Addo Elephant Park

Eastern Cape, South Africa

My husband and I had a sneaky couples getaway for ten days. We got to spend the final two days of our trip visiting the spectacular Addo Elephant Park on the coast of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

The park currently preserves 120 000 hectares of land and is thus called a Mega Park. It is home to over 550 elephant as well as Cape Buffalo, Leopard, Zebra, Lion and various buck including Kudu (venison), Red Hartebees, Eland and many more.

We left our bed & breakfast in Jeffreys Bay early on Saturday morning to make the hour long drive along the coast towards Port Elizabeth now known as Gqeberha, the capital of the Eastern Cape Province.

We entered the park down south at the gate near Colchester

There are two main entrances into the park. The closest to the coast is only a short distance from the Indian Ocean along the Sunday's River. We passed the industrial area of Port Elizabeth and took the turn off near Colchester toward the Addo South Gate.

On arrival we stopped at the office to sign in and register our car with security. It's important to know that once you enter the wild animal areas of the park you are not permitted to exit your car. Before my first Game reserve experience I had no idea that I would spend so much time in the car, but this time I was prepared with my flask of tea and snacks.

Red Hartebees

We got our printed map from the office with the list of animals to look out for while driving.

The park area is full of dirt roads and rolling hills. It is preferable to drive a 4x4 type car, but we were surprised to see some tiny hatchbacks managing on the dirt roads.

Kudu

We made our way up the rolling hills to the higher ground and got our first sighting of Red Hartebees and Zebra. And off to the left in the bush I spotted the large ears of a young elephant. It slowly partially emerged from the bush and its shelter from the icy Cape wind.

Warthog up close and personal, kneeling as he forages

We continued heading North and made a quick stop to get some close up photos of this gorgeous warthog. I have actually never realised that warthog kneel down on their front knees to graze. What a sight it was to see him grazing right alongside us. The warthog population is definitely thriving in the park.

Cape Buffalo

We took a side route where lion had been spotted earlier in the day, but didn't manage to catchup with them. We did manage to see two Cape Buffalo hiding just beyond the bush in the afternoon as the clouds were coming over. The weather had been hit and miss all day, but even though it is currently Winter in South Africa, it was warm in the car with the heater switched on.

Main Camp Reception

By late afternoon we made our way to check in at the Main Camp office way up north in the Park, also the place where the other Main Gate is found. It is not advised to travel through the Motherwell township area outside of the Park as security can be an issue, so making the slow drive through the park is advised. It just means that you would need to arrive an hour and half before the gates are closed at 6pm in order to make the drive to checkin at the Main Camp.

We got the keys to our self catered cottage in the secure area which is behind a fence to protect humans from the wild animals.

2 person Cottage

Our cottage was a simple building with a thatched roof, a kitchen at one end and bathroom on the other. Thankfully we found the AC/heater just in time because that night got down to zero degrees celsius.

We had dinner at Cattle Baron which is the only restaurant inside the park that is reachable if you are staying in the Main Camp. Other Camps are cut off from the main camp by wild areas that are all locked down from 6pm each evening. So if you book a self catering chalet or glamping tent in another area then make sure to bring all the food and supplies that you would need for the evenings.

Cattle Baron is primarily a steak house that also serves game as specialty meals. I enjoyed the Kudu Hot Pot stew with mashed potatoes and on the following evening I had the crumbed beef medallions. Both meals were excellent. what the restaurant lacks in ambience and presentation it makes up for with fantastic food.

The sunset was other-worldly, like fire across the evening sky to the North west.

The next morning we slept in and waited for the day to warm up a little. We decided that if we were feeling cold then animals would most likely also take their time to start their day.

First stop was for a hot takeaway coffee from the restaurant and a quick look at the animal sightings board. Unfortunately we noticed that it hadn't been updated since the previous day (or who knows when last) so at best the sightings were a suggestion. At other parks this is updated daily to show the area that any specific animals have been spotted.

