Elephants galore! (Addo Elephant Park (South Africa))

Member Name: Maggie1981

Product:	Addo Elephant Park (South Africa)
Date:	28/05/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low budget, amazing animals, fantastic experience

Disadvantages: None

Addo Elephant Park is one of South Africa's 20 National Parks, located near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The National Parks are often considered the poor man's safari however having experienced both Addo and some more exclusive, luxurious game parks my personal preference would be for the National Parks any day!

Originally Addo Elephant Park was founded in 1931 to provide a safe haven for the few remaining elephants in the area, however over the years Addo has grown significantly and is now home to more than 450 elephants, as well as lions, rhino, buffalo, leopards and whales to name but a few. It has become a huge tourist attraction due to the fact that it is so much cheaper to visit than the other private game reserves in the area.

We only gave ourselves a day to explore Addo and thoroughly regret not allowing ourselves extra time there. We mistakenly thought that because it was a National Park it wouldn't be as exciting as the private reserves we'd planned to visit. We were completely wrong! The number of animals we saw far outweighed those elsewhere - at one point we parked up by a watering hole and were fortunate to see what must have been in excess of 50 elephants gathered - I've been told this sort of sight is quite rare.

On arrival at Addo we opted to do a self drive tour around the Park however guided Safari's are also available if pre-booked. I was a little concerned about driving around the park as I wasn't sure what to expect so my partner did the driving and I navigated using the map we were given. I think I would have been fine driving round however as the main tourist roads were tarred roads, my only concern would have been about animals walking out in front of the car but everyone tends to drive around very slowly in order to take in the animals, flora and fauna so there is plenty of time to see animals coming. Be warned though, there will be big piles of dung on the road and it is against the rules to drive over/through it as Addo is home to a rare dung beetle. At certain points you can also leave your car and walk around enclosures from which you can view the different animals.

We only spent a day driving round Addo so we did not experience the accommodation or other facilities however I believe there is a range of accommodation to suit all tastes, from the basic tented camps to the more luxurious. The park also boasts a swimming pool for overnight guests, braai (barbecue) and picnic areas as well as a shop, restaurant and petrol station. There are also plenty of guest houses and hotels within easy travelling distance.

We are definitely planning to go back to Addo and next time we will stay either at the park or nearby and spend a lot more time exploring. In my opinion it is far better value for money than the private reserves we visited. Perhaps that may be because I'm not bothered about luxurious accommodation, my main reason for visiting these places is to see the animals and with the private reserves, while we did see some fantastic animals, the whole experience was mainly based around the standard of accommodation and service. The self drive safari experience at Addo was much more magical for me!

Summary: A magical self drive safari experience