Where Giants Walk The Earth

[ Travel ] Addo Elephant Park, Eastern Cape.

What do Stone Age humans dating back 125 000 years, the Khoikhoi people, the Xhosa people, the Boers, British forts, Percy Fitzpatrick (the author of Jock of the Bushveld), Denys Reitz of Boer War fame and the inventor of the jet engine have in common?

Add to the list wingless dung beetles, a massive elephant called Hapoor and a giant tortoise called Domkrag.

If you answered Addo Elephant Park, you would be absolutely correct.

I was lucky enough to visit this beautiful part of the Eastern Cape recently, for the first time in many years.

Addo starts with A, the first letter in the alphabet, and in my humble opinion this location should rise to the top of anyone’s bucket list. The area is fascinating.

Just as a start, let’s take a look at two of the items on my opening list: Hapoor, the massive bull elephant, was named after the large nick on his ear, thought to have come from a hunter’s rifle. No wonder he had an intense dislike of humankind.

And what about the giant tortoise? He was so gigantic he was known to crawl under cars and lift them up! Which was why he was christened Domkrag, or ‘hydraulic Jack’.

Oh yes, Addo is not just any “elephant park”...

My journey started in Port Elizabeth, where I picked up a brand new Isuzu D-Max 3-litre turbo diesel. This workhorse will be doing a few months’ duty at Caravan & Outdoor Life, as it’s our new long-term vehicle.

After getting behind the wheel of the new ride, I headed literally round the corner to Eastern Cape Caravans in Walmer to pick up my home for the trip. The kindness of the owners of Eastern Cape Caravans, the Grobler family, was awesome.