Moving down to Woody Cape Section

Early ride down to Woody Cape

Salomia had informed us last night that some of us could stay over at Woody Cape Section for a few days and this was something I was looking forward to since Woody Cape section was the section of ADDO National Park that covered the coastal dunes of Alexandria. The park had been broken down into various sections and depending on logistical availability and timing, volunteers could request for a chance to visit other parts of the park besides just the main camp section. Our request had gone through thanks to our volunteer coordinator and we had to set off early for the ride down to the rangers office at Woody Cape.

The plan was for the ranger from ADDO maincamp to drive us to a rendezvous point where we would be picked up by another ranger from Woody Cape section. The students residing at Woody Cape would be there to guide us from the office onwards and I was definitely looking forward to meeting Yentl and Eleen, whom I had met during the elephant collaring week.

On reaching Woody cape, we spent some time waiting by the office before being driven in to our accomodation for the next few day, the Langebos huts, located about 600 m away from the office further inside. It was really awesome that we sighted a deer and her young close by where the toilets were located.

One of the Langebos huts

The Langebos was undergoing works, so there was no electricity or hot water. There was a stove however, so we could cook simple meals and light up kerosene lamps during nightfall. The whole place had a certain silence and peace to it, such that we could find only among natural surroundings.

The first few hours were spent just relaxing and unpacking our things before heading out to meet Yentl for a short trek on the trail. I had a nice time climbing many of the trees around, old and really fun to climb up on.

The trail walk rather quick and we were back at the office in an hour, after walking through the forest among really huge trees. The walk ended up past the Langebos and Yentl had to carry on to the office while the rest of us took a short rest.

Relaxing for a bit, we decided to follow the rangers down to town when they were dropped off after work and it was a relief that the town was so close. Getting some supplies and drinks from the supermarket in Alexandria town, we headed back to settle in to our accommodation for the night. Setting up a fire was a new experience but luckily the rangers had stacked up lots of wood for us. These chunks were from alien species of trees that had invaded the local fauna and been cut down and they burned with much crackling. Yentl came by to check on us again as we cooked some simple dinner and decided to head to bed early.

We would be visiting the sand dunes of Alexandria tomorrow and this was something I was really looking forward to.