Giraffe at Kragga Kamma

Addo Elephant National Park, as with all National Parks, has a policy to only have animals that occurred there naturally.  Giraffes didn't thus you won't find them in the park.  The best place to see them though is at the Kragga Kamma Game Park just outside Port Elizabeth.  

Rest-a-While on Kragga Kamma Road

When was the last time you drove down Kragga Kamma Road to Coleen Glen? Been a while?  Have you ever noticed the little building on the right hand side not far from Cow's Corner?  Well that little building has a new tenant, a new jacket and a new purpose.  Rest-a-While (Pebble Springs) is the biggest little farm stall around.  Not so much a farm stall as in the traditional sense of the word, but who knows what it can develop into in future.  Currently open on Saturdays and Sundays, Rest-a-While sells collectors items as well as some home made breads and jams and they support their local community by displaying their wares.  Do take a drive out that way and drop by if you're curious.  I just noticed it as I drove past and had to stop.  

Landman's Lake is a little on the low side

I drove past Landman's Lake (the lake on Lakeside Road) today and could not believe my eyes how low the water level currently is because of the ongoing drought.  PE's biggest fresh water lake is but a shadow of its former self.  It is so low in fact that there is a beach all around the lake now.

Coming from Kragga Kamma side the whole section that panhandles out towards Like Farm Centre is dry.  It just shows how badly we need some big rains to come our way.

A Kragga Kamma photo safari with Chasing the Rainbow

I'm still working my way through Chasing the Rainbow's videos featuring Port Elizabeth and the surrounding areas as I find them excellent material for my Video Friday posts and at the same time (hopefully) getting more of my followers to follow them as well.  Today's video features Kragga Kamma Game Park and shows how awesome an attraction it is to 1: take kids; 2: take photos and 3: take kids and encourage them to take photos.

A visit to Kragga Kamma Game Park

I was browsing YouTube looking for a nice Port Elizabeth clip to use for this week's Video Friday and found this video of a visit to Kragga Kamma Game Park uploaded by Niezwykly Swiat - Wonderful World.  Unfortunately the rest of the text in the description looks like it could be Russian so I can't really tell you more about the person who uploaded it.  Have a look at the video, pack a picnic and head over to Kragga Kamma Game Park this weekend.  The park is looking stunning after all the rains we've had and there are lots of babies around.

Spending the day eating in you pj's

Zebras will always be a favorite sighting on any game drive and even better if you get to see them up close like we did at Kragga Kamma Game Park recently.

Springbok reserve

Ever wondered where the Springboks that don't make the team hang out? 

Kragga Kamma Game Park, where else?

A couple of long necks

Kragga Kamma Game Park is the ideal spots to spend a weekend morning or afternoon.  Its nice and close to the city and you get to see a wide variety of animals from the comfort of your own car.  I always love seeing giraffes on any game drive and visiting Kragga Kamma is no different.

Kragga Kamma suspension bridge

One doesn't have to drive all the way to the Tsitsikamma to be able to cross a suspension bridge.  The start of the monkey walk at the Bush Cafe at Kragga Kamma Game Park has its own suspension bridge which crosses a little dam before you go on a short circular loop on a boardwalk. 

Lake Farm lake

The Lake Farm lake on Lake Side Road in the Kragga Kamma area west of the city is the biggest fresh water lake in Port Elizabeth.  The lake is quite a popular fishing spot but to get access you need to belong to a club which will organise you permission to go in.  Lake de la Vie wedding venue and Royalson Game Reserve is situated to the west of the lake, basically behind my back as I took this picture.

Suspension bridge

Suspension bridges always remind me of Indiana Jones and has a sense of adventure to them.  This one may not lead over a chasm, but still.  One can use one's imagination.  The suspension bridge in question is right next to the Bush Cafe at Kragga Kamma Game Park and forms part of the Monkey Walk.

Spotted cat

We are really fortunate here in Port Elizabeth to have a place like Kragga Kamma Game Park right on the edge of the city.  It gives people who doesn't always get the opportunity to visit private game reserves the chance to see a wide range of animals in their natural habitat.  Kragga Kamma's cheetahs aren't free range though, but they are in a nice big enclosed area and its quite possible to take pictures of them without a fence in sight.  

Playing with cheetah

Kragga Kamma Game Park offers visitors the awesome opportunity to interact with their two tame cheetahs.  The two brothers live right next door to the park's restaurant and although fully grown adults they are as tame as kittens.  And kittens they are.  People have the idea that big cats must be in some way different from our every day house cats, but they aren't.  As soon as you start scratching between their ears they start to purr like kittens and they just absolutely love it.  So does the visitors who go in with them.

Keep moving

"Come on buddy, just keep moving. The new year is only one day away!"

I'm not sure what this giraffe at Kragga Kamma Game Park outside Port Elizabeth was trying to do. Looking at the pic he was either scratching his head or trying to prod his smaller companion into moving.

Blue Wildebeest

We really are fortunate to have so many game reserves surrounding Port Elizabeth and places like Kragga Kamma Game Park gives both residents and visitors the opportunity to view wild game up close without having to visit a zoo.  One of the more common animals one get to see are the Blue Wildebeest or "gnu".  Sometimes also called the Common Wildebeest, the Blue Wildebeest is a large antelope and one of two species of wildebeest.  It got its name from the conspicuous silvery blue sheen to its short haired hide, differentiating this species from the plainer black genus member Black Wildebeest with its white tail.  The name "gnu" originates from the Khoikhoi name for these animals.

Did you know?  Blue wildebeest young can stand within six minutes of being born.

Baby Bontebok

This time of year one gets to see lots of little baby animals running around the game reserves surrounding Port Elizabeth.  Kragga Kamma Game Park is probably one of the best options to visit if you want to take the family and show the babies to the kids.  I photographed these Bontebok moms with their babies at Kragga Kamma last week and just missed the first zebra born this season by a couple of days. 

Giraffe

Port Elizabeth is blessed with two stunning small game parks within the city boundaries in the Kragga Kamma Game Park and the Seaview Game and Lion Park. Both of these have a number of different animal species that can be view on the game drives through the park. Most people get quite excited when they see giraffe, of which there are quite a few at both reserves.

Warthog

This is the last of my short series of pics of Kragga Kamma Game Park and some of its animals. I love seeing warthog (love eating them as well, but that's for another post), specially when they stick their tails in the air and run off. The other thing that fascinates me is how they stand on their front knees when eating. Does it mean they are religious animals?

Handling Cheetah

One of the highlights for visitors to Kragga Kamma Game Park is the opportunity to handle Dume, the tame cheetah. Duma is actually a movie star and was one of the cubs that was used in the making of the film with the same name. According to those in the know, cheetahs are the only of the big cats that can be tamed 100%. But you still need to be careful when playing with him. Don't tickle his tummy and don't touch his face. Imagine you tickling a cat's tummy. He will roll onto his back and playfully grab your arm with his claws. Now imagine a cheetah doing it. So, keeping in mind the rules, visitors get to go into Duma's enclosure and pose for a photo or two. He is a bit of a temperamental cat (but isn't all movie stars), so you may have walk over to him and wait for him to decide when he is ready for a pose.

Kragga Kamma suspension bridge

Once you have completed the first part of your drive through Kragga Kamma Game Park, visitors can go for a snack and a drink at the restaurant. The restaurant overlooks a big waterhole and over it is a suspension bridge leading to their Monkey Walk. The monkey walk is a raised walkway on which visitors often spot vervet monkeys.