I agree with the previous reviewer that the Reception staff are not welcoming. In fact, one of them was upset and crying when I returned with a query in front of me. As she was obviously upset, she should have gone to the back and let her colleague continue to serve customers. We weren’t provided with the normal Addo map. Just an A4 photocopy of the simpler park map. As there were 4 of us, I asked for a 2nd copy and I was refused. We had a great experience with viewing wildlife and I would recommend Simni, the hop on hop off guide who sat with us in our car for 2 hrs at R295 for the car. He is very knowledgeable and it was an excellent experience. In terms of animals, it was disappointing that we only saw 2 of the big 5 - A few buffaloes and loads of elephants. We were informed that there are only 5 lions left, no leopards. We didn’t see any rhinos either. We enjoyed what we saw but after reading that the big 5 were present there, it was disappointing to learn that it’s not entirely true. They need to introduce more predators as you could see large nos of herbivores. Addo is no comparison to Kruger in terms of game and I’m glad we cut our 2 days of safari to 1 day and went to visit Kraga Kama game park instead as it was different.

The best way to discover the Park is with your own car. Stay away from the private tour operators, some of them put 3 people on the backseat of a normal 4x4, so one poor person sits int the middle, doesnt see anything and cannot take proper pictures. I had a very bad experience with "Just Safaris".

We’ve been fortunate in the past to go to other SA national parks (sabi sabi, umfalozi) to know you that there no guarantee what animals you’ll see on that day / moment in time. We took our own car and were advised (safety issues) to enter by the south gate (@ Colchester). It was a 35 min drive from PE - there’s a petrol station on the main road from PE, for snacks / water / petrol top up). Entrance to the park was quite formal with forms to complete. If you’re even going for a day trip you have to take ID for everyone in the vehicle, even for small children ( driving licence / passport). The roads were ok (we had a smallish Toyota SUV) and we coped with the unpaved roads (mud) even in the rain, however if you were in a smaller car you’d have to stick to the paved roads. We were there from 10 - 2pm and saw Elephants, zebra, various species of antelope, wart hogs, and loads of birds.

This sanctuary is an absolute gem in South Africa. Close to the town of Colchester, you can drive it yourself without a guide and see so much wildlife it is incredible. That said, smaller vehicles would struggle on some of the dirt roads, only small sections are paved. Be aware staff at the gate wanted to take copies of ID for all visitors, including children. There was also a manual form to complete, no online forms or booking available, and only 1 photocopied map per vehicle. It takes about 1.5 hours to drive the length of Addo, without stopping to admire the scenery or the animals. We stopped frequently to admire both, and on more than one occasion the elephants decided when we would move on again, not us! You need to remain in your vehicle for the majority of the route, but there are two stops where you can exit the car, stretch your legs and use toilets. We had a lovely picnic - you take your rubbish with you. There is also a shop at the north end of Addo which sells water, snacks, and souvenirs. We thoroughly enjoyed our time elephant-watching, and also saw ostrich, warthogs, a jackal, lots of zebra, dung beetles collecting their dung, and birds. It was really special. Under 16s can't stay within Addo overnight, so we booked a BnB close by. We spent 7 hours in the park quite happily. Absolutely wonderful experience that will always stay with us.

Due to the bushes which are all over in the main part of the park it is not so easy to see animals. The best thing is the drive to a waterhole and just wait there patiently. The holes are visited by the animals so after some time waiting you can see the animals from very short distance. Also the bird hide out and the underground hide out overlooking the waterhole in the main camp are very interesting.

What an experience, we did two nights in the park and three days driving round ourselves. Unbelievable to experience, this massive park 3rd biggest in Africa. We saw a number of animals, Elephants, Zebra, Hogwarts, Kudu, DugBeatles Rhinos, Buffalo, Monkeys, Baboons, Turtles, Mongooses, Eland, and the list goes on. Most of the animals were need the watering holes so make note of that. Also love the point scoring sheet you are given to tick off every you see. Loved every minute of it.