A knowledgeable local guide will drive the vehicle and teach you about the incredible diversity of African wildlife. They are experts at spotting animals and will point out small animals scurrying through the grass or birds circling high up in the sky that you might have missed. They will take you deep into the savannah and teach you about the animals, plants and landscapes.
Last month, my family visited me in South Africa, and I took them on two safaris to show them all of my favorite animals. The first safari was at Addo Elephant National Park. This is the third-largest national park in South Africa and was created to protect the elephants. For hundreds of years, elephants ruled this area. However, when farmers began planting large citrus orchards, people began to fight with the elephants. Elephants love nothing more than citrus fruits like oranges and would sneak into the orchards at night and eat all the farmers’ oranges. This angered farmers, who hunted the elephants until there were only 11 elephants left in the region. Addo Elephant Park was created in 1931 to bring an end to the conflict between elephants and people and save the 11 remaining elephants. In Addo, there is no farming or development allowed so elephants can roam free and safe from angry farmers. The effort by the conservationists has paid off, with the number of elephants in Addo growing over the past 90 years from 11 to over 600 living here today!
On an Addo safari, you will be sure to get up close and personal with lots of elephants, but I also saw lots of herds of hartebeest (an African antelope) and zebra, vervet monkeys, baboons, warthogs, ostriches and the famous dung beetle!
