ELEPHANT BACK SAFARIS - Addo

ELEPHANT BACK SAFARIS is located in Addo. Find out more about Addo here.

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A friendly and warm South African greeting to you from all at Addo Elephant Back Safaris and Lodges. Our associated companies have a combined history going back more that twenty five years in the tourism industry and we are proud to introduce to you our latest holiday and leisure product.

Bordering the Greater Addo Elephant National Park, just a short distance from the Nelson Mandela Metropole, our fully-fenced game conservancy is both malaria-free and tourist friendly.

Accommodation

The Forest Lodges are perfectly designed to blend discreetly into their surrounding valley bushveld environment. The private and exclusive suites, some nestled in the Yellowwood forest and others set on the hillside offering extraordinary views, are housed on elevated wooden decks. All meals can be enjoyed at our open-sided dining area which incorporates a bar area, overlooking the elephants much used waterhole.

Our environmentally friendly lodges are constructed of part canvas, part recycled Brazilian pine and luxuriously decorated to evoke Hemingways Africa of yesteryear. We invite you to relax in our remarkably spacious, sophisticated suites set against the tranquil backdrop of the African bush.

• En suite bathroom
• Both indoor and outdoor showers
• King- or twin-bedded option
• Energy efficient wood burning fireplace
• Solar powered hot water geyser
• Well stocked mini bar
• Tea and coffee making facility
• Hairdryers
• Large glass sliding doors opening onto the deck (No nasty zips)
• Generously sized, wooden deck with private spa bath
• Private viewing deck  
• 220V electricity
• In-room safes 
• Overhead fans
• Folding camp beds for children available on request

Off-site activities include the following, feel free to enquire about additional options:

• Game drive within Addo Elephant National Park
• Big 5 game drive
• Golf at Bushman Sands
• Deep sea fishing
• Karoo kaleidoscope

Useful Information

We recommend that you note the following in order to maximise your comfort during your stay

• Sunglasses
• Sun hat
• Long trousers / slacks
• Good walking shoes (running / tennis shoes are suitable)
• Warm jacket for the winter months (May to September)
• Light rain gear for summer months (October to April)
• Cameras
• BINOCULARS - ESSENTIAL
• Suntan lotion & sun block

Whether its a laid back rest you need or an action-packed, 5-star activity holiday; we will not disappoint. A once in a lifetime safari adventure, where you are at one with nature and following in the footsteps of the ancients
Fly the family for much less
than you thought.

Direct charter flights from Plettenberg Bay and Port Elizabeth to our private landing strip are available. The flights are designed to take away all the hassle of driving and make your holiday last longer, while keeping costs down to a minimum.

Walk with them through the diverse valley bushveld, ravine and forest habitat unique to this part of the Eastern Cape. The informative walk-and-talk takes a very leisurely pace set by the elephants themselves and is in no way strenuous. The walk allows you to interact with, feed and observe the elephants in their natural habitat while our trained and qualified handlers share their specialized knowledge and insight into both the elephants and this unique eco-system.

After the walk, we offer you the exhilarating experience of riding these magnificent animals - revel in the natural beauty of the environs and its wildlife from your lofty seat as these gentle giants amble through the African bush. At the conclusion of the ride enjoy a close-up view of the elephants swimming and frolicking in their favoured waterhole from the viewing deck at the boma - no guarantee that you wont get sprayed with a trunkful of water !

A once in a lifetime safari adventure - at one with nature,
following in the footsteps of the ancients...

Addo Elephant Back Safaris offers a variety of activities to be enjoyed. Amongst other game, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and eland can be spotted up close on game drives and nature walks while the areas numerous bird species will excite the most accomplished birding enthusiast.

Experience a scenic flight over the impressive Zuurberg Mountains and the famed Sunshine Coast, enjoy arguably the best elephant viewing in the world  in the Addo Elephant National Park, a leisurely game of golf at Bushman Sands, a historical Settler or Anglo-Boer War tour, or a day trip to the awe-inspiring Karoo.

History

Addo Elephant Back Safaris and Lodges is situated within the Greater Addo Elephant National Park, an area which has a bittersweet history for the elephants. In 1919 Major P.J. Pretorius, the last of the great legendary hunters, managed to kill 120 elephants before the survivors - only 11 elephants - were given refuge in the Park which was proclaimed in 1931. This remnant elephant population has thankfully since grown from the original 11 to in excess of 450.

