the Park of
Since its start as a small park to save the Eastern Cape’s last elephants, Addo
has grown to cover a vast area of mountains, forest, bush and beach. Despite its
challenges, it’s one of Africa’s greatest conservation stories. By Scott Ramsay.
Year in the wild Addo Elephant National Park
www.getaway.co.za 87
88 Getaway march 2013
Year in the wild Addo Elephant National Park
C
olossal, immense or ginormous are appropriate adjectives to describe an elephant. Weigh
ing up to7 000 kilograms and measuring four metres at its front shoulder,
an African bull elephant can eat 300
kilograms of plant matter and drink
around 200 litres of water every day.
Some of the largest tusks – their upper
incisor teeth – weigh more than 75
kilograms each, which is equivalent
a beautiful private lodge in the east of
to that of an average man. Elephants
the park where I’d been staying. A lone
are very, very big.
bull was pulling up grass, still damp
But these statistics and adjectives
don’t fully prepare you for a close
encounter with Earth’s largest land
from recent rains. Martin slowed the
Landy and stopped a few metres away.
The bull stopped feeding and ambled
animal. Wild elephants command
over to us, standing alongside the
attention and respect like no other
vehicle. An elephantine eclipse
creature and, in Addo Elephant
blocked out the sun. His tusk almost
National Park, just 40 kilometres
scraped the bonnet. ‘He seems to be
northeast of Port Elizabeth, there’s
enjoying our company,’ Martin whis-
every chance of getting near to them.
pered. ‘I hope he is,’ I replied softly.
My first meeting with Addo’s
After a few minutes of not doing any-
elephants was more like a roadblock.
thing in particular, the bull obviously
I turned a corner in my car, and a
decided he needed to be somewhere
breeding herd of 20-odd individuals
else. He waved his trunk at us before
was walking determinedly up the
sauntering off down the road as if on
road towards me. Hemmed in on
his way to another appointment.
either side by the bush and from the
‘Incredible, hey?’ Martin smiled. We
back by another vehicle, I couldn’t go
agreed that neither of us had felt un-
anywhere. I leaned out of my window
duly threatened during our silent meet-
to take a few photos and, as they
ing with Mr Elephant. He had treated
came closer, I had no choice but to
us with consideration and respect.
surrender meekly to their indisputable
‘The Addo elephants are very
authority, pulling my camera back in.
friendly,’ he explained. ‘And that’s
They passed within centimetres, the
something of a miracle, considering
matriarch giving me a sideways
everything they’ve been through.’
glance as if to say ‘driver’s licence,
please,’ before moving on.
The next day, I was with guide Martin
Bronkhorst from Gorah Elephant Camp,
Forgive and forget
If the saying that an elephant never
forgets is true, then the elephants of
‘The Addo elephants are very
friendly – and that’s something of
a miracle, considering everything
they’ve been through’
opposite: Two bull elephants in a spekboom thicket, as seen from conservation manager John Adendorff’s aircraft. Above left: A greater double-collared sunbird on an
aloe flower near the main rest camp. Above right: The Alexandria coastal forest in the south yields an array of fruits in summer.
www.getaway.co.za 89
Year in the wild Addo Elephant National Park
Addo must be very forgiving. Several
before authorities acknowledged the
million African elephants roamed the
need to save the last of the Cape’s
continent during the early 1700s and
elephants. Addo Elephant National
the South African population was an
Park was proclaimed in 1931 and
estimated 100 000, many of which
the few remaining elephants had to
would have ranged across the south-
be chased into its boundaries from
eastern Cape where Addo lies today.
surrounding areas with firecrackers,
The slaughter began when the Euro-
shotguns and bonfires. However, the
peans arrived 400 years ago. The last
park wasn’t fenced and the elephants
elephant in Cape Town was shot in
wandered back into the surrounding
1652 and hunters moved steadily up
orchards, where they came into con-
the east coast. By 1918, there were no
flict with farmers, further reducing
more than 140 elephants near Addo,
their numbers to 11.
down from several thousand just
Another 23 years passed before
a century before. Here the animals
warden Graham Armstrong developed
hid away in the dense spekboom, a
a unique fencing system of railway
rubbery, near-impenetrable succulent
sleepers and Otis lift cables unbreak-
bush that grows, coincidentally, to the
able by elephants. In 1954, about 20
height of an elephant.
