South Africa has a thriving elephant population, from its pachyderm-packed game reserves to orphanages, rehabilitation centres and monitoring programmes.
The best of the latter is Knysna Elephant Park, found on the Garden Route, and supporting orphaned adults and calves in pleasingly open spaces. It’s very geared towards families and ethically run – see the link below for more information. There’s also the nearby Elephant Sanctuary, which houses more domesticated residents.
Alternatively, make the journey to Pongola National Park in northern KwaZulu Natal, and stay at White Elephant Lodge. Guests there can join the acclaimed ‘Space for Elephants’ programme, and accompany researcher Heike on monitoring outings.
South Africa’s best park for spying elephants in their natural setting is Kruger, including its various satellite concessions: there are about 15,000 of the beasts here. As you’d expect from the name, Addo Elephant Park, again along the Garden Route, is also a prolific option.
The Best of South Africa Travel map displays the locations of the destinations and accommodation that we have selected and visited; for each item, hovering over or clicking the marker will display a short summary and photo of that place or hotel, and hotel pricing. Follow the links in the info box to the full page listing which has much more information.
Note that the online map offers both a satellite view (click satellite in the top right) and, for some locations, a street level view (Drag the person in the top left onto the map). These let you explore the country; and when you wish to explore in person, or if you have any questions about the places you see, give our staff a call, or request a quote. Our staff regularly visit the places and accommodation that we feature.
When you book a holiday with us we will provide full driving instructions for reaching your accommodation, where necessary; these can be used by yourself, or you could enjoy the luxury of a driver. Alternatively we will arrange private (car rather than coach) transfers for you; helicopter transfers are also possible for some destinations.
Definitely going back for more!
"We were referred to Ash by a mutual friend and were specifically looking for a unique experience for our family which involved a game park. After a brief discussion around what we would like to see and do, Ash then came back with a package that met us at Jo'burg airport, flew us into the Kruger where our three day …
