This affordable, private Addo Elephant Park Safari offers a short and hassle-free way to experience the incredible wildlife of South Africa. No long drives to and from the park and no need to take anti-malaria medication. You get to explore malaria-free Addo Elephant National Park with a professional guide who collects you and drops you back off in Port Elizabeth, only 35 minute's drive from Addo Park.
Sit back and enjoy Big Five game drives in a customized safari vehicle, spending the night inside Addo Elephant Park. An exciting, no-fuss South African wildlife adventure close to the Garden Route!
This budget-friendly Addo Elephant Park Safari kicks off in Port Elizabeth where you are collected from your accommodation at about 8:00 am. Leaving Port Elizabeth (or PE as the locals call it), we head straight to Addo Elephant National Park, only 35 minutes' drive away. Arriving at the southern gate of Addo Park we check-in and take a short comfort break before heading into the bush.
Driving north through Addo we scan the game-rich plains and dense thickets for wild animals and birds. This is the best place to see elephants in South Africa, home to almost 700 of these pachyderms. In fact, Addo hosts one of Africa's highest concentrations of elephants making it a top elephant hotspot on the continent. Elephants are not the only Big Five animal found here however with all five iconic species inhabiting Addo. Lion, buffalo and rhino can all be sighted on game drives here and if you're very lucky, leopard too. In addition to Africa's Big Five, there are various antelopes (kudu, bushbuck, red hartebeest etc), zebras, hyenas, jackals and more in Addo Park.
In the mid-morning, we pause for a comfort break and fresh coffee or tea and biscuits. Then we proceed on our game drive, stopping at waterholes along the way to see the animals gathering to drink and bathe. We arrive at the main rest camp inside Addo Park at about lunchtime and check into our accommodation before having lunch. After lunch at the park's restaurant, we embark on an exciting afternoon game drive in the wildlife haven of Addo. Your guide is happy to tell you more about the animals, plants, birds and other creatures of Addo Park as you drive, giving you insight into this unique ecosystem and its wild inhabitants.
In the early evening, we return to the camp and enjoy dinner at the park's restaurant. After dinner, you can join a night game drive with SANParks as an optional (extra cost) activity. The night drive is conducted in an open safari vehicle, adding to the thrill of experiencing the African bush at night. Alternatively, you can visit the floodlit waterhole at camp to watch for nocturnal animals and birds or retire to your chalet. Listen out for the calls of the black-backed jackal, lion and hyena as you fall asleep tonight.
Wake up bright and early this morning and start your day with coffee or tea and a light snack of rusks (traditional tea biscuits). Then, we venture back out into the wilderness surrounding us in our customised safari vehicle. Mornings are a brilliant time for game viewing and bird watching because many creatures are at their most active in the early hours of the day, especially the predators.
Our morning of wildlife adventures brings us back to the rest camp for brunch at the park's restaurant. Then we check out and hop back into our safari vehicle for one last game drive on our way out of the national park. Making our way south through Addo we keep an eye out for animals large and small, from towering elephants to little flightless dung beetles.
Exiting Addo via the southern gate we drive back to Port Elizabeth. Back in the seaside city of PE, you are dropped off at your accommodation bringing your short Big Five Addo Safari to an end.
Addo Elephant Park is the top national park in the Eastern Cape Province and the third-largest in South Africa. It is also one of the best places to see elephants in Africa, hosting one of the highest elephant densities on the continent. In addition to elephants, Addo Park is also home to large buffalo herds and numerous antelopes such as red hartebeest, eland, kudu and bushbuck, along with zebras, hyenas, jackals and more.
Addo Park covers some 1640 km² (633 mi²) of wilderness along the banks of the Sundays River down to the coast. The marine protected area section of Addo Park encompasses Algo Bay and some islands including St Croix and Bird Island, two significant conservation hotspots. One of the most unique things about Addo is that it is one of few places where you can see the Big 7 of Africa (the Big Five plus great white sharks and southern right whales) given that the park incorporates both marine and land habitats supporting these iconic animals.
Another highlight of Addo Park is that it is a malaria-free safari destination. This makes Addo ideal for families with young children and travellers who do not want to visit malaria risk areas or take anti-malaria medication. Another great thing about Addo Elephant Park is that it takes about 35 minutes to drive there from Port Elizabeth, making it one of the most accessible national parks in the country, especially those hosting the Big Five.
Accommodation on this Addo Park Safari is at the main rest camp in the national park. The camp features a floodlit waterhole where wildlife can be viewed after dark and in-between game drives. The rest camp also has a swimming pool, restaurant, shop and an underground hide at the waterhole. We stay in the standard chalets or cottages at the camp. The accommodation is simple but clean and comfortable with twin beds and air-conditioning or a fan.
For up-to-date and confirmed pricing info for optional items, please drop us an enquiry.
This tour does take children.
Children from the age of 6 years are permitted on this safari. However, there is a minimum age restriction of 7 years on the SANParks open-vehicle game drives.
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