square kilometres of land was fenced
Surrounded by citrus farmers, the
and finally, after four centuries of
elephants had nowhere to go and the
hunting, the remaining elephants were
orange orchards proved too juicy for
safe from people and their guns.
them to ignore. At night they’d emerge
Still, for several decades, the ele-
from the thickets and raid the crops.
phants feared or hated anything that
Soon farmers were petitioning govern-
looked or smelt like a human. During
ment to kill all the elephants and a
the day, they would hide away in
hunter, Major PJ Pretorius, was em-
the spekboom or chase people and
ployed by the Administrator of the
overturn cars when they could. They
Cape Colony. Between 1919 and 1920,
clearly hadn’t forgotten the years of
he shot about 114 elephants with
hunting and persecution.
his .475 Jeffries double-barrelled rifle
and captured two calves to be sold
The big and the small
to Boswell’s Circus. On one occasion,
Today, however, it seems as if the
he maimed an elephant with a shot
elephants have forgiven us. More
through its spinal column, then climbed
than 650 elephants roam the park,
onto its back and shot it through the
mingling peacefully beside the vehicles
head. In another hunt, he shot 22 ele-
of about 140 000 tourists a year.
phants in just a few minutes. At the
‘This is undoubtedly Addo’s most
end of the macabre year, just 16
famous success story,’ park manager
elephants remained.
Norman Johnson explained. ‘It’s why
The public finally woke up to the
tragedy, but it took another decade
the park was proclaimed, to save
these elephants from local extinction,
Addo was all about elephants
at first, but today it’s about
conserving the biomes and
their animal and plant species
Above left and right: The dung beetles of Addo – and other species – play a critical role in recycling nutrients from animals into the soil.
www.getaway.co.za 91
Year in the wild Addo Elephant National Park
and even though they’re still wild
the soil), black rhino and Cape buffalo,
animals, they’ve become very habit-
which barely survived the hunting of
uated to people and vehicles.
the 1800s and is one of the few dis-
‘The elephants now are so successful they’re becoming a nice problem.
ease-free populations in South Africa.
Then there’s the remarkable thicket
At some stage we’ll need to look at
biome, an endemic yet threatened
controlling the population, but for
type of vegetation in South Africa.
now we won’t use culling as an op-
The predominant plant is spekboom,
tion. We’ll either move elephants into
which forms the basis of Addo’s highly
new parts of the park, or we’ll look at
productive ecosystem. ‘Spekboom is
using contraceptives in certain sectors
amazing,’ said conservation manager
of the elephant population.’
John Adendorff. ‘Besides its medicinal
‘Addo was all about elephants at
values and ability to sequester carbon
first, but today it’s about conserving
from the atmosphere, it’s able to sus-
the biomes and their animal and plant
tain high concentrations of animals,
species,’ said Norman.
The park has grown considerably
since proclamation and today the
terrestrial part covers 1 800 square
kilometres, with a long-term target
of 2 600. It stretches roughly 150 kilometres end to end across diverse
ecosystems; five of South Africa’s
nine biomes are found in Addo,
namely Nama Karoo, fynbos, Albany
thicket, forest and Indian Ocean
coastal belt.
Key conservation concerns include
the endemic flightless dung beetle
(Circellium bacchus, which is crucial
for recycling nutrients from dung into
92 Getaway march 2013
TOP: The disease-free Cape buffalo population of Addo is one of the few in the country
that wasn’t wiped out by hunters. ABove left and right: On the beaches of the
Alexandria dune field are numerous middens, Stone Age rubbish dumps where food was
processed and eaten, leaving behind fossilised bones for modern-day people to find.
opposite page: The mouth of the Sundays River is at the beginning of the Alexandria
dune field, the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
including elephants.’
The reason for Addo’s high elephant
density – about 2,8 elephants per
square kilometre – is simple: they love
Several antelope species, including
a thriving kudu population, also
browse on the plant.
All these herbivores make for happy
spekboom. It’s full of water, has a high
predators and lion and spotted hyena
protein and vitamin content and, un-
are doing well after reintroductions
like many savanna trees or bushes,
into the park. From just six lions intro-
it grows back readily after being
duced from Kgalagadi Transfrontier
browsed. Even just breaking off a
Park, Addo’s population reached 22
stem and leaving it on the ground
before some were relocated to other
can result in the growth of a new
reserves; and from eight individuals
plant. The more elephants eat
brought in from Kruger, its spotted
spekboom, the better it grows.
hyena numbers have climbed to 20.
