Addo Elephant National Park

A day in Addo Elephant Park

Living in Port-Elizabeth, we decided as a family to go spend a day in the park. The drive was quite longer than initially expected as we took the freeway and got from the Southern entrance. The initial irritation of being a bit lost was quickly gone when we got into the park itself. The drive was amazing as you really feel as if in another world from the city setting. There are different areas for bird viewing. From the road, we were lucky to have a beautiful view of the elephants and zebras. We had a glimpse of lions in the distant. But the beauty of the place was mainly due in our eyes by the magnificent sight of elephants playing, mothers protecting their offspring.

More elephants than you can shake a stick at!

This is a very popular park and it shows with the amount of people you will see there. There isn't a place where you will think you are in the middle of nowhere, the roads are mainly paved and you are never very far from another car.
There is a notice board near the main shop that lists the animal sightings for the day so it allows you to plan out your trip, Addo is enormous so make sure you take a whole day to view of all (if not more).
We drove for a while only seeing a couple of animals, then a single male elephant stode into view. We followed him until he turned a corner and we saw a whole herd of the magnificent beasts. This memory will stay with me forever. We found several other herds throughout the day each as amazing as the other.
This is an amazing park and there are plenty of other animals to see (lions, zebras, antelope to name but a few). If you like elephants then you will love this park.

A true African panorama - bush, sky and amazing animals, combined with options to suit every budget

I am a regular visitor to Addo National Elephant Park. Every time I go, I see something different. Elephant, antelope, meerkats, birds, tortoises, zebra etc. Highly enjoyable, and driving through yourself gives you an opportunity to stop and appreciate the things that you choose. Guided tours on a safari vehicle can be purchased, guaranteeing sighting of elephants. Chalets and camping facilities are available, and the shop/restaurant cater for all needs from tourist gifts to clothing, food and drink. There is an on-site petrol station too, so fill up your tank before driving through and enjoying the spectacular wide open spaces, the natural bush habitat and the magnificent animals that live there.

Get close to Elephants and enjoy the tranquility of the bush.

The wildlife is unique to our country and I am fortunate to live in close proximity to Addo Elephant National Park. The Park offers accommodation in the form of Chalets, Tented Camps and camping sites, a restaurant at the Main Camp and an enclosed picnic area in the middle of the park. The National Park gives visitors the opportunity to get close to nature from a vehicle and Game drives can be arranged with the National Park's Rangers. Animals such as Elephants, Lions, Kudus, Eland, Cheetahs, and a variety of birdlife are just a few to mention that make up this great diversity. The Spekboom tree is a succulent that grows throughout Addo and is a delicacy to many of the wildlife such as the elephants and kudus. From the southern section of the park you can see the ocean. Overall, if you are looking for a holiday away from the city and want to be surrounded by nature and wildlife then Addo is the place for you.

A close encounter with another world

I was extremely impressed with the wildlife and how close one could get to nature in its purest form.There is a wide range of animal species and my encounter was a real close up one.The guided tours are well organized and the guide provided a lot of information about the species and park.The weather was great for it being a winters month and if you looking for food they got reasonably priced restaurants.

Large elephant herds, predators, giraffes, zebras, warthogs and others. Self driving through the game reserve. Follow the safety rules.

There seems to be an unbalance ecosystem present, as if too much human interference abides. I recommend more careful measures to be taken in future conservation and more training of staff.

Nice area close to Cape town and the Garden Route, mostly Elephants (never seen any other Big 5 animal there).

I learned one must be in Addo when it is very dry (winter), since it is the only significant large watering hole for miles around. I got there Sept. 27, two days after the rains began, and though there were no elephants, nor any large game of any kind, I had a wonderful time photographing birds all around the camp. Dugout, ground-level photo blinds make for spectacular low angle shots, but as soon as the rains begin, the elephants and other aanimals quickly disperse.

Many birds! Addo is self-drivable, but there is lots of tall, dense brush which makes it advisable to hire or have a safari vehicle. Park vehicle are available but always full of tourists...not an option for me, as I need a steady, immobile platform for taking pix. I probably would not go back to Addo, but might consider other options near by.

This is a great place to see wild life.

We visited this park last year and I was pleasantly surprised with the beauty of nature and its animals. We stayed in the park accommodation and we found them to be clean, comfortable, spacious and well equipped. What a pleasure. The parks shop has all that one needs when visiting a park and the public ablutions are clean and modern.The restaurant is geared for good food and the menu has quite a variety of South African dishes.

Concerning the wild life, this is a green park with lots of animal and you will see elephant. You can do your own game drives or use the Sanparks open vehicles. There are picnic spots that are well maintained but always remember that your are in a national park with wild animal and please be careful.

We will visit this park again in 2015 as we take in tour groups and we always enjoy this park.