After an early largely unproductive game drive, we had breakfast and packed a picnic lunch. We were off to the Karouga area of the Addo Park. This involves going out of the gate, through the villages of Addo, Hermitage, Sunlands, and Kirkwood. These villages are in the Sundays River Valley with irrigated citrus orchards on both sides of the road. Apparently Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (according to our 1980 edition of Discovering South Africa by T V Bulpin – a bit out of date, but the history of the areas hasn’t changed) set up a company to bring settlers into the area and this company started the citrus farming. He was also instrumental in getting Lake Mentz built for irrigation (in 1997 the name was changed to Darlington Dam due to the village of Darlington which was flooded by the dam).
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| Lunch on 4x4 trail |
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| The Woodlands 4x4 trail |
You go into Addo just north of Kirkwood. The initial part of the park wasn’t too interesting, but then we got on a 4x4 trail which took us through the mountains back to the gate – the Woodlands 4x4 trail – which was great with lots of trees and different vegetation including Cabbage trees, lots of Schotia Afra’s, Cycads on the mountain slopes, Cape Chestnuts, etc. We had lunch on the trail under the big trees.
We left there at 14h00 and went via Enon to the Zuurberg part of the park, up the Suurberg pass which was very beautiful – our first pass of the trip.
Back to camp where the wind is howling – lots of thunderheads around. It has been a terribly hot day – one Free State camper was complaining about the heat – 44 degrees today.
A braai tonight (if the wind dies down) and then we leave tomorrow for the Baviaanskloof. We have enjoyed Addo but are not sad to be leaving. Three nights was certainly long enough.
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