Addo is situated in the beautiful Sundays River Valley, only 40 min from Port Elizabeth airport. The accessibility of this area coupled with its close proximity to the Garden Route and Cape Town makes the Addo Elephant Park and its surrounding areas an extremely desirable destination that is already very popular with international visitors. The Addo Elephant National Park was proclaimed in 1931 and today this finely tuned ecosystem is home to over 400 elephants. This makes the Addo Park the most concentrated elephant reserve in Africa thus giving one a good chance of experiencing some of the best elephant viewing in the world. Apart from elephants there are also lion, hyena, black rhino, buffalo and various antelope species.

If you are looking for superb accomodation in Port Elizabeth, then Elephant House, situated in the Addo National Elephant Park, is just the right place. "The Elephant House is an exclusive nine bedroomed lodge situated near the Addo Elephant National Park in the fertile sun-drenched Sundays River Valley. The wide verandas (filled with comfortable sofas) forming a series of courtyards are a defining feature, while the décor at Elephant House evokes colonial & African images and is furnished with the owners' private collection of antiques, Persian rugs and Africana art. The nine spacious bedrooms open onto courtyards & private verandas.

The chef serves lovely light poolside lunches and after “sundowners” a memorable three course candlelit dinner is prepared with flair and personal attention. Children are most welcome and baby sitters are available on request. Children also have full use of the “Club Room” which has games, a TV with a DVD library, and a laptop computer.

Qualified guides conduct excellent daily game drives into the Addo Elephant Park on open Land Cruisers as well as cultural, historical & agricultural tours in the valley. Other options include horseback safaris into Addo, a helicopter trip to the beach and day visits to the various private game reserves in the area.

Addo Elephant National Park is one of the world’s great conservation success stories and embraces one of the highest concentrations of big game in Africa and thus offers some wonderful game viewing opportunities. In addition to the famous elephants of Addo there are also lion, buffalo, black rhino, hyena, jackal and a variety of antelope species. Of the smaller animals the surricates and the flightless dung beetle are of great interest. Over 150 species of birds have been recorded in the area.

The vegetation that one encounters in the area is known as “Valley Bushveld” - this is a biome unique to the river valleys of the Eastern Cape. The plants are tough and drought resistant (Addo’s average annual rainfall is 385mm) with a high proportion of succulents much loved by elephants, black rhino and kudu. Per cubic meter, Valley Bushveld is able to support more animals, birds and insects than any other biome on earth.

There are various game viewing options available in Addo and the surrounding area as well as some exceptional cultural encounters. Our in-house field guide, an elephant expert with many years experience with the elephants of Addo conducts two game drives through the National Park in our open land cruiser daily, both departing and ending at The Elephant House. Drinks and snacks are provided on the game drive.

The success of most of these tours is dependant on favorable weather; as a result, in the event of inclement weather a tour may be cancelled at short notice. Occasionally, on the advice of the ranger, we may vary the departure time of a safari to ensure that the guest gets the best possible experience. After a safari, retreat back to the colonial luxury of The Elephant House – order an ice cold cocktail (we recommend a Bombay Sapphire G&T with Angostura bitters or another house specialty in Pimms No1!) and take a dip in one of the two swimming pools alternatively you may simply want to find a quiet corner in the gardens or one of the courtyards to put your feet up and relax with a good book. (After all, you are on holiday!)

In the high season (October to May), Monday to Friday Tobeka Gana, our in- house masseur is able to offer our guests a complimentary pampering session in her purpose built “treatment room and boma” These feature treatments such as Full body massages, Manicures & Pedicures, Indian Head Massages and Sports massages.

Nearby Facilities:
Addo Polo Club (tennis & squash courts available) 3km
Kirkwood Golf Club (picturesque 9 holes 25km)
Bushman Sands Golf Course (championship, 18 holes 45 min)
The Elephant House is only 45 minutes from Port Elizabeth Airport. Road transfers can be arranged from Port Elizabeth Airport and air transfers in light aircraft can be arranged from Plettenberg Bay.

We are privileged to be part the most wonderful community - a real mix of cultures live side by side in the valley – descendants of the nomadic (and environmentally in touch) Khoi Khoi herders, the mighty AmaXhosa as well as the 18th and 19th C European adventurers, explorers and settlers.Our policy is to employ and empower people from the local community and to support as many local enterprises and suppliers as possible. This being an extremely fertile valley our kitchen, for example, is able to take full advantage of nature’s bounty with the very best of fresh local ingredients.

All of us here at Elephant House are very involved with all sectors of this community, from the “G&T set” at the Addo Polo Club to the most underprivileged (indeed, it is here that, for example, with help from some of our guests, we have been able to build a crèche for Aids orphans in the Langbos as well as continually be able to supply them with food and regular clothes donations.) We are also very involved with the wonderful people of the predominantly Xhosa speaking Nomatasanqua community.

Directions
Directions from Port Elizabeth: The Elephant House is only 45 minutes from Port Elizabeth Airport. Road transfers can be arranged from Port Elizabeth Airport and air transfers in light aircraft can be arranged from Plettenberg Bay. Take N2 (Direction Grahamsown). Left onto R335 (Sign posted Motherwell / Addo) Continue from +/- 43 km to Addo Village. Straight through Addo Village in Direction of Elephant Park, Elephant House is 5jm from Addo on the left hand side.

By Helicopter: Land in Horse Paddock in front of Elephant House GPS: 33° : 30' : 5" South 25° : 41' : 5" East