Timba! Ungawa!

I think this week has been the week of strange accommodation. Firstly we stayed in an old railway carriage in Mossel Bay. I thought it would have been all done up like the carriage we saw at a local museum for the Queens visit in the 50's, rather it was a dilapidated carriage that looked like it was shipped from Zimbabwe and parked in a siding.

Then we spend two nights waking up to Bob Marley in the Rastafarian community of Knysna, what a weird and wonderful experience. Before we stayed there all I knew about Rasta was ganja and reggae, but the two nights with Sista Kerri were informative and wonderful. It's so cute to see all of the little Rasta kids with their dreadlocks!

We slept inside the Addo Elephant NP, unfortunately not inside an actual elephant. We confessed our crimes, did not pass go, did not collect our $200 went straight to gaol, a small cell at the Old Gaol backpackers in Grahamstown. Last night we went to the beautiful mountain village of Hogsback and stayed at [I]Away With the Fairies[/I] backpackers. Set amongst some beautiful forests with amazing waterfall walks and a deadly tree house (deadly as in gravestone, not another world for wicked)

Whilst we were in Knysna we had to visit the Elephant Park and what an experience that was. They house orphaned Elephants and keep them inside their large property. We took a two-hour "Walk with the Elephants" tour and as you might have guessed, walked with the Elephants down into the forest. At our halfway point we were treated to a small ride around and I couldn't help but think I was Tarzan in the Jungle. I tried calling "Timba! Ungawa!" like Tarzan did, but they didn't do anything.

I thought it might have never happened, but we finally left Western Cape and entered Eastern Cape. The first thing I noticed was the lack of lines on the road, the second was the speeding fines, but after that little hick up it's been wonderful. We've been to Camdeboo NP at Graaff Reinet and Addo Elephant NP and between the two we've seen more animals than you can poke a stick at, which apparently is illegal in this country. Greater Kudu, Blessbuck, Vervet Monkey, Skyke Monkey, Springbok, Meerkat, Rock Dassie, Warthog, Red Heartbeast, Yellow Mongoose, Black Backed Jekel, Scrubhare, Springhaer, Common Dukier, Tortoise, Buffalo, Plane Zebra, Mountain Zebra and Elephant. I know that everything I do seams like it's the best thing I've done, but sitting behind a hide at Addo Elephant NP and having a family of 10 wild Elephants coming to drink, meters from the hide, defiantly blew me away. These animals are just fantastic to observe. We almost ran into one as it crossed the road later in the day and the Buffalo I’ve got a picture of, almost ran us over! I understand why they tell you not to get out of your car.

When we were in Graaff Renet we were hoping to see the rare Mountain Zebra but left the reserve after dark disappointing. The following morning we woke early to see the sunrise over the Valley of Desolation and almost ran over a family of them meandering by the road.

Next Stop Wild Coast, so until then "Timba! Ungawa!"

[url]www.knysnaelephantpark.co.za/[/url] - Knysna Elepanant Park
[url]www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/[/url] - Addo Elephant NP