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Published: April 26th 2010
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I didn't sleep too well last night, probably because I was in a big brass bed, in a bedroom, with three other rooms all to myself. It took me a while to get to sleep, even though I went to bed some three hours later than of recent. I'd also set the alarm for 07h30 so that I could get a quiet breakfast before we had to pack and leave by 09h30. However, I was awake at 05h30 and cold - longing for my sleeping bag, hard floor and tent!!!
I didn't wait for the alarm. Instead I was up at 06h00 and pottering, opening the curtains and the windows. I walked down the road to take my breakfast and was led into a side room where the head-waitress insisted in stating the obvious with regard to the fare laid out for breakfast.
“This is the orange juice”, she said, gesturing to a jug of orange juice. “This is the plain yoghurt and this is the fruit yoghurt. The bread is here and there's fruit salad in that bowl. Help yourself and sit where you like. I'll bring you tea or coffee to your table when you're seated”.
The orange juice was first class and the coffee was excellent. I had three cups of the thick, black liquid and would have had more if I hadn't have felt greedy!
At 09h30 precisely, the Big Red Bus pulled up outside the house and I loaded my rucksack into the back and my camera equipment into the cabin. Taking all the keys, I returned to the reception whilst the remaining baggage was loaded. Rejoining the bus, we set off through town, leaving southbound through scrub. Cactus and aloe grew in the grassland whilst ostrich roamed freely. Windmills rotated in the early morning breeze, bringing their precious load of water up from the depths into the semi-desert. Occasionally, dorps rose from the red soil to tower over all, small trees and bushes littering their sides like two-day stubble on a giant face.
Just over an hour into the journey, our tour leader received a phone call from the hotel; a camera had been found. Red-faced, Joke admitted it was hers and we turned round and headed back to Cradock. Two and half hours after we'd left, we arrived back at Die Tuishuise to cries of
this seems a nice place, shall we stop here?
Once more, we left town, driving past farmsteads, their green fields standing out like oases in a desert of beige scrub. Tractors, rather than ox-driven ploughs, tilled the red soil in contrast to the scene so recently viewed in Lesotho. Cows and sheep grazed through the scrub, finding the grass that would be their nourishment.
Eventually, even the animals disappeared as we climbed higher and higher and the road began to wind between mountain passes. We reached the top of Olifantskop and, rounding a hairpin bend, had the most tremendous view towards the Indian Ocean in the distance. Descending, we arrived in Patterson and turned off the road towards Addo Elephant National Park, our destination.
We arrived at the Main Camp in hot sunshine and immediately set about setting up the wet tents. Choosing a suitable spot on the gravel site, the soaking tents were soon up, the flaps tied back and the sun beginning to dry them. Meanwhile, we all joined Jerry, who'd prepared boerewors and onions for lunch.
Sated, we then set off for an afternoon's game drive with Maxwell driving. After missing a couple of opportunities to view
male Kudu (with the spiral antlers), we come across a bachelor group grazing in full view. All in all, it was a good afternoon's viewing with plenty of Kudu, Black Backed Jackals, White Tailed Mongooses and, of course, Elephant.
This evening, we're back under canvas and I'm looking forwards to a good night's sleep!
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