More Than Elephants! Your Ultimate Safari Guide to Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa
- Wibke Helfrich
- Nov 13
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 14
Much more than elephants! Addo Elephant National Park near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape of South Africa is the only place in the world where you can see the Big 7 on a single day safari.
"Let's see if we see any elephants today." Headman, a ranger in Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa's Eastern Cape, jumps cheerfully into the jeep specially converted for safaris. Like in a small amphitheater, each row of seats is slightly higher than the next, so that you have a perfect view from every seat – if you see any animals, that is...
"This is wilderness, not a zoo. You never know if or which animals you'll see!"
"The guide warns us as the jeep rolls out of the Addo Main Camp parking lot," he says. But he's exaggerating wildly. The chances of seeing an elephant here are almost 100%.
Addo Elephant National Park is the third largest national park in South Africa and famous for its enormous elephant herds , which can be observed on a safari. In 1931, only eleven of the world's largest mammals remained in this region . Ivory hunters and ambitious agricultural projects had wiped out most of them. Fortunately, those harsh times are over for the pachyderms. Today, on a guided tour or with a rental car, you can watch over 600 elephants splashing around at the waterholes.
"The chances of seeing lions are higher in the morning and evening. Elephants are best seen at midday on a hot day - that's when they come to the waterholes to cool off."
Even from a distance, we can see several elephants at the waterhole. As if for fun, they suck up the cool water with their trunks and then blow it into the air in a fountain.
They drink up to 200 liters of water daily , and as herd animals, they like to stand so close together that they can touch each other. The young ones especially seek the closeness of their mothers, who always keep a watchful eye on their offspring. Each herd is led by an older cow, the matriarch ; the groups consist of family members and their offspring.
While Headman turns out to be a walking encyclopedia of elephant-related questions,
We feel like we're in an XXL-format animal movie.
More and more elephants arrive at the watering hole, their large feet kicking up dust as they walk, and their large ears swaying thoughtfully with each step.
" An elephant eats 200 to 300 kilos a day - no wonder it spends 16 hours eating."
"Were their tusks removed?" one of the tourists asks. It 's noticeable that most bull elephants have relatively small tusks, while the cows often have none at all . Headman has an answer for that too: "That's probably because in the past, mainly bulls with large tusks were hunted, which meant they had little chance of reproducing. And over time, that led to artificial selection."
Since 2005, the Bird and St. Croix island groups, as well as a small marine sanctuary, have also been part of Addo Elephant National Park. Here, visitors can admire Cape gannets and African penguins. Uniquely worldwide, the expanded Addo Elephant National Park offers the chance to see the "Big 7" in a single day: southern right whales and great white sharks frolic off the coast!
You can find everything about the boat tour in my blog post: South Africa: Whale Watching, Dolphins & Penguins in Port Elizabeth
Info:
General information about South Africa can be found here .
On the Addo Elephant National Park website you will find all the information about the park. You can also download a detailed map there .
Arrival:
Flights to Gqeberha with a layover in Johannesburg are available from €560, for example with Condor or Lufthansa .
Rental cars for one week from €110, e.g. at www.billiger-mietwagen.de .
Best time to travel:
Temperatures range between an average of 19 degrees Celsius during the South African winter from May to September and 25 degrees Celsius from December to February.
Stay overnight:
There are eight different camps and lodges in Addo Elephant National Park , which are part of SANParks. They are bookable.
Near Addo Main Camp lies the Bellevue Forest Reserve . The Elephant Lodge No. 5, with its own terrace, is particularly beautiful ( bellevueforest.co.za ).
A unique overnight stay is possible in a lighthouse on the storm-lashed sandy beach of Cape Recife . The tower has been converted into accommodation with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom.
The No. 5 Boutique Art Hotel Built in the Art Deco style, it is located in Gqeberha in the chic suburb of Summerstrand, near the beach promenade, less than 10 minutes from the airport.
Eat:
Fine dining and cocktails right on the water can be found at the Ginger Restaurant in Gqeberha.
Barney's Tavern at Shark Rock Pier, directly above the sea, offers typical pub food in a fitting atmosphere.
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