And Then Came Port Elizabeth

Thankfully we had another beautiful sea day after that most fantastic day in Durban. I needed it to rest, as my excursion of choice for Port Elizabeth was scheduled to be five and a half hours in duration - most of which was spent bouncing along deeply rutted dirt roads in a 4X4. The Addo Elephant Park is located an hour and a half's drive from the port on a well-maintained highway through rural countryside. Addo Elephant Park is another of South Africa's National wild animal reserves. Our transportation was a very comfy air-conditioned bus. Once at the park, we were divided into two groups of twenty and loaded onto our 4X4 safari vehicle. I lucked out and got an outside seat with beautiful, unencumbered 180 degree views which proved very useful when snapping all those photographs. Our guide, Fish, told us that the reserve had only six lions, but seven hundred and fifty elephants. For the first hour or so, we saw very few elephants, but not to worry, they came out later - and by the hundreds.

Our first major find was a solitary lioness. Fish told us that when this lioness first came to the reserve (from where, I do not recall), she had two babies. Then one day, the rangers noticed she had only one of her babies. She and her remaining baby, of which she was extremely protective, were never separated - never! Then one day, the second baby died. No matter, Mom took that baby with her wherever she went for days on end. Finally, fearing that she would starve to death since she was unable to hunt, the rangers stepped in and relieved her of her burden. Now, she is often seen in close proximity to her sister and that sister's four babies. Not with them, but nearby so that she can see them all. Sure enough, we soon glimpsed Mom Two napping with her four little ones behind some bushes. Not one was the least bit annoyed by our presence. (Though if someone had been stupid enough to get out of the vehicle, I suspect there would have been quite a fierce reaction)

Once everyone had taken all the pictures they wanted and Fish had completed his most touching story, we moved on for other finds. No, we did not smoothly move on! We bounced along deeply rutted paths with branches whipping into the window openings - loving every jarring moment! What is that, but a warthog! Click, click, click. Then Junior warthog with his bushy mane (not a handsome creature, I might add). Some creatures in the antelope family, a gorgeous light grey hawk with bright red beak sitting on a tree stump, and finally, the elephants.

What does one do when an elephant wants to cross the "road" on which one is driving? You let him and all his herd go wherever they wish. Elephants, according to Fish, feed at least 22 of every 24 hours, stopping only briefly to catch a ten minute power nap while standing. Not lazy creatures, these elephants! They are huge creatures and totally vegan, so it takes A LOT of leaves to fill those stomachs. We spotted a lone giraffe along the way, some lesser creatures, but the main event was definitely the elephants! Fish also pointed out three adolescent elephants off some distance from the rest of the herd. Explanation: "Teenage" elephants are too disruptive to the rest of the group, therefore banished so that they can learn to fend for themselves and, when the time comes, start their own family.

While this excursion was nothing like my Walk with the Elephants in Zimbabwe, it was no less thrilling. To see these huge animals in their natural habitat is nothing less than awesome. After leaving the park, headed back to the ship we saw a herd of at least forty-five elephants walking in the same direction as we. Definitely on a mission, but our driver said he had never seen a herd that large and had no clue where they were going. The old movie Elephant Walk, with Elizabeth Taylor, came to my mind.

Back in the city we hit some very heavy traffic. Heaviest I've seen in Africa. Just when we thought we had it made, with the ship right there waiting on us, just beyond the railway tracks, we learned that the train upon said tracks was perhaps the longest freight train known to man as it would not clear our crossing for some thirty-odd minutes. Driver to the rescue - he knew an alternate, circuitous route which would get us back to the ship in time for dinner. Yay, driver!

My skeletal system totally rearranged from the jarring of the 4X4; I slept like the baby lions: perfectly content with life!

Today is Someday! Go on Safari!