Africa has so many different faces that it’s impossible to take it all in.  But perhaps the one aspect of Africa we loved the most was the wild animals that roam this continent.  So with that in mind, and knowing our time in Africa was winding down, we decided to spend a night at Jeffery’s Bay, one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world, and then head inland for one last dose of wild animals and Africa as we want it and have missed it.

After enjoying a glorious night camped at the edge of the sand and watching the surfers the next morning at Jeffery’s Bay, we headed inland to Addo Elephant National Park, a game park bragging at having the Big 5 and a whole slew of other animals.  We just had to get another fix of Africa before heading home.

Addo Elephant National Park was set up in the 1930’s to protect a quickly diminishing herd of elephants that roamed the Eastern Cape.  Like other parks in South Africa, but unlike parks in other countries, Addo is a fenced park which means that the animals are protected from poachers and from farmers if they were to wander off into the fields and towns.  But it is also South Africa’s third largest park and covers a vast area where all animals are able to roam freely while rarely seeing a fence.

Addo may be famous for its elephants, and we saw some before we had even crossed through the gate, but it also featured many herds of kudus, one of our favourite animals because of their distinctive colours and the magnificent horns the males carry around.  Our afternoon game drive saw us cover a good chunk of the park and take in many of our old favourites, including a large family of elephants who were grazing from the road in front of us. 

But the highlight of the afternoon was coming across a beautiful lioness stalking a large male kudu which bellowed out some loud warnings before disappearing into the bush.  Having given up on the kudu as her dinner the lion decided to plonk herself down on the edge of the road right in front of Tramp.  What a special experience – Africa in all its rage and glory.

The next morning we did another long game drive through the park, exiting at the south gate.  We saw many more animals, including more elephants in front of us on our road and some of our original favourites, the eland, before heading up the N2 highway and camping for the night at a backpackers place in the sleepy beachside town of Chintsa West just north of East London. 

But our target was Durban and we only had a couple of days before we were dropping Tramp off with our shipping agent and flying home.  We drove north again, eventually dropping down to the coast at the busy coastal town of Port St. John.  Not known for its beaches or as a holiday retreat, in fact the town is fairly gritty and unappealing all around, Port St. John sits at the mouth of the Mzimvuba River which flows through a dramatic opening in the coastal mountains to pour out into the Indian Ocean.  The river had recently been in flood and we camped on its banks in an area that only a week ago had been under water. 

Our highlight – or lowlight – of the day was a serious encounter with a couple of policemen who stopped us at a normal roadside check only to immediately take a strong dislike to our worn and beaten tyres.  I’m sorry, they said, these tyres are not roadworthy and you will have to pay a fine and replace them (to be fair, the tyres are in very bad condition and they had a point).  But as we slowly and patiently explained to them, and even Julie got out of the car to join the conversation and add a valuable women’s touch, these tyres are a special size and not available in Africa (true) and we were heading to Durban to ship the truck out of the country in a few days (also true).  They were one part interested in our truck and travels, one part determined to fine us and another part baffled by our Carnet for the truck and our story.  After a long and polite conversation they reluctantly let us off with a warning and we shook hands and quickly left.  Phew.

The next day we headed inland for a while, taking the road northward as it followed the ridge lines of these rolling mountains covered in green grasses and sprinkled with colourfully painted homes that each seemed to have a little plot of land for corn or goats or both.  It was simple living, that’s for sure, but as we’ve seen across most of Africa the homes are neat and tidy, there is almost no litter to be seen, the school kids are all immaculately dressed in their uniforms and the strong impression we got is that these people live with pride of person and place.  It’s a tribute to these people because from an economic and prosperity point of view they are doing it very tough.

We eventually made the seaside resort town of Karridene, only about 30 kilometres south of Durban, and spent the afternoon sorting out our gear, cleaning what needed it, fixing what needed it, throwing out what needed it, deciding what we were leaving in Tramp and what we were taking home.  This was a painful but somewhat cathartic process, which spilled over into the next morning before we finally packed everything safely inside Tramp, leaving nothing in the cabin.

We drove up to Durban and stayed again at the Olive Room Bed and Breakfast, the same place we stayed at the beginning of our African journey.  The Olive Room is a welcoming home-turned-guest rooms in the suburb of Umbilo conveniently near our shipping agent.  Our hosts Marianna and Johann were delighted to see us again and warmly invited us into their home for a beautiful Durban curry that night.  It meant so much to us to have our last night in Africa – with all its bittersweet emotions – spent with new friends.

The next day we dropped Tramp off at the warehouse of our shipping agent, a moment always filled with angst and concern because we basically handover the keys to our cherished home on wheels and walk away, trusting his fate and his safe travel back to the UK with complete strangers.  It’s a strange and disconcerting feeling, to be sure, but these guys gave us the reassurance and confidence that Tramp would complete his journey as planned.  Our fingers are crossed!

And with that we caught a taxi to the Durban airport, flew with the deliciously named Mango Airlines to Johannesburg and caught our comfy flight home on Qantas.  Africa, we loved every moment of our experience here, a land of such contrasts, beauty, history and unique culture that we couldn’t get enough of it.  We met countless friendly people along the way, never having a threatening or awkward moment.  Africa delivered the goods, that’s for sure.  While home calls for us now we hope to be able to come back some day and have another African adventure.  Can’t wait!