Addo Elephant National Park
A visit to the Addo Elephant National Park is simply one experience a visitor to South Africa should try and experience. To view these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat is something that will stay in your mind for the rest of your life. The park is a truly diverse area, that is located near to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape area of South Africa. It is one of South Africa’s official 20 national parks, and is the third biggest national park in South Africa.
Getting to the Park
Access to the park is pretty easy for a tourist. The nearest large city to the Park, is Port Elizabeth which is a city that is serviced by all of South Africa’s internal airlines. So getting there is really not a problem. Once in Port Elizabeth, you are able to either hire a car and do a self-drive to to the park, or alternatively there are many tour operators that offer guided tours of this magnificent National Park.
Wildlife at the Park
The park currently has in excess of 500 elephants, as well as a variety of other wildlife, including the following:
- Cape Buffalo
- Lion
- Black Rhino
- Various antelope species such as Eland, Kudu, Red Hartebeest etc
- Warthogs (Bush pigs)
- One particularly interesting thing to see in Addo is the flightless Dung Beetle which is exclusively found at Addo. (Elsewhere in Africa, Dung Beetles have to migrate with the herds but this is not the case at Addo).
Seeing these incredible creatures in the wild is something truly awe-inspiring. It certainly is something that we suggest all tourists to South Africa include in their bucketlist of things to do.
Accommodation at Addo Elephant National Park
Inside the park itself there is a main camp, which features a stunning restaurant, a swimming pool & various accommodation options. There are also 4 other camps that are run by concessionaires, that feature various types of accommodation that should suit all tastes & budgets.
Right outside the park itself, there are quite a few accommodation options as well. Whether you are looking for 5-star luxury accommodation, or simply a budget place to lay her head after a great day spent in the park, you will find these options in the area bordering the park.
We recommend you check out the following camps:
Addo Rest Camp
Kabouga
Matyholweni Rest Camp
Narina Bush Camp
Nyathi Rest Camp
Spekboom Tented Rest Camp
Woody Cape
Map of the Park
Addo opening and closing times for gates for Addo Elephant National Park
Main entrance gate & Addo reception (off R335 / R342 near Addo)
07:00 – 19:00
Matyholweni gate & Matyholweni reception (off N2 near Colchester)
07:00 – 17:00 (Reception)
07:00 – 18:30 (Gate)
Please note:
Gates to the game areas open and close according to season. Please enquire about the current times when checking in at Addo or Matyholweni reception. Entrance to the main entrance gate and Matyholweni gate does not provide access to the game areas, but only to the park camps.
Entrance gates are staffed by security guards after closing time. Visitors with accommodation bookings can still enter and exit the gates after closing times but before 22:00 provided they inform reception of this. After 22:00, there is no access into the park as gates are closed.
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