The Park itself has also grown to encompass 5 of the 7 biomes in South Africa and, through the addition of a marine protected area with its abundant marine life, is the only reserve to host the Big 7. The intention is to expand the 164 000 hectare Addo National Elephant Park into a 360 000 hectare mega-park. In addition 120 000 hectare (296 500 acre) marine reserve that includes islands which are home to the world's largest breeding populations of Cape gannets as well as the second largest breeding population of African penguins, has been proclaimed.

With one of the highest densities of African elephant in the world, Addo Elephant National Park has gained worldwide recognition for its conservation success. Originally incepted to protect the African elephant, the focus of the Park has shifted to the preservation of more species, with the re-introduction of animals that once roamed the area - lions, black rhino and Cape buffalo to name a few. The Park is also home to the endemic flightless dung beetle, this hardworking little creature is acknowledged through having been awarded right of way on the Parks roads.

The history of our elephants is surprisingly similar to the original elephants of Addo as our bulls came from a culled herd in the Kruger National Park. Spared from the culling program they were to be sent to private game reserves for hunting purposes. Learning of the elephants plight Knysna Elephant Park intervened and brought the three bulls to their Knysna sanctuary, an elephant haven well-respected as a leading facility in the keeping and handling of rescued elephants.

Here our elephants had their faith in man restored through endless and ongoing care and training before they finally arrived at their new bush home in December 2003 to walk in the footsteps of the great herds which originally roamed this area!

Child Policy Children are allowed to ride the elephants, with a parent accompanied by an elephant handler.
50% discount for children under the age of 12 years.

Rates are subject to change without prior notice. Terms and Conditions apply
To make a booking, check availability or make an enquiry click on the link below

Addo Elephant Back Safaris offers a variety of activities to be enjoyed. Amongst other game, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and eland can be spotted up close on game drives and nature walks while the areas numerous bird species will excite the most accomplished birding enthusiast.

Experience a scenic flight over the impressive Zuurberg Mountains and the famed Sunshine Coast, enjoy arguably the best elephant viewing in the world  in the Addo Elephant National Park, a leisurely game of golf at Bushman Sands, a historical Settler or Anglo-Boer War tour, or a day trip to the awe-inspiring Karoo.

Area Infomation

Regional Information

This area is situated in the pristine valleys of the Zuurberg Mountains bordering the Greater Addo Elephant National Park, is regarded as Africas most biologically diverse, supporting 5 of the 7 biomes, or eco-regions, in Southern Africa.

This valley bushveld region encompasses habitats ranging from semi-arid Karoo areas, across fynbos-covered slopes which merge with impenetrable thickets and montane forests, extending into rolling grasslands which stretch all the way to the Sunshine Coast of the Eastern Cape.

Blessed with this natural bio diversity the conservancy is able to sustain a wide range and number of animals. The indigenous and plentiful Spekboom (Pork bush) is well adapted to the pressure of sustaining elephant herds who are renowned for their destructive browsing habits. The Spekboom is highly nutritious, has the ability to store much needed water in its succulent leaves, and recovers from elephant abuse astonishingly quickly.


Elephant's Food, Portulacaria afra. Also called: Elephant Bush, Small Leaf Jade, Porkbush, Spekboom.

Regional History

The Eastern Cape's earliest inhabitants were hunter-gatherers who, for millennia, roamed across vast grasslands. These people, known as the San (Bushmen), left a myriad of rock paintings as their legacy, very probably painted in a trancelike state which formed part of religious rituals. The San were joined by Khoi pastoralists, whose heritage lives on in place names like Kieskamma, Kei and Titian.


The San people were the Eastern Cape's first inhabitants

Approximately 2 000 years ago the Nguni-speaking people entered these hunting grounds, bringing with them a totally new way of life - cattle and crop farming. They eventually became the dominant group, consequently absorbing many of the Khoi and San.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, as waves of colonialists tried to expand their empires, the Xhosa people provided the first determined resistance and the Eastern Cape became the site of the first real colonial wars in Africa. Nine border wars were fought between the Xhosa and the British for the control of the Eastern Cape. With the victory of British colonialism and then of Afrikaner nationalism, the Xhosa came under the control of the Cape and later National Party governments.
Today, the traditions of the early Xhosa, Dutch, British and German people live on in the colourful people of the province.

Eastern Cape became the site of the first real colonial wars in Africa.

How to get there

- Self-drive
- Return transers
- Shuttle Flights
- Zuurburg Transfer
- Addo Elephant Back Safaris has an airstrip and aircraft for fly-in safaris or lodge transfers.

Directions

From Port Elizabeth take the Motherwell Road to Addo (R335) 1,5 km before the Addo Park turn left at the Zuurburg sign. The farm is 33km from this turn off