It’s not just elephants that thrive
‘In the beginning, the lion’s special-
on it. During the day, black rhino use
ity was buffalo. At one stage there
it to hide away and 60 per cent of the
were two males which killed buffalo
Addo buffalo’s diet is made up of
almost exclusively; they could take
spekboom (elsewhere buffalo tend
out up to 12 buffalo in one month.
to graze grass elsewhere in Africa).
And the hyenas are definitely not
scavengers; they hunt kudu successfully,’ John said. ‘At some point, predators can seriously affect herbivore
numbers so, like all protected areas,
we have to keep a balance so gave
‘The elephants now
are so successful
they’re becoming
a nice problem’
away some lion.’
Lions now concentrate on species
such as red hartebeest, kudu, eland
and ostrich while buffalo have developed successful defensive strategies
by forming larger herds and staying
out of the thick bush.
Travel planner overleaf
www.getaway.co.za xx
Year in the wild Addo Elephant National Park
Addo’s other sections
beautiful than Addo’s main wildlife
Most of the big wildlife is in the Main
section. ‘The mountains of Zuurberg
Section, where the spekboom thicket
are my favourite. They’re one of the
occurs and the park’s biggest rest
oldest wilderness areas in Africa,
camp lies. Located between the N2
declared in 1896; it’s untouched and
national highway and the public
wild and the only way to explore is
R342 road in the north, this is where
by hiking or on horseback.’
most visitors start their stay at Addo
To the northwest, in the rain
before exploring the other sections
shadow of the mountains, is the arid
to the north or south.
Darlington Section, where black rhino
Sections are separated by fences
munch on spiky euphorbia plants and
or public roads and John, who has
Darlington Dam gives relief from the
worked here for 20 years, thinks some
intense summer heat. From there,
of the lesser-known areas are more
4x4ers can tackle a day trail over the
top, above left and right: Conservation student Melissa Perozzi on the two-day Alexandria Trail, which goes through a surprisingly beautiful section where
Outeniqua yellowwoods soar into the heavens, and small mushrooms and lichen thrive in the temperate undergrowth.
94 Getaway march 2013
mountains into the adjacent Kabouga
change drastically, African penguins
Section in the south. Some of the
could be extinct in 20 years.’
best views in the park are on offer
here, while forested kloofs shelter
Symbol of hope
remote, isolated populations of
Despite this, John remains optimistic
Knysna turaco and the Sundays
that conservation authorities will win
River provides a home for the few
the day. The creation of the proposed
hippos that Addo protects.
marine protected area will secure
In the far south, the coastal Woody
some of the fish stocks for penguins
Cape Section’s lush temperate forest
and provide sanctuary to a host of
abuts the Alexandria dune field, the
other marine species.
largest in the southern hemisphere.
It would be a fitting finale to Addo’s
The beautiful two-day hiking trail in
growth from a small patch of spek-
this section is a must-do.
boom created to save elephants, to a
There are plans to develop an ex-
2 000-square-kilometre conservation
tensive 120-square-kilometre marine
area protecting species as diverse as
conservation area adjacent to the
dung beetles and black rhino, cycads
coastal section and incorporating the
and yellowwood trees, great white
protected offshore St Croix and Bird
sharks and southern-right whales.
islands, which are home to critical
I asked John whether elephants will
populations of endemic African
be seen on the coast of Addo again,
penguins and Cape Gannets.
as they did 400 years ago. Today,
‘That’s our biggest challenge at
the moment,’ John admitted. ‘Both
penguins and gannets are in a gloomy
they’re restricted from doing so by
the N2 national highway.
‘It’s unlikely,’ John pondered,
situation. There were 10 000 pairs of
‘but, you know, in the United States
penguins 15 years ago on St Croix;
of America I have seen bridges built
today there are no more than 7 000
over highways to allow wildlife to
and that’s the largest breeding colony
cross. Maybe someone, some day
in the world.’
will have the money and courage
Declining fish stocks and global
warming are seen as the main culprits,
to do that here.’
Imagine that! A herd of elephant
both of which are out of direct control
crossing over a bridge above the traffic
of John and his team.
of the N2, making their way down to
‘We do as much as we can. We have
a beach at the southern end of Africa
teams actively looking after the birds.
to dip their toes in the salty water and
Kelp gulls and seals are stopped from
commune with whales.
eating the eggs and chicks and if we
It remains just a dream, but for now
see a penguin that is sick or injured,
the kings and queens of Addo seem
we’ll intervene and rehabilitate it.
more than happy.
