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Lilian Ruzius
BE
Visited:
February 2017
Reviewed: May 4, 2017
Email Lilian Ruzius | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Andre Langenus
BE
Visited:
October 2016
Reviewed: Feb 17, 2017
Email Andre Langenus | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
noel
ZA
Visited:
September 2016
Reviewed: Jan 25, 2017
Email noel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Awesome
Security
Travelling is safe and secure, with one entrance a few kilometers from the National highway. This entrance however includes an extensive section of dirt road once you enter the Park. An alternative and more scenic route to the main entrance of the Park involves travelling through countryside and small towns. Inside the Park, security was excellent, with the presence of Rangers frequently seen.
Game
The Game in the Park is wonderful, diverse and appreciable. Opportunities for photography is excellent (from macro/insect to landscapes).
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The Park offers the Big 5 (Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion and Rhino), as well as a Marine section (which I did not experience) but which can be arranged. I have seen Lion on all 3 occasions I visited the Park. Only Leopard eluded me. I also saw my first Black Rhino in this Park. But it is the elephants that are the main attraction and any lover of these wonderful animals will not be disappointed. From lone bulls to herds in excess of 50 have been sighted. These have afforded the most wonderful photographic opportunities, especially the young calves. One of the most amazing experiences for me is the close proximity to these animals which you are able to enjoy in Addo.Several other carnivores have been seen, notably Jackal, which has at times reached epidemic proportions and have had to be culled. Hyena, Caracal and Mongoose have been sighted. One highlight for me was a clan of Suricate (Meerkat) on the move. I also saw 2 male Cheetah, but I have been advised that these were “rogue” animals that escaped from a neighbouring reserve.
Herbivores are well represented, except for the Giraffe, and include magnificent Kudu, Red Hartebeest, Zebra, Warthogs, several smaller antelope. I enjoyed an abundance of Tortoise; primates were represented by the Chacma Baboon and Vervet Monkeys. Addo is home to a unique Dung beetle, the flightless beetle, a wonder to watch.
Bird life is a photographer’s dream, and formed part of the reason for me to visit this Park as a bird lover, and I was not disappointed, and saw several birds for the first time, some of which are endemic to this area. Included are several Raptors, flocks of Ostriches, Sunbirds, Black headed Heron. The latter I watched for half an hour as it caught 3 Lizards in quick succession to my complete and utter delight. I also saw a pair of Stanleys Bastards.
Travel in the Park.
Roads in the Park are very good and well maintained, with part tarred roads, and part dirt roads.
Scenery
Wonderful scenery abounds, with several spots where I was allowed to get out of my vehicle and enjoy vistas, some with benches where you can spend hours enjoying the view and wildlife. As a photographer, this was an added bonus to my visit.
Ambiance and experience
All my visits to the Park have been wonderful experiences, rejuvenating and calming. In my experience it is not as crowded as Kruger. Overall the weather was good. Interactions with Rangers was always pleasant, a reassuring presence. The restaurant in the main camp served excellent meals, though I opted for take-away meals, preferring to sit at a dam to enjoy both a meal and wildlife. Satisfying from both a wildlife and experience point of view is how I describe my experience, and will gladly visit here again. My only regret is that I have not yet stayed overnight in the Park, which I am sure will enhance my experience.
pixpeeper
Addo seemed very tame after our week in Kruger. It is quite beautiful and hilly. Accommodation was very comfortable but seeing the wildlife proved a lot more difficult because of the bushes. We waited for one whole day to see our first elephants.
zapiture
ZA
Visited:
July 2016
Reviewed: Aug 7, 2016
Email zapiture | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
ka.hi
DE
Visited:
December 2015
Reviewed: Jun 21, 2016
Email ka.hi | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
a Must for elephant lovers
The bird hide next to the restaurant is also worth a visit. Lots of red cardinals and weaver birds.
We always stayed in one of the park's chalets.
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They offer sufficient comfort and you are close to the animals. Although outside the park there are more luxurious accommodation for almost the same price, we always opt to stay in the park, because there is a major advantage: People in the park are allowed to enter 1 hour earlier and leave one hour later than people staying outside (this is because the gates between street and Addo rest camp close earlier/open later than the gates between rest camp and game area). Add the driving time from your accomodation to the park and you can easily calculate that good light for photography is impossible when you stay outside.A typical day as we organize it looks as follows:
- get up 30 mins before the game gate opens
- have a coffee and some cookies or light breakfast (kitchen available in the chalet)
- enter the park when gate opens (usually at or shortly after sunrise)
- stay in the park (mainly at the waterholes) until 9 or 10a.m.
- return to the restaurant for breakfast
- during the day, get the sleep you missed (aircon available in chalet)
- around 4p.m. start the afternoon drive (some cookies and coffee before come in handy)
- leave park when gate closes
- have shower and dinner at the restaurant (but self cooking at chalet would also be possible)
- sleep
It is advisable to bring in your own supplies, especially if you want to cook yourselves, because the shop has only minimal choices.
Amazing experience
Having been to the Addo Elephant National Park on four occasions, every time was as if I had never been as there was a special magic everytime. On my last visit I was lucky to see a lion kill and buffalo up close. Going out on the early morning bush drive, with the expectation of seeing something special was not a disappointment as I had never seen an anteater and he waddled out in front of us and stood transfixed in the headlights. As the sun rose on our way back to the camp, a Fish Eagle called to us from a tree right next to the road.
I cant wait for my next visit.
Michael Potts
NL
Visited:
October 2015
Reviewed: Dec 29, 2015
Email Michael Potts | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Lots of elephants and unusual dung beatles
Tim Cam
GB
Visited:
September 2015
Reviewed: Dec 27, 2015
Email Tim Cam | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a fascinating experience, with a great variety of wildlife to photograph and admire.
On our trip there, we had three game drives, two in our own vehicle, which was superb as we were able to go anywhere we wanted, on the public tracks and able to take as much time as we wanted in one place. The third game drive we did in the evening as the sun was going down and was in one of the open backed park vehicles. Our guide CJ was fantastic, a very funny guy with a great knowledge of the park and it's residents. He introduced us to Melvin and Gibson, two adult male Lions, who were snoozing off a large meal they had recently eaten, a wonderful experience. Part
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of this drive included a picnic, set up by the driver/guide who got us close to Elephants to watch as we tucked into our food and drinks. I would highly recommended this organised game drive, worth every penny.They have a super restuarant, shop and area explaining what you might see in the park.
The scenery is amazing too, vast expanses of grass and scrubland to drive around, with plenty of contours to allow different views.
Gail
US
Visited:
November 2015
Reviewed: Dec 6, 2015
Email Gail | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Saw 3 of the Big 5
I highly recommend taking the open air vehicle tour because they can go off the main roads, whereas the personal cars cannot. That's where we got to see two male lions very up close and personal! It was awesome.
The restaurant told us they were only serving breakfast, which was very delicious, however, we saw that the table next to us (also with our party), were able to order lunch. That was a bit disappointing!
Go into the
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interpretation center to read about Hapoor the elephant. Very interesting story.Overall, it was really great. Many of the watering holes are on the side of the roads so we were able to see many animals. That's the only part that seemed a bit artificial. Oh and we stayed along the edge of the park for some of the tour so you can see fencing and also electrical towers, etc.
