A Day on Safari in Addo Elephant NP

My first experience of an African safari was at Addo Elephant NP in 2017 and it remains one of my very favourite travel experiences.  Here’s a description of the best day.

I’m staying at Gorah Elephant Camp in Addo Elephant National Park, in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. Gorah is an amazing place and extremely luxurious. My ‘tent’ has canvas walls, but is beautifully finished and decorated, and there is an en suite, not to mention a free minibar.

I wake to a beautiful sunrise and a monkey playing on my patio. It’s not a bad start to the day!

I enjoy a full English breakfast on the veranda of the lodge and am secretly delighted when more monkeys cause havoc and steal my toast! I also have a great time watching a large group of zebras at the camp’s waterhole – all from my breakfast table.

At 9am, we start the morning game drive. We have a very good drive, seeing a large herd of cape buffalo at a waterhole who are joined by a couple of elephants.

We also encounter four more elephants at another spot and one passes by – walking so gracefully – only feet from the vehicle.

We stop for a coffee break and enjoy coffee with amarula – a creamy liquor, rather like Baileys. With a great view over the park, including to the blue ocean in the distance, it is an enjoyable stop. On this drive, we also spot zebras and jackals.

Back at the lodge I have a rest in my tent and then a tasty lunch on the veranda while watching a multitude of animals visit the nearby waterhole, including zebras and elephants (and, of course, warthogs which are pretty much permanent residents there).

Another leisurely rest in the tent while watching the animal activity follows.

Then it’s time for afternoon tea: a lavish spread of sweet and savoury items served at 3.30 in the main lodge, before the evening game drive. Very soon we encounter two large elephants having a power struggle on the slopes below the camp. It’s fascinating to watch them grapple for superiority.

We also see ostriches, zebras, warthogs and red hartebeest.

As the sun sets, we stop for a sundowner – I have red wine from Leopard’s Leap, a winery I visited earlier in my trip to South Africa. (The Winelands are just one reason to visit the beautiful Western Cape). There are also a variety of nibbles set out on a white table cloth . The fun continues after the sun has set as we return to close by the camp and spend time watching a lioness and her two cubs. They are very close to the vehicle and active with washing and playing. It’s a great end to the game drive.

A candlelit dinner in the lodge finishes off a perfect day. I select slow-cooked pork belly with veg and a plum sauce, followed by a rooibos crème brulee. After dinner, I go back to my tent which is nice and warm with a gas heater and, as I later discover, a hot water bottle hidden in the bed. I go to sleep amidst the sounds of the African bush (which is not something I will often have the opportunity to say).

Tips: Addo Elephant National Park is a great option for a first safari experience because it’s conveniently located in the Eastern Cape, near Port Elizabeth, just an hour’s flight from Cape Town, or at the end of a multi-day road trip along the Garden Route. There are more basic lodges in the park if you have a tight budget, although Gorah was amazing for a once-in-a-lifetime luxury splurge.