Thursday, November 28, 2019

Part 2 of our trip to South Africa

Maximum temperature in the Charente today 13C, minimum 9C.  25 mm of rain measured this morning.  27km/h South-westerly winds with gusts up to 57 km/h!! Very breezy! 

We arrived at Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape in the late afternoon of Monday 14 November after a 2-hour flight. The winds were so strong that the pilot battled to get the plane down, but the landing itself was smooth! We were met by Christelle and Patrick, who drove us home to their place in Kenton, which took about 1 1/2 hours. They had gone to a lot of trouble to make us so welcome and the rondavel with en suite was fabulous!

 On arrival, Nigel was feeling unwell and sadly spent the next two days in bed with bad flu-like symptoms. 

Nevertheless, I was up and about and spent some time with Christelle's family who were there for a couple of days from Zimbabwe.  We took a trip down to the beach and borrowing a pair of rock sandals, I joined them on a walk before the tide came in.  The tide almost beat us to it, and one corner was a little too deep for me and Christelle's nephew gallantly gave me a piggyback around the corner to the rocks on the other side!!  I wish I could show you the video, but with our slow WiFi, it is impossible to load it, so here are a couple of stills taken from it!!!!

It was deeper than this in places...

Rounding the corner...

and Christelle helping me back on to terra firma.   I was very grateful for the lift though we all had a laugh.

Beautiful beach.

This is called Carriage Rock.

The following day the family all left and C and P took me out for a drive to see some of the nearby places.  They are so lucky; close to them is San Estate, and although privately owned and one can only drive around the edge, we saw plenty of wildlife.

Impala (Aepyceros melampus).

Zebra (there several species and sub species (Equus quagga) being the most common and Hartebeest, (Alcelaphus buselaphus) on the right.

Zebra.

Nyala males, (Tragelaphus angasii)...

Nyala youngster...

As above.

South African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). The giraffe is the tallest land animal in the world. Males can reach a height of 5 m, and females 4.5 m.


See also my Bird blog I have many photos of birds and I will put most of them on this blog.

24 comments:

  1. Wow,such a beautiful place to visit, lovely photos☺

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    1. Thanks Natalia, it is the best place ever to see wild animals and I have lifelong friends there as well who I miss being so far away. Hope you are well, Diane

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  2. What a sweetheart to carry you. Great wildlife sightings. I've only seen a Nyala once. You make me homesick.

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    1. We saw many more Nyala on our last visit but we did see them at Kruger as well. Lots of photos to go through as you can imagine. Hope you are on the mend, Diane

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  3. Diane, you are welcome to stay at my house any time you wish, I will provide a lovely room for you, your own bathroom, great food, EXCELLENT CHEESE, copious quantities of wine, a volley of Cognac before bed each night, bird guiding services, I will get medication for you if you are under the weather, I will take you to Niagara Falls - in short I will ensure that you are well taken of - BUT, I will not carry you on my back!

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    1. LOL he is very much younger than you David, young strong lad. Thanks for the offer though of the accommodation etc will bear that in mind, but the weather worries me further North. Even RSA was chilly with a cold wind! Take care Diane

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    2. Diane, don't worry about the weather being too cold in Ontario. It is very warm over the summmer and into the Fall.

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  4. A bit of paradise. Such beautiful photos! I haven’t heard of Nyala or Hartebeest.

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    1. Always some new animal in country you do not know well. Keep well Diane

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  5. I would dearly love to visit. Your pics are just enticing me even more.

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    1. I am sure you would never regret. We loved all the wild life, but some animals which were so common are now difficult to see at all, rhinos in particular. Hard to believe that poaching can cause extinction and that is just what is happening. Very sad. Keep well Diane

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  6. Very beautiful and your hosts sound like they did a wonderful job of making your comfortable. I love the scenery and the wildlife. The weather looks wonderful too. I hope you and Nigel are both feeling back to normal now that you are home. xx

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    1. Penny we are both almost back to 100% but it seems as we get older recovery is that much slower!! The weather was in fact chilly despite the blue skies and the severe drought that is in most of Southern Africa. Take care Diane

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  7. That bed looks so comfortable and I am sure you slept well. That is such a beautiful place. Love the Carriage Rock and you get to see all those beautiful wild animals up close.

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    1. Nancy lots more of wild animals to be posted, just a lot of editing before they get there! Hope all is well over there Diane

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  8. Hi Diane - love David's comment ... but so glad he (Chriselle's nephew) saved you from the hassle but I can imagine you split your sides laughing. It looks stunning ... I don't think I ever got to Kenton, but had a few trips to Port Alfred. Gorgeous ... just sorry Nigel was unwell - but obviously fully recovered now. The San Estate looks wonderful ... gorgeous shots of the wildlife ... cheers Hilary

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    1. David is very good at comments!!!! Glad that this is an area that you know. So many photos to go through and lots more of Africa to see. Thanks for the visit Diane

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  9. Lovely to see you here Diane, have just enjoyed both part one and here part two of your trip. Looks like you had a fabulous time, some adventures too 😉 I didn't ever go to South Africa but I remember the Jacaranda trees lining the roads in Salisbury very well, I think that's why I love them so much here. Beautiful shots of the animals in the San Estate, the zebra markings are incredible. Looking forward to seeing part three, take care of yourselves 💙

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    1. One road in Salisbury had alternate white and blue jacarandas which was stunning. We had an amazing time and saw so much, just sad we had to waste a few days in bed ill!! Watch this space for lots of wild animal pictures and the bird blog for birds I have never even heard of before let alone seen! Keep well Diane

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  10. Such a trip is a great adventure. Interesting photos and report.

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    1. Thanks very much, your visit and comment are appreciated. Have a great week Diane

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  11. The wildlife pics are amazing. That would be GREAT to see that. Loving the pics and hoping you had a great time.

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    1. Thanks you Pam, if only our WiFi was a bit faster, I find it very frustrating!! Hope you are well, Diane

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  12. Just catching up after a couple of weeks of distraction, Diane. I'm glad you had a knight in shining armour to rescue you from the advancing tide - the alternatives would have been a little uncomfortable, but I expect the water was quite warm!

    That's a pretty impressive selection of wildlife for your opening day. Carriage Rock looks fabulous!

    I had to look up what a rondavel was - it seems that one was somewhat comfortable.

    Will now move up to your next installment. See you in a minute!

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