Addo Elephant  National park

Addo Elephant National Park
Deep within the shadows of the dense valley bushveld of the Sundays River region of the Eastern Cape lies the Addo Elephant National Park. Here, the evenings are punctuated by the strident howl of the black-backed jackal, and the francolins call heralds each new dawn. Safe from relentless persecution in the past, the grey leviathans of the bush now roam in peace.

History Addo Elephant National Park
The original Elephant section of the park was proclaimed in 1931, when only eleven elephants remained in the area - today this finely tuned ecosystem is sanctuary to over 420 elephants, Cape buffalo, black rhino, a variety of antelope species, as well as the unique flightless dung beetle, found almost exclusively in Addo.

But the Addo story has only just begun. Plans to expand the 145 000 ha Addo National Elephant Park into a 360 000 ha mega-park are moving forward at an exciting pace. This expansion is transforming Addo into the ultimate tourism destination.

- Some of its unique features already includes:
- Unrivalled natural diversity.

- The Big 7 in their natural habitat.

- Rich heritage of archaeological and historical sites.

- A wide variety of accommodation and activity options.

Future plans
In addition, plans include the proposed proclamation of a 120000 ha (296 500 acre) marine reserve that includes islands that are home to the worlds largest breeding populations of Cape gannets and second largest breeding population of African penguins.

While all the standard SANParks information can be found on this site Addo has its own independent website giving a fuller exploration of its wonderful bounty: Addo Elephant Park 



     SANParks 2005