Addo Elephant Park ToursAddo Elephant Park Tours - Addo Elephant National Park- Tours and Safari's by Crisscross Adventures

Swimming Elephants Of Addo

crisscross — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:08:49 +0000

Addo Elephants offer guests a chance sighting as they show off the excellent swimming skills. Elephants visit the Addo waterholes in order to quench their large thirsts (100 litres on average per day) and they are often seen spraying water on themselves or swimming to reduce their core temperature and this is usually followed by a dust bath in order to create a mud layer which serves to form a barrier against parasites or insects and the African sun.

Addo River Safari Update

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:50:17 +0000

After 8 consecutive years of nesting at the SAME spot, we were delighted to see the Goliath Heron mating pair with two of the fluffiest little chicks yesterday on our River Safari!

Addo Elephant Park In Full Bloom

crisscross — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:57:19 +0000

Addo Elephant Park is awash with colour. The recent rains brought drought relief to the Addo Elephant National Park and amazing colours to the landscape, reminiscent of the Namaqualand. The flowers of Addo Elephant National Park welcome spring.

Addo Lions

crisscross — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 07:21:24 +0000

Six Lions from the Kalahari were released in the Addo Elephant National Park in 2003, where they used to roam freely until being shot out many years ago.

There are currently 9 lions in Addo Elephant National Park (26-09-2011)

Gina (Female) +/- 5 years old plus her two young male juveniles (1.5 yrs old)

Tour Sightings: Matyholweni (Colchester) Section

Aardlam (Female) +/-8 years old

Tour Sightings: Main Camp from Carols Rest across through Gorah and Marion Baree

Norman (Male) +/- 3 years Old

Zwaai (Male) +/- 3 years Old

Josie (Female) +/- 3 years Old

Tour Sightings: Main Camp from Carols Rest across through Gorah and Marion Baree

Roy (Male) +/- 4 years
Nomad (Male) +/-5 years old

Tour Sightings: Matyholweni (Colchester) Section

Addo Dungbeetle

crisscross — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 06:44:13 +0000

The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle species of dung beetle is endemic to a few areas of South Africa and is a member of the families Bolboceratidae and Scarabaeidae which cannot fly. This scarab beetle was once widespread throughout South Africa but is now limited to a few pockets of populations, the largest being at Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape Province. This dung beetle is most common in the main game area of the Addo Elephant National Park, but the dung beetle does occurs in the rest of the Greater Addo National Park.

The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle is a very large, metallic black coloured insect with a body length of about 30 mm and 50 mm. This Addo insect has a shiny globular rounded outline and a large pronotum and abdomen.

About The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle:

The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle adults gather at African Elephant dung for feeding and at Cape Buffalo dung for feeding and breeding. The remarkable dung beetles shape the dung into large round balls, which are then rolled away to be buried. The dung beetles only have one nesting sequence a year and in this time period they produce only one young beetle. Their conservation status is vulnerable as they depend on 2 large herbivores for survival: Elephant and Buffalo.

Addo Dung Beetle Breeding

Addo Dung Beetles prefer Buffalo Dung for breeding. Females dung beetles produce only one off-spring per breeding cycle, usually one but sometimes two per year so fecundity is therefore low. When breeding, the female removes a portion of dung from the pile, pats it onto a ball and rolls it away, from 7 to 80m, depending on when she finds a suitable site. Unlike other dung beetles, the male trails her by a few centimetres and does not help roll the ball. When the ideal site is decided on, the female excavates the hole and the male then positions himself on top of the dung ball and sinks down with it, the depth varying from 17 to 37 cm. Mating then takes place and the egg is deposited. The male returns to the surface and the female remains with her brood throughout the early (larval) development. This is critical for the survival of the larva as she constantly clears away fungus that develops on the outside of the dung ball. The development time from egg to adult ranges from 120 to 140 days. The young adult then feeds for another 50 to 65 days before becoming sexually mature.

