard and spiky. Those acacia thorns

have already punctured many tires,

particularly on the sidewall

208  Fast driven white clouds sail

over pristine land. View from

Wapadsberg pass towards northwest

and the Northern Cape province

209  A short break on the R61 to enjoy

the view in direction east over the

vastness and solitude of the region

210  Doornhoek Dam in the 110 sq.mi.

[284km²] big Mountain Zebra National

Park, 7½ miles west of Cradock

in the Eastern Cape

211  Two curious Cape Mountain

Zebras (Equus quagga), after which the

National Park has been named, are

greeting us. Today, the endangered species

have increased to 750 within the park

212  In harmony with a gnu

(Connochaetes gnou), a herd of

blesboks (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi)

with its distinctive white faces graze in the

Mountain Zebra National Park

213  Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) in

the Mountain Zebra National Park. During

July through October over two millions

animals migrate from the Serengeti NP in

Tanzania to greener pasture of the Maasai

Mara National Reserve in Kenya

214  The Wildebeest (Connochaetes

gnou) has a life expectancy of more

than 20 years and weighs between

240 and 400 lb. [110-180 kg]

215  The African savannah is (still)

home to many animals that are free to

live according to their own rules

216  Three gracious Springboks (Antidorcas

marsupialis) roam across the savannah of the

Mountain Zebra National Park. They can jump

as high as 11½ ft. [3.5m] and reach a running

speed of almost 56 miles [90km] per hour

217  A secretarybird (Sagittarius

serpentarius) on the hunt in the tall grass

of the savannah. It chases its prey like mice,

lizards, snakes and young birds on the ground

218  A peregrine falcon (duck hawk)

(Falco peregrinus) chose the highest point

for its lookout. It is the fastest creature as it

can reach a speed up to 250 miles/h

[400km/h] if swooping down

219  The Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)

is a wading bird and a compulsive

nest builder. It builds three to five

a year, whether it is breeding or not

220  Not only wildlife, but also the

untouched beauty of the landscape in the

Mountain Zebra National Park is captivating.

Park road to Kranskop Loop

221  A honeysuckle creeper

(Lonicera brownii): Another of the

many varieties, this time orange-colored

222  Looking almost like a piece of art:

The track meandering through the

Mountain Zebra National Park

223  Truly heartening: The bond between

the mother zebra (Equus quagga) and its

baby is profound

224  Tired from the night hunting, the ”King of

the Jungle“ is snoozing in the shade. It is one of

the three lions (Panthera leo) (two males and

one female) introduced to the park in 2013

225  An observant vervet monkey

(Chlorocebus pygerythrus) on the

lookout. Because of their excellent

eyesight, vervet monkeys often keep

watch also for other species

226  Only 10 ft. [3m] separates us

from the lion when we spot it –

obviously it is alike surprised!

227  Most probably these small earth mounds

have been built by termites, until they have been

eaten by aardvarks (Orycteropus afer). Now

they can be used by all kinds of animals

228  A juvenile African harrier-hawk

(Polyboroides typus). Still brown it

changes to grey while getting an adult

229  We approach the Gariep Dam,

which with its length of 60 miles [100km]

and a width up to 15 miles [24km] and

a surface of 144 sq.mi. [374km²] belongs

to the large ones in Africa

230  By crossing the Orange River over the

imposing single lane, 1’640 ft. [500m] long

”Norvalspont Road Bridge“ west of the

Gariep Dam our LandCruiser looks like a

tiny blue dot. Just 30 ft. [10m] next to it

stands the same bridge for the railway line

231  A beautiful sight: Small islands

in the Gariep Dam, framed by dark

mountain ranges and beaming grass.

The staunched water of the Orange

River favors the agriculture

232  The road from the Gariep Dam to

Norvalspont leads us through a golden-

red gleaming savannah provoking the

thrilling feeling of vastness and freedom

233  The Orange River – here just below the

dam wall in direction Norvalspont – marks the

boundary between the Free State (right = north)

and Eastern Cape (left = south) province

234  The two-lane ”Henny Steyn Bridge“

over the Orange River east of the Gariep

Dam outside Bethulie: It is 3’780 ft. [1’152m]

long and 167 ft. [51.5m] high and the longest

bridge in the southern hemisphere that can

be crossed by foot, car and railway

235  View from the northwesterly hill

over the little town of Smithfield in the

Free State province. With only one gasoline

station and two small supermarkets it still

shows a bit of its pioneer character of

1848 when it was founded …..

236  ….. the church of Smithfield. The

village has been proclaimed as a

”picture book village“ in the German

”Reise Know-How“ guidebook, what

we think might be a bit exaggerated …..

237  ….. our comfortable home at the

“Trading Places Guest House” in Smithfield

protects us for a couple of days from the wet

cold weather. Carmen Rickard, the boss,

offers us the house at the camping price

238  On Smithfield’s northerly hills

Blesboks (Damaliscus pygargus

phillipsi) are at home. Unfortunately

it is not (yet) a nature reserve, thus

there is also hunting going on

239  Stones, covered with succulents

similar to cacti (Euphorbia clavarioides)

are a singularity on the

hills near Smithfield …..

240  ….. also delicate red blossoms

in the high grass draw our attention

(Hesperantha coccinea / Schizostylis)

241  Carmen (at the car) and her friend

Amanda with their dogs on the ‘antenna

hill’ northwest of Smithfield from where

there is a stunning 360° view over the

village, the dam, the hills and the plain

242  Two happy faces, an affectionate

dog and a beautiful panorama at

Smithfield’s ‘antenna hill’

243  The sun is setting behind a bungalow

of “Trading Places Guest House” in

Smithfield (Free State). It is a place

of peace and relaxation

244  From Smithfield via Rouxville to

Zastron and continuing in direction

Lesotho we find rural idylls at every turn

245  The rocky scenery at the “Mountain

View Campsite” in Zastron on 5’580 ft.

[1’700m] altitude where we set up camp

in a big and well manicured lawn

246  Small ponds and rural life dominate the

landscape towards Wepener, where on April

7th, 2015 we enter the mountainous Kingdom

of Lesotho through the “Van Rooyens Gate“,

leaving herewith the “Free State plains”

 

The African trip 2013-15:

CapeVerde: Santiago/Praia part 1 – November18th to December 13th, 2013

CapeVerde: Fogo – Dezember13th to 23rd, 2013

CapeVerde: Brava – December 23rd to 26th, 2013

Cape Verde: Santiago/Praia part 2 – December 26th, 2013 to February 28th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Nicolau – February 28th to March 13th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 1 – March 13th to 20th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Eastern side part 1 – March 20th to April 7th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Western side part 2 – April 7th to 10th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 2 – April 10th to 29th, 2014

Namibia Part 1 – from Walvis Bay to Windhoek

Angola Part 1 – September 26th to October 4th, 2014

Angola Part 2 – October 4th to 22nd, 2014

Namibia Part 2 – from Windhoek to the Angolan border, back again and on to South Africa

3rd Major Repair of our LandCruiser FJ60 - 1982  (due to two broken sideshafts)