Addo Elephant National Park

The Eastern Cape landscape is a bit bleak and does not convey the rich variety of other areas.

This park doesn't have the wild vibe as ones in the north, but there isn't much around this southern part of SA, therefore good for the region.

It is not the real wildlife - if you have visited Kruger NP, Addo E.P. has the second place.

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.

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.

Iti s a nice park, but compared to others this would not be my first choice.

The park is not huge and can easily be done with in two days. Plenty of wildlife, especially elephant and also the bird life is great. Addo for me doesn't quite have the real "bush" feeling about it. It isn't the bushveld, but has its own unique feel. If or when it can be linked to the two other sections of the Greater Addo, namely the coastal section and the mountains stretching into the Baviaanskloof, then we are talking of a great park.

Perhaps Ive been spoiled, but the diversity and abundance of WIldlife here isnt as good as some of the other reserves.

Lots of elephants and unusual dung beatles

I prebooked alot of my SA trip and felt Addo was the hardest place to book. Their accommodation is booked separately from the game drives and restaurant bookings so nothing seems straight forward, linked or easy. It took a total of over 20 emails to book anything, information on the website is wrong, email addresses on the website bounce back - i honestly don't know how they're so busy. I was expecting great things since it is the second biggest park in SA, both of the Addo accommodation we stayed in were lovely (better than expected) altho the plunge pool at our nyathi rest camp booking was very dirty so I sadly didn't use it at all. We did two guided game drives that did end up enabling us to see animals we hadn't seen at other reserves but the park is so big and the bush so dense that its hard to actually see anything unless you happen to be lucky and find the animal crossing the road. We didn't do a self drive, drive which we regret but as we stayed in the Nyathi rest camp it ment we were locked out of the park and made us feel like we couldn't explore as much as we would have wanted. The reception is a frustrating place were staff definitely take their time processing things. Paying for game drives is unorganised and could definitely be dealt with better. All in all i'm glad i got to see some animals as if i hadnt it would have been a waste. I'm not sure i would recommend Addo - maybe if your in the area or driving passed and have a few hours or a day to kill then definitely go but if pre booking i hope its a better experience than i had.