Interesting Information On The Addo Dung Beetle:

The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle only occurs in the Eastern Cape Province in a small patch, however it is fairly common within it’s range. This terrestrial invertebrate occurs in habitats such as… scrub and Spekboomveld. They often congregate in 100′s in the Addo Elephant National Park, this is the best place to see these special beetles.

THE ADDO DUNG BEETLE has right of way!!! Please be careful travelling around the Addo Elephant National Park and surrounds…

Addo Bird List

crisscross — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:30:36 +0000

Phenomenal Bird watching can be experienced in Addo especially on the Addo River Safaris and Addo Mountain Safaris. The primary reason for the abundance of bird life in the Addo area is due to the five vegetation biomes which the area possesses and the rich biodiversity on offer in the Eastern Cape. Let your Addo Tour Guides take you to Mountain pools deep in the Zuurberg Mountains where the Bird book of Southern Africa was written and documented by McLaughlin.

Sight the ellusive Narina Trogan, Knysna Lourie, Paradise Flycatchers, Hornbills, Black headed Orioles, red-billed Wood Hoopoes, White Fronted Bee-Eaters and many more. Addo bird watchers check list for just some of the prolific birds seen daily on Crisscross Adventure Tours.

Addo Birds by Common Name:

Whitebreasted Cormorant
Reed Cormorant
African Darter
Grey Heron
Blackheaded Heron
Goliath Heron
Purple Heron
White Backed Night Heron
Blackcrowned Night Heron
Green Backed Heron
Common Squacco Heron
Great White Egret
Yellow Billed Egret
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Little Bittern
Hamerkop
White Stork
Yellowbilled Stork
African Sacred Ibis
Hadeda Ibis
African Spoonbill
Egyptian Goose
South African Shelduck
Yellowbilled Duck
African Black Duck
Southern Pochard
Hottentot Teal
Redbilled Teal
Spurwinged Goose
Secretarybird
Black Kite
Yellowbilled Kite
Blackshouldered Kite
European Honey-Buzzard
Blackbreasted Snake-Eagle
African Fish-Eagle
Steppe Buzzard
Jackal Buzzard
Sparrowhawk
African Goshawk
Pale Chanting Goshawk
African Marsh Harrier
Black Harrier
African Harrier Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Lanner Falcon
Rock Kestrel
Greater Kestrel
Lesser Kestrel
Greywinged Francolin
Redwinged Francolin
Rednecked Spurfowl
Common Quail
Helmeted Guineafowl
Blue Crane
Black Crake
Purple Gallinule
Common Moorhen
African Finfoot
Kori Bustard
Whitebellied Korhaan
Southern Black Korhaan
Common Ringed Plover
Kittlitz’s Plover
Threebanded Plover
Common Sandpiper
Spotted Dikkop
Kelp Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Dove Feral Pigeon
Speckled Pigeon Rock Pigeon
Redeyed Dove
Cape Turtle-Dove
Laughing Dove
Namaqua Dove
Redchested Cuckoo
Black Cuckoo
Jacobin Cuckoo
Emerald Cuckoo
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Diderick Cuckoo
Burchell’s Coucal
Barn Owl
African Grass-Owl
African Wood-Owl
Marsh Owl
African Scops-Owl
Cape Eagle-Owl
Spotted Eagle-Owl
European Nightjar
Fierynecked Nightjar
Common Swift
African Black Swift
Whiterumped Swift
Horus Swift
Little Swift
Alpine Swift
Speckled Mousebird
Redfaced Mousebird
Narina Trogon
Pied Kingfisher
Giant Kingfisher
Malachite Kingfisher
Pygmy-Kingfisher
Brownhooded Kingfisher
Mangrove Kingfisher
Half Collared Kingfisher
Eurasian Bee-eater
White-fronted Bee-eater
European Roller
African Hoopoe
Redbilled Woodhoopoe
Trumpeter Hornbill
Crowned Hornbill
Southern Ground Hornbill
Blackcollared Barbet
Honeyguide
Sharpbilled Honeybird
Ground Woodpecker
Cardinal Woodpecker
Barn Owl
African Grass-Owl
Spotted Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Southern Black Flycatcher
Fiscal Flycatcher
Cape Batis
Fairy Flycatcher
Paradise Flycatcher
Pied Wagtail
Cape Wagtail
Plainbacked Pipit
Orangethroated Longclaw
Fiscal Shrike
Southern Boubou
Bokmakierie
Olive Bush Shrike
Greyheaded Bush Shrike
Common Starling
Red Winged Starling
Pied Starling
Wattled Starling
Glossy Starling
Redbilled Oxpecker
Malachite Sunbird
Lesser Doublecollared Sunbird
Grey Sunbird
Cape White-eye
House Sparrow
Cape Sparrow
Cape Weaver
Masked Weaver
Red Bishop
Yellow Bishop
Bluebilled Firefinch
Common Waxbill
Quail Finch
Pintailed Whydah
Cape Canary
Yellow Canary
Olive Woodpecker
Bennetts Woodpecker
Redthroated Wryneck
Greybacked Sparrowlark
Swallow
Whitethroated Swallow
Greater Striped Swallow
Lesser Striped Swallow
Rock Martin
Common House-Martin
Brownthroated Martin
Black Cuckooshrike
Forktailed Drongo
European Golden Oriole
Blackheaded Oriole
Black Crow
Pied Crow
Whitenecked Raven
Southern Grey Tit
Southern Black Tit
Cape Penduline Tit
Redeyed Bulbul
Blackeyed Bulbul
Terrestrial Bulbul
Olive Thrush
Familiar Chat
Anteating Chat
Stonechat
Cape Robin
White-Starred Robin
Whitebrowed Scrub-Robin
Karoo Scrub-Robin
African Marsh Warbler
Cape Reed Warbler
Grassbird
Fantailed Cisticola
Greybacked Cisticola
Levaillant’s Cisticola

