Addo is a town in Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Region east of the Sundays River, some 72 km northeast of Port Elizabeth. In 1931 about 680 hectares were enclosed to form the Addo Elephant National Park. Addo Elephant National Park consists of the following: Darlington, Kabouga, Zuurberg, Nyathi Area, Addo Main Camp, Colchester and Wood Cape, as well as the Marine Protected Area.
Darlington section has a 4×4 trail and basic camping facilities and allows one to fish in the Darlington Dam. Darlington Dam, also referred to as Lake Mentz. is a gravity type dam situated in the Sundays River, near Kirkwood, in Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was completed in 1922 and only filled by 1928, the delay a result of extensive drought. The Kabouga section also allows one to use their 4×4 trail, provided one has booked at the Addo Camp Main section.
Apart from a 4x4x trail in the Zuurberg section, this section also offers accommodation at the Nerina Bush Camp. Birding is also exceptional there. Nyathi boasts self-catering in full equipped family cottages, and is situated along a river with sightings of elephant, and buffalo at the waterhole. Nestled at the foot of the majestic Zuurberg Mountain range and surrounded by hills, Nyathi Rest Camp is the new, exclusive, self-catering addition to the accommodation offering at Addo Elephant National Park. The name of the camp means buffalo, which is something you are sure to see. A slow and steady drive through the Big Five Nyathi section of Addo will have you hoping for a glimpse of the king of the jungle or the elusive lazy leopard.
Addo Main camp has all of the above, but also, a shop, restaurant and, at Colchester, there is fuel, fishing, boating as well as ferry trips on the Sundays River, which is quite broad here, as it is about to enter the sea. The beach boasts some of the highest dunes in the country and remains relatively untouched. The hot white sand and cool river waters are just perfect, whether you are looking to have a family day in the water, a romantic picnic for two, or a sundowner after a long day. The Sundays River Mouth is situated on the southern boundary and the double-decker Sundays River Ferry can be taken to experience the river.
At Woody Cape, in the southern section of the park, as it impinges on the Indian Ocean, Langeberg Forest Huts are equipped with beds and mattresses, a hot shower, cooking utensils, and a barbeque.
For obvious reasons, one is not allowed to play loud music, or exceed the regulated speed limit, which at 40 kilometres per hour per hour, is standard for game parks in South Africa. Furthermore, no drones or motor bikes are allowed in the Park. The flightless dung beetle, Circellium bacchus, is a species of dung beetle endemic to the Addo Elephant National Park, although in the Copris and Ontophagus dung beetles, the male and female work together to dig their nests. Visitors are requested not to drive over the mounds of elephant dung as these provide nourishment for the many dung beetles on the roads!
Other animals encountered in the Park include, the Aardvark, Red Hartebeest, Burchell’s Zebra, and, of course, Vervet Monkeys. Rarer species include the Warthog, the Spotted Hyena and the Aardwolf. Moreover, you will be lucky to come across the Scrub Hare, the Common Duiker, and even luckier to find a Honey Badger, or a Porcupine. No matter how many times you visit a sighting of the Caracal, or ‘Rooikat’, the Rock Monior would be a treat. Even rarer are the Rock Monitor, the ‘Likkavaan’, in the local patois. Lion are a treat, to be boasted about, forever!
Addo Elephant Park harbours many more wild African species, and one can count oneself lucky to visit this intriguing wild animal haven, so close to major conurbations such the Greater Port Elizabeth region.
