Addo Elephant National Park sits in the Sundays River valley near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, and it is one of the great wildlife success stories of southern Africa. When the park was founded in 1931, just eleven elephants remained in the area. Today more than 450 roam the bush, alongside 400 Cape buffalo, over 48 endangered black rhino, and recently reintroduced lion and spotted hyena.
The park has expanded dramatically from its original core. The Woody Cape Nature Reserve now extends the boundary to the coast, and a marine section includes St. Croix Island and Bird Island — the latter home to the world's largest breeding colony of Cape gannets (around 120,000 birds) and a major African penguin colony. This makes Addo possibly the only park on earth to harbour the "Big Seven": elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, whale, and great white shark, all in their natural habitat.
The main entrance and two looped tourist roads are tarred, with gravel roads branching into quieter sections. A second access road feeds off the N2 highway near Colchester. The park has a main rest camp and four smaller camps, plus concession-run lodges. Addo works well as a day trip from Port Elizabeth or as a two-night stop on the Garden Route.