About Addo Elephant National Park

crisscross — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:33:34 +0000

Found deep in the shadow of dense Addo valley bushveld, the Addo Elephant Park was proclaimed in the 1930’s when only 11 elephants remained. Today it is a finely tuned Eco-system which is sanctuary to over 490 elephants, buffalo, black rhino, lion, leopard, hyena, antelope, small carnivores, over 180 bird species as well as the endangered flightless dung beetle, found almost exclusively in Addo. The Zuurberg Mountains, falling within the park, are home to interesting fauna and flora including three rare cycad and two yellow wood species.

Plans to extend the current 170 000 ha Addo Elephant National Park into a 400 000 ha “Greater Addo Park” are already under way with the park having more than doubled in size over the past six years. Unique features of the Park include the “Big Seven” (elephant, black rhino, buffalo, leopard, lion, great white shark and Southern Right whale) in their natural habitat, a 120 000 ha marine reserve with a number of offshore islands as well as five of South Africa’s seven biomes (distinct vegetation regions), make Addo one of the most diverse conservation areas in the world.

Addo Adventures

crisscross — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:06:24 +0000

The malaria free Addo and Addo Elephant National Park, located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa is the perfect holiday destination and ideal for both adventure enthusiasts and nature lovers. The CrissCross Adventure Tour Company, based in Addo offers guided tours through the Addo Elephant National Park and a variety of Addo Activities Such as: Addo River safari’s on the Sunday’s River, Mountain Safari’s deep in the heart of the Greater Addo Elephant National Park, Beach Safari’s near Addo’s Marine Section, Fresh and Salt Water Fishing Safari’s, Photographic Tours, Hiking, Mountain Biking, and Tours specializing in Bird Watching.

The Eastern Cape is ‘the natural choice’ holiday destination to tourists from around the world. CrissCross guests have the opportunity to view the “Big 5″ (Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard) in their natural habitat. The Eastern Cape is synonymous with breathtaking scenery, wide open spaces, prolific wildlife, offering a serene refuge from the stresses of daily life and is the playground of CrissCross Adventures.