The Elephant House is located close to attractive citrus groves in the Sundays River Valley which is under an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth. It’s a family-run lodge just 5km from the main entrance to Addo Elephant National Park, and provides guests with space aplenty to enjoy privacy and a wide range of activities, entertainment and refreshment.

Two types of accommodation

Wherever you choose to stay, a warm welcome is assured, as are homely comforts such as roaring fires, home-cooked food, plush sofas on large verandas and plumped up pillows in your beds.

The main house is home to nine ensuite rooms for two guests, each with a private courtyard or veranda – the size of your outside space depending on the price you pay, presumably. People with an eye and appreciation for antiques and art will no doubt delight at the examples of these that feature in each beautifully furnished room.

As well as the main house, there are six cottages set in attractive gardens. All have air-conditioning and private verandas. Two are designated as family suites with two bedrooms each.

Get a guide or go it alone

Many guests stay here if they want to go on a self drive safari in the Addo Elephant National Park, as it’s so close to the main gate.

That said, you can book guided game drives aboard open top Land Cruisers and benefit from someone else doing the driving and having an expert ranger taking you to the best places to see the big game and telling you the best tactics and techniques to employ when spotting wildlife. Perhaps book a guided tour first and then use what you learn on a self-drive later in your stay?

Either way, you’re virtually assured of seeing big game aplenty as the park boasts one of the highest concentrations of such wildlife on the continent. Given the name of the park and the house you’re staying in, you’ll expect to see elephant, but can also view black rhino, lion, hyena, buffalo and more. Flightless dung beetles are abundant too.

Night game drives, walking tours, hiking trails and elephant back safaris are also available. Other ways to explore the area include horseback and helicopter, vastly different modes of transport that will each give you a unique perspective. The helicopter can fly you to the beach and to other game reserves in the area if you like. And how about a canoe ride along the Sundays River?

So much more than a house

There are two swimming pools at The Elephant House, one reserved for those staying in the cottages (all of which overlook it), the other for guests in the main house. That seems to be the way it works anyway, although you’re unlikely to be frogmarched out of either pool whichever type of accommodation you’re staying in.

Dinner is served either inside or outside as you prefer. What’s on your plate will be expertly cooked by chefs using fresh local ingredients wherever possible. Meals can be accompanied with a glass of Cape wine or another type of sundowner while enjoying music and dance performed by local artists as the sun sets.

A children’s club room is a magnet for younger guests (and their grown-ups who want to keep an eye on what they’re getting up to). Which will likely be playing games, watching the TV or using the laptop.

A visit to the spa is bound to be on the itinerary of anyone who wants to fully enter relaxation mode. An in-house masseur provides treatments in her private room and boma from October to May, Mondays to Fridays.