Overview–southafrica

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant NP has recently been expanded and is now the third largest national park in the country. It is one of the best places in South Africa to see large herds of elephant. The elephants are incredibly relaxed, and the numerous waterholes offer very good opportunities to observe their social behavior. The other Big Five species are also present, but not as regularly seen.

Best Time to Visit

Wildlife viewing in Addo Elephant National Park is good throughout the year. Because it has an arid to semi-arid climate, animals are attracted to waterholes at any time, but more so during the driest winter months (June to September). The drawback to winter is that nights can become very cold and winter clothing is needed for early morning game drives, especially when using an open vehicle.

May to September –Dry Season – Winter

Wildlife gathers around waterholes as there is less water in the bush
It is low season, except for the school holidays, and the camps and roads will be less busy
Sunny skies
Early morning game drives and night drives in open vehicles are cold

October to April –Wet Season – Summer

Wildlife viewing is good throughout the year
There are many newborn animals
The vegetation is greener, and spring flowers transform the park
Birding is excellent, and the migratory birds are present
Elephants might disperse after rain
It is high season, and the park gets busy

Scenery

Addo encompasses five distinct vegetation areas: Albany thicket (dense woodland), fynbos (fine-leaved plants), forest, Nama Karoo (dry shrubland), and Indian Ocean coastal belt. The characteristic vegetation of the main area open to tourists is Albany thicket, which is dominated by spekboom (literally ‘bacon tree’), a low-growing succulent shrub that forms the main food for the elephants.

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

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Aug

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Rates

From: $204 to $1,223 pp/day

Best Time to Go

From: January to December (All year)

High Season

From: October to March (The park gets crowded)

Size

From: 1,800km² / 695mi²

Wildlife & Animals

Addo's top attraction is the elephant population. All of the Big Five are present, and lions are sometimes encountered early in the morning. The black rhino is very shy and tends to stay in the thickets. Giraffes is absent, as it has never occurred in the area, and hippos are only found in the rarely visited Zuurberg Mountains section of the park.

Wildlife Highlights

Some of the more interesting antelope species regularly encountered are greater kudu, red hartebeest, and eland. The endemic flightless dung beetle has the right-of-way on the roads and plays an important role in recycling nutrients to stimulate vegetation growth.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

While wildlife viewing is always good in Addo, it is marginally better during the drier months of the year (June to September) when animals congregate at the man-made waterholes. However, the weather is more pleasant from October to May.

General Wheather

Addo Elephant National Park receives an average rainfall of less than 450mm/18in per year. Unlike the summer rainfall pattern across most of the country, rainfall is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. However, there are two peaks: in February–March and October–November. It can cool down to freezing in midwinter. The park covers a wide range of altitudes, but the main tourist area is under 250m/820ft.

Winter –May to September

The winter months are very cold at night and in the early morning. It is advisable to bring warm clothes, especially for open-vehicle game drives. Winter sees even less rainfall than summer and the skies are usually clear.

May – This is the beginning of winter. Temperatures cool down to a typical 9°C/48°F in the morning and 22°C/72°F in the afternoon.
June & July – These are the coldest months. The average morning temperature is 7°C/45°F, but it sometimes gets to freezing at night. Afternoon temperatures are around 19°C/66°F.
August & September – It is gradually getting warmer, with an average temperature of 21°C/70°F in the afternoon. Mornings are not quite as cold with temperatures around 9°C/48°F.

Summer –October to April

Summer has more comfortable temperatures and a bit more rainfall. Some days might be cloudy, and occasional rainstorms occur, but mostly it is sunny.

October & November – It gets warmer, and temperatures are between 13°C/55°F in the morning and 24°C/75°F in the afternoon. October is a peak month for rain, but even then it doesn’t rain on most days.
December, January & February – These are the warmest months with afternoon temperatures reaching 28°C/82°F. Mornings are comfortable at about 16°C/61°F. December and January have less rain, but this picks up a bit in February.
March & April – March is the wettest month, but it seldom rains for days on end. It starts to cool down again with an average daytime temperature of 26°C/79°F in the afternoon and 14°C/57°F in the morning.

Prons

Excellent elephant viewing
Very accessible and easily combined with the popular Garden Route
Good facilities and roads
A variety of lodges and rest camps for all budgets
Malaria-free
Horse rides available for beginners and experienced riders

Cons

The small park gets very busy in high season and school holidays
Views of bordering farms diminish wilderness appeal

How To Get There

Most visitors to Addo Elephant National Park fly into O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg or Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town. It is possible to start your tour at either city on an organized safari or on a self-drive package. The distance from Cape Town to Addo is almost 800km/500mi. Many people will drive from Cape Town to Addo via the Garden Route, over the course of a week or two.

Alternatively, after flying into one of the major airports, you can take a connecting flight to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (PLZ) and rent a car there. The distance to the park is just over 70km/43mi on a tar road and the drive takes about 1½ hours*.

*Driving times are only a rough indication. You should always consider the possibility of significant delays.

Airlines & Ticket Prices

Please check Skyscanner to see which airlines can take you to O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) or Cape Town International Airport (CPT), and what tickets would cost.