We have been riding around for an hour, it seems, and so far we have seen very little. A few zebras. A handful of antelopes. But no elephants, and the elephants are what we are here for. When your heart is set on elephants, a few antelopes just don’t cut it.
You wouldn’t think it would be hard to find elephants in a national park named for them, but here in Addo Elephant National Park, located beside the Indian Ocean in Eastern Cape Province, the shrubs are high enough to hide a whole family of pachyderms. It’s not like the expansive plains of Masai Mara or Serengeti: Here, we have to search. The guides and drivers radio each other, swapping information, and at each hopeful report, we turn and veer off somewhere, but all in all it has just been that kind of a day. The wildlife are no shows.
In Your Bucket Because…
- If you have faith and patience, this may be *the* best place to see wild elephants in all of Africa.
- If you include the adjacent marine protected area, you might with luck see not only the “big five” (lion, rhino, elephant, Cape buffalo, and leopard) but the “big seven” (add great white shark and southern right whale to the list.)
- Good for wildlife lovers, adventurers, and families.
Suddenly, the driver stops short, and we stare at what we hope will materialize as elephants. But no, it’s a pack of wild dogs. The guide explains that this sighting is, in fact, much more rare than seeing a bunch of elephants. The small spotted dogs are rarely out in the open like this, let alone still and in full view. They are hunkered down, taking shelter from what is becoming a lashing rain-saturated wind, in the lee of some bushes. We watch for a while, and move on, feeling a little better. But our hearts are still set on elephants.
The guides are beginning to sound apologetic when we finally wander around a corner and find an extended family of more than 30 elephants hanging out in a clearing. There are some handsome full-tusked fellows, and family groups of moms and teenagers and babies, some of whom are nursing. We are so close that the elephants don’t actually fit in my camera, even when I open the lens as wide as it goes. We find ourselves relaxing into broad smiles. Our day has just been redeemed. Some days on safari can be like that.
At Addo, It’s not the “Big Five;” It’s the “Big Seven”
Addo Elephant National Park covers some 160,000 hectares near the Indian Ocean Coast in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. A Marine Protected Area includes coastal areas, as well as Bird Island, Seal Island, and St. Croix Island. A proposed expansion of the Marine Protected Area will cover 120,000 hectures in Algoa Bay. The combination of such a large protected terrestrial area with a neighboring protected oceanic habitat is unique.
Addo Elephant National Park is the only place where visitors might see not only Africa’s so-called “Big Five” (lions, Cape buffalo, leopards, rhinoceros, and, of course the elephants the park is named for), but also (with a great deal of luck) the great white shark and the southern right whale. It is the most dramatic combination of so called “charismatic megafauna” in the world. In plain English, that means large animals that are so well known and appealing to visitors that they attract tourists who come simply to see them; they also attract donations for wildlife conservation and habitat protection.
Here, it’s the elephants most visitors come to see. More than 600 elephants live in Addo, which was founded in 1930. By 2004, the park’s original meagre population of 11 elephants had expanded to more than 300, and lions were re-introduced to take their place as the system’s apex predators.
Wildlife Viewing on Safari at Addo
No game drive is entirely predictable (although early morning and late evening tend to be the best times). The safari van drivers know where which animals were seen the previous day, and they trade information with each other. It is astonishing to realize how close one can be to an elephant – and not even see it. As happened with us, just when it seems that all the animals are in hiding, you practically trip over an entire family of elephants, right down to nursing babies.
In addition to the excitement of Africa’s big animal celebrities, Addo is an excellent habitat for bird watching. There’s a blind near the main camp, and birds are seen throughout the park. On the marine side, it’s even possible to see African penguins.
Options for touring the park include game drives, “hop on” drives (where the guide joins the visitor in the visitor’s vehicle and provides tracking advice and commentary), horseback riding, 4×4 trails, and a few hiking trails.
Practicalities
Addo is located in Eastern Cape Province, a short drive from Port Elizabeth, where there is a regional airport. Accommodations within the park range from basic camp facilities to luxury lodges.
This story is updated from an article that originally appeared in 2012. The author traveled as a guest of the Eastern Cape tourism authority.
