How to do a self-drive Safari in South Africa - Addo Elephant National Park

There are several different opportunities when it comes to safari in South Africa. Most of them are guided tours, which are amazing because the guides know where to drive and how to spot the different animals. But another fun experience is driving on your own in Hakuna Matata-land, because that is totally possible as well!

We wanted to experience Addo Elephant National Park, which is about an hour drive outside of Port Elizabeth on the Garden Route, and about eight hours to drive from CapeTown. I would definitely recommend driving and spending a couple of days in Port Elizabeth, because you will end up spending the entire day in Addo when you’re first there.

Addo is the third largest park in South Africa, and even though it is called Addo Elephant Nation Park, you will see so many other different animals there! Lion, zebra, dung beetle, buffalo, warthog, hartebeest, rhino and amazing landscape! Can you understand why you’ll spend hours driving around?

When you enter the park in your car, you’ll get a map so that you know where you can drive. They also have a map by the gate where you can see where the different animals were spotted earlier that day. Of course, the animals move around, but then you’ll know which areas to check out. Drive very slowly so that you don’t miss out on any of the animals.

Make sure you bring snacks and something to drink, because you won’t exactly find a vending machine or a restaurant in the middle of the park. There are some designated places where you can go outside of the car, but other than that you have to stay inside the vehicle at all times. I am probably stating the obvious here, but a lion can suddenly jump out from some bushes and attack you, thinking you are a zebra, so stay in the car!

We drove very slowly because we wanted to see as much as possible. When we saw some animals we would stop the car completely and if there was a lot of animals we would turn off the engine and just watch them. It was spectacular! Especially when an elephant walked right by our car, as if we weren’t there.

At the main gate there are a restaurant, a gift shop and a kiosk so that you can buy food, snacks and something to drink. Because we ended up starting at the ‘wrong’ entrance, we ended the safari at the main gate and had a little rest there before driving back to Port Elizabeth. So it is definitely possible to start at either the south or the north gate.

One day in Addo was not enough, but because we were heading to the Kruger Park as well for a few days later on, we decided to see more of the coastal line of South Africa instead of spending several days there. But if this is the only safari you are planning, then I would definitely recommend spending two or three days. You can also go on game drives with a guide in Addo, but half the experience for us was driving by ourselves listening to ‘Circle of Life’ and exploring the wonders of South Africa.