Day three started with a visit by several
cats at our cabin at Avoca. My mum fed them some biltong and the
number of cat visitors grew significantly!
We had a quick walk around the farm in
light rain where we enjoyed the view over the river.
We left for Addo but decided to stop
for breakfast first, as the restaurant in Addo is quite pricey. We
decided on the Rustic Coffee and sandwich bar, at the Hermitage
station on the R336. BB and I decided on the muesli with fruit,
yoghurt and honey, my mum chose the small English breakfast.
The little restaurant opened recently,
it was an antique shop before.. Most of the antiques are still in
the shop.
It is interesting to view all the old
books, silver and collar boxes.
Breakfast came and I was worried when I
saw all the grapefruit on top of the muesli, not a fruit I like. BB
was less diplomatic and immediately asked what it was. I was
surprised when the owner said it was a new type of orange, Cara cara.
It is a red-fleshed naval orange and delicious! Oranges are quite
acidic, but not this variety, it is really juicy and sweet.
After this lovely breakfast and
pleasant chat to the owner, we departed to Addo. I was surprise at
all the Irish names we saw on our way, but it was raining quite hard
so decided not to stop for photo's.
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| Coffee shop well worth a visit |
We entered Addo at the main gate and I
had a quick glanced at the sighting board. Lions were spotted near
the Domkrag dam, so we headed in that direction.
Our first sighting was a couple of
mousebirds, cuddled up to combat the cold. Shortly after we saw a
black-backed jackal, busy with a bone.
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| Muisvoels |
We then spotted a pale chanting
goshawk. We also spotted Buffalo, zebra, hartebees and kudu, but no
lion.
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| Pale chanting goshawk |
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| Hartbees and zebra |
The Marion Baree waterhole offered a
great sighting of elephants yet again. There were a few young ones
in the group and they provided a lot of entertainment. The one was
sitting like a circus elephant, trying to scratch his bum. They
later teamed up in pairs and practised their charging skills.
We took a break at the Jack's picnic
site, a lovely maintained spot.
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| Picnic site |
Hapoor dam was full of action again. A
zebra was scared of slipping and really approached the dam in all
sorts of ways. Eventually he could quench his thirst.
We saw some cars above the Rooiwal dam
and wondered was happening. The road was blocked and we patiently
waited. Suddenly a spotted hyena appeared next to us. He looked rather battered and bruised, shame. There was a
hole next to the road with puppies. We heard them but could not see
them. It was getting late and we had to leave the park, happy with
all the sightings.
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| Spotted hyena |
We booked dinner at Avaco. This place
is really a gem and I am surprised that I've never seen a feature on
it in any travel magazine. They had guests from Peru looking at our
citrus industry.
Dinner was a three course affair with
soup and rolls, bobotie with roasted potatoes and carrots (no yellow
rice!) and a citrus pudding as dessert. This was served at a
beautifully set table with stunning fresh roses.
