South Africa's Addo Elephant National Park

Useful Information

History

The Addo area is rich in history. Wildlife and nomadic tribes, like the Gonaqua, lived in harmony. Following the arrival of Dutch settlers in the 1700s, these tribes were decimated by a smallpox epidemic.

In the same period, the Xhosa people started moving slowly along the coast from the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains. They extended their territory from the Sundays River to the Mbashe River in the Transkei between 1700 and 1850.

In the late 1800s, Dutch farmers started colonizing the area in large numbers. Threatened by the presence of elephant so close to their crops and water, a battle between man and nature ensued. The government appointed Major PJ Pretorius to take care of the problem. Between 1919 and 1920, 114 elephant were killed in an attempt to exterminate the herd once and for all. Sixteen elephant survived.

A public outcry finally forced the government to pay attention to their disregard for the animals. In 1931, with only 11 elephant left, the park was proclaimed with 2 000 hectares to conserve the animals.

Wildlife

The park expanded from its mere 2 000 hectares in 1931 to a mega-park of roughly 164 000 hectares. It includes five of South Africa's nine biomes and conserves the “Big Seven,” which extends the Big Five to include great white shark and southern right whale. The 700+ wild elephant are, however, the main attraction. In the early years, to persuade the elephant to stay, rangers fed them citrus fruits from local farms—a success at first.

The feeding continued after elephant-proof fencing in the 1950s. By the 1970s, the citrus practice had become problematic—the elephant showed signs of dependency, became hostile toward each other and rangers, and damaged vegetation. In 1979, the feeding stopped. Until recently, no citrus fruits were allowed into Addo Elephant National Park.

Vegetation & Terrain

Addo Elephant National Park encompasses just under 170 000 hectares that stretch across the Eastern Cape, from the warm Indian Ocean to the vast open expanse of the Karoo. It includes the evergreen Sundays River Valley, the dunes of the Woody Cape coast, the Bird and St Croix island groups, and the Zuurberg Mountain Range. The diverse landscapes also contain many archaeological sites, such as the middens found on the Alexandria dune field and the rock art found in the caves of the Zuurberg Mountains. The analogies between the artifacts found in the different areas also substantiate that the nomadic tribes traveled immense distances across this area.

The park has expanded over the years to conserve five of South Africa's nine biomes: the Albany Thicket, Fynbos, Forest, Nama Karoo, and the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, and also expanding to make it the world's first “Big 7” conservation area. The ongoing commitment to the varying ecosystems promotes a sustainable and inclusive ecotourism industry and economic development in the Eastern Cape region, and plans are underway to expand its borders further. Upon completion, it is envisaged that the park will expand to conserve 240 000 hectares of land and a further 120 000 hectares of protected marine area.

Activities

There is something for everyone to do in Addo; game drives, hiking, canoeing, and 4x4 trails are just a few. The Bedrogfontein 4x4 trail, for example, takes you back in history over mountains, through ravines and forests, and into the Karoo as you travel from Kabouga to Darlington. It is where the Afrikaner and British troops fought many battles during the Anglo-Boer War and is also a place where rock art paintings tell stories of a time long forgotten. This self-drive, one-way 4x4 route covers 45 km of grade 2–3 terrain. It takes approximately six hours and another two hours from Darlington to the main camp.

Two-hour horse rides through the Nyathi area for the more adventurous types keep you on the edge of your seat. Game viewing from horseback is excellent because the animals are more relaxed around the horses than, for example, a game-viewing vehicle, and staying on the road is not necessary. Game viewing in a Big Five area adds to the intensity and excitement of the experience. With so much to choose from, let the African Sky team help you find what suits you best.