On September 29th, 2024, after a leisurely breakfast with a still smoking fireplace, we left paradise without tasting any forbidden fruit. On the way back to the road we stopped at the farm to say goodbye to the farmer, Chris Lamprecht. He said it would take us five to seven hours to get to the park exit! (I had planned three hours for this route!)

It then quickly became apparent that the farmer was right. The track wound along the Baviaan River and we crossed it every ten minutes. The water was up to fifty centimetres and there were meter-high papyrus plants to the left and right. It felt like we were driving through the South American jungle! If the path didn’t lead through water, we scrambled from three hundred meters to twice that on a track that looked more like a washed-out riverbed. We always took a look at our tires to see if they can withstand the rigors. They did!

After five hours we reached the park exit. Then we followed a tarred road that took us for kilometres along orange plantations. The air was filled with the scent of flowers. We imagined we were on a trip through a perfumery…

In the late afternoon we reached Addo, where the entrance to the national park of the same name is located. We were exhausted but happy to have arrived here safely…