Addo Elephant National Park

Planning a road trip along South Africa’s famous Garden Route? Then, by all means, don’t miss out on Addo Elephant National Park! Located near Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) this is the country’s third-largest game reserve. It offers not only huge herds of elephants, but also the unique opportunity to see the Big Seven. Yes, you read that right, the Big Seven. Everyone knows the five land animals that were most prestigious to shoot (fortunately, by camera these days!), but the enlarged family of the Big Seven extends its reach into the ocean to include the humongous southern right whales and the great white sharks. Go spot them all! 

Grey giants and little bugs

Addo Elephant National Park is a paradise for elephant lovers (hence the name!) and as such it’s considered to be the best park in Africa to see these impressive creatures up close. It has an elephant population of more than 600 individuals – one of the largest on the continent! And it’s impressive, as the park was first proclaimed a sanctuary in 1931 when there were only 16 elephants left in the area. 

A fun fact is that not only humans find Addo an elephant paradise. The rare flightless dung beetle actually loves living here, as these little creatures use elephant dung to tirelessly roll perfectly round balls. The park became famous as one of the few places where these beetles and their little balls (used as a recycling nutrient to promote plant growth) can be found and is adamant in protecting them – for example by always giving them the right of way. Watch out not to run over them! 

Unique birdlife and diverse landscape in a mega park

Nowadays, the park covers 180,000 hectares. From the Darlington Dam in the Northern Karoo, over the Zuurberg Mountains to the coast, it covers no less than five different vegetation zones. Here you go from dense green forests dominated by Spekboom (a succulent shrub, and the elephants’ main food) over dry bushland to the Indian Ocean coastal belt while observing no less than 500 different plant species. 

The expanded Addo Elephant National Park also includes the famous Saint Croix and Bird Islands as part of the protected area. Rare pink terns nest here, Siberian terns can be found in the dunes, Caspian and Arctic terns make a stopover on their long flight routes and the largest breeding colony of African penguins waddles around here. Just to mention a few, as the park is home to no less than 417 bird species. 

 

A park with history

Besides animals, this park boasts a rich cultural heritage. The offshore islands have been used as a refreshment stop ever since the first Portuguese explorers rounded the Cape in 1488, and these days you can find several archeological sites along the coastline. Besides, Bushman rock art can be found in the Zuurberg Mountains.

Activities in Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park offers a variety of activities: 

• Abundant wildlife: be lucky enough to the Big Five on a game drive, enjoy bird watching and even nocturnal wildlife spotting
• Exciting hikes and short walks on designated tracks
• Go ‘hunting’ for the floating brothers of the Big Five on a marine eco-tour and see the great white shark and/or the southern right whale with a bit of luck! 
• Relax on the beach at the Sundays River Mouth, popular for sunbathing and swimming in the shallow water

How to get there

By car: The park is a 30-minute drive from the nearest major city in the Eastern Cape and the airport in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth). To enter Addo Elephant National Park there are two gates, the main entrance (at Addo) and the Matyholweni Gate (at Colchester in the south of the park near the N2 and Gqeberha).

By air: The nearest international airport is in Cape Town (with a one hour and 15 minutes flight time to Gqeberha) and the nearest domestic airport is Gqeberha.

Climate

Addo Elephant National Park is a wet park with heavy summer rains from October to April. Although they do decrease – like the temperature – in the winter months (May to September), they never completely stop. Winter nights can be extremely cold, with temperatures dropping to freezing point.

Summer has more comfortable temperatures. December, January and February are the warmest months with afternoon temperatures reaching 28°C/82°F. Some days might be cloudy, and occasional rainstorms occur, but mostly it is sunny. March is the wettest month, but it seldom rains for days on end.

 

Best time to visit Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park can be visited all year round, but we recommend visiting during the drier winter months (May to September). Even though it’s less green, the temperatures are lower, and you need warmer clothes, this time of year certainly has its advantages as you can easily spot animals and the park is far less crowded than in summer (the tourist peak season).

Between June and December, you will find the ‘gentle giants’, the migratory humpback and southern right whales and can also spot albatrosses, petrels, terns and other pelagic bird species! Wherease between February and June, the incredible sardine run takes place, which creates feeding frenzies with thousands of common dolphins launching through the waves trying to herd the fish into a ball.