Ranger Safari Vehicles

As a guest of the park it is possible to book Game Drives in the Safari vehicles with a guide that is able to talk you through everything wild, but most people self-drive.

Zebra sleeping

As we headed out around ten in the morning we were first greeted by the zebra still sleeping in a clump as the sun only just started to warm them.

We had decided to make our way to the watering holes but the two places that we chose didn't seem to produce any animals that morning. So we headed back towards the Zuurkop Lookout Point. Lookout Popints are areas that you are permitted to leave your vehicle at your own risk, while in the Wild animal areas of the park.

On the way to Zuurkop we came across a small troop of elephants eating the Spekboom plants. I had wondered if the elephants ate Spekboom because it seemed to be one of the few plants to survive the destruction and ferocious appetite of the elephant, but here we had proof that the elephant indeed ate Spekboom. They stripped off the small branches and succulent leaves easily.

At the top of the hill we found the Zuurkop Lookout Point. We both quickly hopped out of the car alongside a couple other cars. The views of the park below are incredible and the height gives an excellent vantage point of the various dirt roads which made our navigating far easier. The maps don't always match reality in the park.

From Zuurkop we decided to do the Gorah Loop in search of the lions that had been spotted the previous day. Well, we didn't see any lions but we did manage to see more Red Hartebees, Elephant and Zebra on the open plains. The area seems warmer as the plains are north facing, so even on the overcast day it caught more rays.

Later in the afternoon we made our way to the Domkrag Dam watering hole on the Nzipondo loop. This is the Northern most loop that is accessible to the public.

We were in luck as an entire troop of elephant had just arrived to have their water for the afternoon before heading out to find their roost for the night. All the elephant, small and very large filled their mouths with water, pouring it in with their huge trunks. Considering how many were at the dam it was surprising that they were so quiet.

Domkrag watering hole

The lookout was perfect with a fantastic view of the watering hole below.We could hear every slurp of water as the elephants sucked up the water and deposited it in their mouths. They slowly moved off one by one, heading back towards the plains in search of their roost for the night.

We decided to make one final loop down the East side of the park towards the Hapoor Dam. On a previous visit we had seen two massive herds of elephant at this watering hole and we were hoping to find them again.

The drive down the eastern dirt road was pretty uneventful except for one large female elephant and a few vervet monkeys keeping a lookout in the tops of the bushes while their fellow troublemakers played down below.

Hapoor Dam

Soon we arrived at Hapoor Dam and were met by nothing but a mud pan and a speckled blue sky. The area is stunningly beautiful but unfortunately we had missed the right time for the elephants to water. We still managed to get some beautiful photos of the area in the late afternoon winter light before slowly continuing the loop back up the tarred central road.

Just as we entered the tarred road we came across a herd of zebra taking advantage of the afternoon. One specific zebra cam galloping right past our car to head over to the opposite field. It was quite the sight.

The evening was freezing cold and we slept with the heater on all night just to take the chill out of the air in our thatched cottage.

The Milky Way constellation was clearly visible in this dark part of the country where city lights are dimmed by the distance and make way for epic starry nights.

The next morning we were up early as we needed to make the long 12 hour drive back to our home in Cape Town. Reception only opened at 7am, so shortly after 7am we dropped off our keys and checked out.

Sunrise at Addo

We took advantage of our final hour in the park by making the drive South towards the N2 highway through the park. This is a longer route as the dirt road is windy and narrow and the speed limit is only 40 kilometers per hour, but the alternative is to drive through the Motherwell Township area which is dangerous and not advised.

Luckily we caught sight of a few elephant just waking up in the morning and then we were on the road headed to Cape Town.

Sunset over Cape Town

We eventually drove over Sir Lowlry's Pass into Cape Town as the sun had just set with False Bay reflecting the sunset on our left and the city lights on the right.

We had experienced and incredible weekend in the wild and now we were happy to get home to our own bed and our two chihuahuas.

All Photos My Own