Hoosier Cruiser

April 1, 2026

We are a day away from rounding the Cape of Good Hope, but there was still time for one more safari. Before the cruise left LA back in January, I connected with a previous world cruiser from Colorado who suggested a private tour operating in this port. I signed on with his group and eleven of us set off in two seven passenger Land Cruisers to Addo Elephant National Park. Addo is the 3rd largest national park in South Africa and as the name implies there are a lot of elephants (700+). But we saw many other species during almost seven hours inside the park. (Previous guided tours lasted about 2-3 hours)

Wildlife we encountered: dung beetle, elephant, zebra, Cape Buffalo, warthog, kudu, hartebeest, goshawk, puff adder and ostrich. We covered a lot of ground in the morning before a lunch break at an open air restaurant. Our guide stayed in contact with his fellow guides by cell and also face-to-face encounters with guides of other tour operators all afternoon. We were hoping to find one of two pairs of female lions but were unsuccessful.

I spent a lot of time on safari this cruise and some were better than others, but I don’t regret the decision to try several rather than settle for just one. Seeing these creatures in the wild and learning about them from the guides and Viking lecturers was life enhancing.

Next: Cape Town