We have to because, unless things
Travel planner overleaf
‘The mountains of Zuurberg are one of
the oldest wilderness areas in Africa; it’s
untouched and wild and the only way
to explore is by hiking or on horseback’
Year in the wild Addo Elephant National Park
Getting there
There are two main access
points to Addo: the gate near
the main rest camp and Matyholweni Gate in the south. The
most accessible route from
Port Elizabeth to the main gate
is to drive east on the N2
before turning north onto the
N10. Take the R342 west for
23 kilometres until you see the
sign to Addo. To access Matyholweni Gate, take the N2 east
from Port Elizabeth, then turn
left at the sign to Addo just
after crossing the Sundays
River near Colchester.
Gates and
operating hours
The main entrance is open
from 07h00 to 19h00 and
Matyholweni Gate opens
between 07h00 and 17h00.
There is a daily fee of R40 an
adult and R20 a child. Wild
Card holders enter free.
What to do
Guided game drives cost
from R240 a person, a hopon guide in your own vehicle
costs R180 a vehicle and
horse trails are from R168 a
person. The Bedrogfontein
4x4 Trail in the Kabouga
Section costs R380 a vehicle.
The two-day Alexandria
Hiking Trail is R230 a person.
Where to stay
Addo Rest Camp is the
largest camp and offers selfcatering campsites (R190 a
Cottages at Addo Rest Camp
96 Getaway March 2013
site), safari tents (R485 for
two people), forest cabins
(R640 for two people),
chalets (R745 for two people),
cottages (R1 045 for two),
rondavels (R1 045 for two
people) and guest houses
(R2 985 for four people).
The much quieter and more
remote Matyholweni Camp
in the south offers 15 selfcatering chalets. From R960
for two people.
For the more adventurous,
the small, fenced Spekboom
Tented Camp has five tents
on decks with communal
ablutions and cooking area.
Costs R595 for two people.
Narina Bush Camp in the
Zuurberg Section along the
Wit River on the southern
slopes of the mountains, is
basic with four two-man tents.
Costs R990 for the camp.
The stone, self-catering
Kabouga Cottage can be
accessed by 4x4 only and
sleeps six people in two bedrooms. From R405 a night for
the first two people.
Mvubu Campsite with six
stands is also in this section
and you need a high groundclearance vehicle. From R100
a night for the first two people.
Darlington Dam Cottage
sleeps six people and costs
R405 for first two people.
For forest lovers, the rustic
Langebos Hikers’ Huts (in
the Woody Cape section in
the far south) are superb;
this is where the Alexandria
Langebos Hikers’ Hut
Tents at Gorah Elephant Camp
Hiking Trail starts.
The luxurious five-star
Gorah Elephant Camp is
one of a few private lodges
in Addo, and is probably the
best for game viewing as it’s
the only one within the main
wildlife section. Unlike most
of Addo which is covered in
dense spekboom, Gorah is
surrounded by open grasslands (a result of old farming
practices) and so provides
plenty of food for grazers
such as zebra and red hartebeest, which in turn attract
predators such as lion and
hyena. Guests at the unfenced
camp are often treated to
sightings of lion and black
rhino, which come in the
evening to drink from a small
natural pool at the edge of the
Gorah Elephant Camp’s Manor House
manor house stoep. Eleven
luxury safari tents with bathrooms are linked by wooden
boardwalks to the restored
manor house, where gourmet
meals are served. From
R3 995 a person a night,
including all meals, teas,
non-alcoholic beverages and
activities. Tel 044-501-1111,
email [email protected],
www.hunterhotels.com.
Who to contact
Tel 012-428-9111, email
[email protected],
www.sanparks.org.
For more places to
stay in the Eastern Cape,
turn to the Getaway Guide on
page 155 or visit accommodation.getaway.co.za.
Photojournalist Scott Ramsay
recently completed Year in the
Wild, a journey to 31 of South
Africa’s most special nature
reserves, including all the national parks. Year in the
Wild was sponsored by South African National
Parks, CapeNature, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Eastern
Cape Parks, Ford, Goodyear, Frontrunner, Evosat,
Conqueror Trailers, Vodacom, Digicape, Lacie,
Garmin, National Luna, Safari Centre Cape Town, Escape Gear
and EeziAwn. Follow Scott’s continuing adventures at www.
yearinthewild.com and www.facebook.com/yearinthewild. You
can also follow his journey on blog.getaway.co.za.