"Addo Elephant Park, Accessible and Nice " a Addo Elephant National Park Travel Page by Waxbag

Many people who travel to South Africa miss the game parks. This blows my mind, but I guess it is not for everyone. Many stay on the south and visit the Garden Route, the Eastern Cape, and the Wild Coast and don't make it up north where the really nice game reserves are. There is a great option for those who do want to see a game reserve but not go all the way up north and that’s Addo Elephant National Park.

The park protects the last of the remaining elephants that roamed the Eastern Cape. They are actually making a nice comeback and the population has grown to about 360 elephant. The park has many cape buffalo as well as kudu, impala, red hartebeest, cape grysbok, zebra, eland, warthog, black rhino, black backed jackal as well as lion and hyena that have just been reintroduced. Birds are profuse here too at about 160 species. So you have the big five here and much more.

The park is located on a beautiful mountain has is very green (sometimes making game viewing difficult). The park includes seven major biomes. However the elephants are easily spotted and are very used to vehicles making photography easy. The government keeps expanding the park with plans to make it the third super park of South Africa. The park offers many game drives from the main camp if you do not have your own vehicle. Other activities such as horseback riding are also available. The park includes a marine reserve but access to this seems difficult.

The park offers some excellent accomodation including camping.

Cost is R80 per person per day. The cheapest park with the big 5.

The park is 72 km north of Port Elizabeth in the Sundays River Valley. You can reach it from the N2 and follow the signs. The park is located on the R75 around many farms including orange groves. That must drive the elephants mad!