The Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is situated only an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth .It is a malaria free area and one of the country’s top 20 national Parks.
It was originally founded in 1931 in an effort to preserve the diminished Elephant life in the area. At that time only 11 elephants remained and the Addo Elephant Park became the sanctuary that now has an elephant population of approximately 450.
This game park boasts 5 of South Africa’s 7 biomes (Zones of vegetation) and as well as elephants is also home to lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard, a wide variety of antelope species and found, almost wholly, in Addo is the unique flightless dung beetle.
The coastal marine part of the Park is a marine reserve for the whale and the great white shark.
The original park has slowly been expanded over the years and now includes the Woody Cape Nature Reserve, and a marine reserve of St Croix Island and Bird Island, both very important breeding grounds for Gannets and Penguins.
There are several archaeological sites in the Zuurberg where bushman rock art can be seen as well as other sites of interest along the coast.
The Park is set deep within the shadows of the dense valley bushveld of the Sundays River region of the Eastern Cape where the evenings are punctuated by the loud howls of the black-backed jackal and beautiful birdsong heralds each new dawn.
The Addo Elephant National Park provides a varied experience of outdoor adventure, Game viewing, cultural experiences and accommodation and is a growing destination for many visitors to South Africa.
