This Addo Elephant Park Safari is perfect for budget travelers and families looking for a malaria-free Big Five safari adventure.
It's a short and easy South African safari, with Addo lying only a 35-minute drive from Port Elizabeth. It also takes you wildlife viewing in a unique and incredible game park, Addo. This is one of the best places to see elephants in Africa, as well as hosting the rest of the Big Five animals and all kinds of other wildlife and birds across its five biomes.
This Addo Park Safari is conducted by a professional guide in a customized game-viewing vehicle to ensure that you get the most out of your wildlife safari. It's an excellent value-for-money short private safari!
This morning at 8:00 am your guide collects you from your accommodation in Port Elizabeth. From PE we drive straight to Addo Elephant National Park. It's about a 35-minute drive from the city to the south gate. Arriving at Addo we check-in and take a short comfort break.
Then we enter the park and the wildlife viewing adventures begin! As the name suggests, Addo Elephant National Park is an exceptional safari destination for seeing African elephants, hosting nearly 700 of these giant mammals. It's not just elephants that we'll see on our game drives, however, as Addo is home to a rich variety of wild animals including the famous Big Five. Keep an eagle eye out for buffalos, rhinos, lions, hyenas, zebras and all kinds of antelopes like kudu, eland, red hartebeest and bushbuck. We're sure to see warthogs and the world's largest flightless bird - the ostrich.
As we drive north through Addo we pass through Albany thicket and grassy plains pausing to watch the wildlife and birds we encounter. Your experienced guide shares in-depth knowledge about Addo and its ecosystems with you as you explore. At about lunchtime, we reach the main rest camp in Addo and head to the park's restaurant for a light lunch.
After lunch we head out in our customised safari vehicle again, continuing our search for Addo's fascinating animals and birds. This evening we return from our exciting game drive and enjoy dinner at the camp restaurant. Thereafter you are free to visit viewpoint at the camp's floodlit waterhole to watch for nocturnal visitors or you can join an optional night game drive with SANParks, at extra cost. The game drive is conducted in an open safari vehicle adding to the thrill of exploring the bush after dark.
Rise and shine early this morning for a fresh cup of coffee or tea and rusks before our sunrise game drive. Early mornings are the best time for spotting predators roaming the bush before they settle down for the day. It's also an excellent time for birdwatching and photography so keep your cameras ready. Your guide takes you in search of wildlife action using his/her experience to improve your chances of sighting animals.
After our early morning game drive, we return to the camp for a late breakfast at the park's restaurant. Then you have some free time to relax at the camp and enjoy the facilities which include a swimming pool, an underground wildlife hide and a bird hide. There is also an interpretive centre with interesting information about Addo and its inhabitants. At about noon we have a light lunch at the camp, before setting off on an afternoon game drive in our safari vehicle. Likely sightings include buffalo, kudu, eland, warthog and, of course, elephants.
This evening back at camp we have dinner in the park's restaurant. Then you can sit back and stargaze, embark on an optional (extra cost) night game drive or visit the nearby floodlit waterhole. Listen for the call of black-backed jackal, hyena and lion as you drift off to sleep in your chalet tonight.
On day three we are up early for our final game drive. The day starts with coffee or tea and rusks (tea biscuits) before we head back out into the huge Addo Elephant Park. Five of South Africa's nine biomes can be found in this wildlife-rich national park so every game drive brings its own unique rewards. After watching the bush come alive as the birds and animals wake and the nocturnal creatures retreat, we return to the camp for breakfast at the restaurant.
Then we check out and slowly make our way back south through the wilderness watching for mammals, reptiles, insects and birds as we go. We then exit via the south gate, leaving the magnificent Addo Park behind and retracing our steps to your accommodation in Port Elizabeth.
Addo Elephant Park is the third-largest national park in South Africa and the Eastern Cape's premier national park. Addo is a malaria-free safari destination which is a major plus for families travelling with children. Another major drawcard is the short driving time required to reach Addo from Port Elizabeth. At about 35 minutes from PE, Addo is one of the country's most easily accessed Big Five game parks.
What makes Addo really special is its massive elephant population, numbering close to 700 elephants. It is considered one of the best places in Africa to see elephants because of the high concentration of elephants. As if that's not enough, Addo is also home to the rest of the Big Five animals - lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo. Chances of seeing buffalos are good, whilst lions and rhinos are fairly often seen and leopards are seldom sighted. One of the most remarkable things about Addo is that it also incorporates marine habitat and thus marine life, including the iconic southern right whale and the great white shark. This combination (of the Big Five, the great white shark and the southern right whale) earns Addo Park the rare status of being a Big 7 safari destination. The national park covers 1640 km² (633 mi²) of various wild habitats along the banks of the Sundays River and down to the coast. The marine protected area section of Addo Park encompasses the waters and islands of Algo Bay. St Croix and Bird Island are two significant conservation hotspots hosting some of the world largest colonies of African penguins and Cape gannets respectively.
On this affordable Addo Park Safari, you stay inside Addo Elephant Park at the main rest camp, subject to availability. If accommodation at the popular main camp is fully booked then we stay at alternative accommodation of similar standards near Addo Park. We recommend booking well in advance (at least 6 months prior) to ensure availability inside Addo.
Accommodation is in chalets or cottages when you book for two people sharing. If you are travelling as a group or family then accommodation is at one of the Addo main camp guesthouses which accommodate up to six people. The accommodation units are well-equipped, clean and comfortable, featuring twin single beds, basic kitchen facilities, fans and en-suite bathrooms. The main camp has a swimming pool, shop and restaurant, as well as a floodlit waterhole where wildlife can be viewed after dark and in-between game drives. There is also an underground wildlife hide at the waterhole and a bird hide.
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 Addo Park Safari. However, there is a minimum age restriction of 7 years on the SANParks open-vehicle game drives.
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