The Addo Elephant National Park (Afrikaans: Addo Olifant Nasionale Park) is located in the District Cacadu, in the western part of the Eastern Cape in South Africa, 70 miles northeast of Port Elizabeth in the Sundays River Valley, The Elephant National Park, with its 1640 km ² is the largest national park in Eastern Cape
A little insight into the history of the Addo Elephant National Park shows that the park at the beginning of the 1930s has been set up to protect the last eleven elephants survived. For at that time they fell victim to the many elephant ivory hunters.
The foundation was preceded by an order initiated by the government which was hunting the endemic Cape elephants ravaged in search of food again and again the fields and gardens of the resident farmers. After public protests came as the “last great white hunter” Major PJ Pretorius in a year killed 130 elephants in the dense Addo-Busch has since repeatedly extended game reserve was established.
In 2004, lived in the park about 350 elephants and 2006 just over 400 elephants have been counted. This brought the National Park is ecologically acceptable maximum of elephants.
In addition to elephants in the Addo Elephant National Park are kudu, buffalo, eland, South African hartebeest, bushbuck, warthog, Burchell’s zebra, black rhinos, hyenas and leopards. In some outlying areas, such as in the Darlington Dam or near the Zuurberg Mountains, some live for the most typical cape area ungulates such as mountain zebras.
On Sundays River you can fond hippos. In 2003 Lions were settled in the park, so you can once again meet the so-called Big Five in the park. Fleck hyenas were also located and the reintroduction of wild dogs and cheetahs is planned.
Nowadays, many different tours are offered by the Addo Elephant Park.
Tours are recommendable to do during the sunrise or sunset. In winter, at 7.00 in the morning and in the summer from 6.00 in the morning. The sunset tours are at 16.00 in the winter and in summer from 18.00. You can discover the Addo Park not only by taking a rented car and a tour guide but also explore the countryside by a horse. There are also many different types of accommodation in the park, so you also can have more time to explore the magic of nature.
For more information on the various tours and accommodations visit: http://www.addoelephant.com/parks/addo/
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