Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park sits 70 kilometres northeast of Gqeberha in South Africa's Eastern Cape and, at roughly 1,790 km², is the province's largest protected area. It was founded in 1931 as an emergency measure to save a local elephant population that had been hunted down to fewer than 20 individuals; today the park shelters more than 600 elephants, making it one of the densest elephant habitats on earth. Beyond elephants, Addo is one of the few places in the world where the Big Seven — the Big Five plus great white shark and southern right whale — can all be encountered, thanks to a marine section off the Eastern Cape coast. Game drives on well-maintained gravel tracks form the core visitor experience, complemented by guided bush walks and overnight stays in South African National Parks camps under some of the darkest skies in the region.