ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
6-Day Kariega & Addo Safari

South Africa - Fly-in safari

6-Day Kariega & Addo Safari

Duration
6 days
Countries
South Africa
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 5,980

The journey

Updated on 23 August 2026

The Eastern Cape's frontier country packs a full safari into an easy malaria-free week, and this route pairs its two most atmospheric addresses. Kariega's Settlers Drift opens the trip in the reserve's remote western section, nine tented suites on a ridge above the Bushmans River. The tents are canvas only in name, glass fronts, deep baths, wood fires, and the activities move between land and water: Big Five drives through euphorbia valleys in the morning, a river cruise with fish eagles overhead in the golden hour. Then the road runs an hour west to Addo Elephant National Park and back a century in style. Gorah Elephant Camp holds the only private concession inside the park, eleven colonial tents around an 1856 manor house, and its waterhole sits directly on the elephant highways: the park protects some six hundred, and a patient afternoon on the deck may bring fifty of them past the teacups. Fly in and out of Gqeberha, under two hours from Johannesburg or Cape Town. Winter is dry, mild and game-rich; summer greens the valleys and fills the river. Families book this one for good reason.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Gqeberha to the Bushmans River

An easy 75 minute road transfer from Gqeberha's airport ends on a ridge in Kariega's western wilderness, where Settlers Drift's tents look down the Bushmans River valley. Lunch on the deck, then the first game drive winds through euphorbia and spekboom, kudu bulls posing on the slopes and elephant somewhere below, announced by breaking branches.

Stay 2

Land and Water

The morning drive works Kariega's Big Five circuit, lion on the high grassland, white rhino in the valleys, with the reserve's low vehicle numbers keeping every sighting private. After lunch and a siesta, the boat takes over: a Bushmans River cruise through the golden hour, fish eagles overhead and sundowners poured midstream.

Stay 3

West to the Elephants

One more dawn drive at Kariega, then an hour's road west delivers you through Addo's gates to Gorah, where the 1856 manor house presides over its waterhole like a stationmaster. Afternoon tea on the deck tends to be interrupted, politely, by elephants. The evening drive samples the park's southern loops as the light goes long.

Stay 4

The Herds of Addo

A full Addo day: the morning drive moves among breeding herds with calves stumbling at their mothers' heels, and stops for the park's smaller celebrities, the flightless dung beetles rolling their cargo down the road with right of way. Lunch and the waterhole's afternoon programme at camp, then a spotlit night drive for hyena and porcupine.

Stay 5

Lions, Hides and High Tea

Addo's lions, reintroduced from the Kalahari line, hold the morning's attention along with buffalo and, with luck, a black rhino at the thicket edge. The middle of the day belongs to Gorah's veranda, high tea running its full colonial ceremony while the waterhole queue shuffles past. The last drive ends with sundowners on the plain.

Stay 6

Addo to Gqeberha

Breakfast with the waterhole's early shift, elephants first as always, then a 45 minute transfer returns you to Gqeberha for onward flights to Johannesburg or Cape Town. Six malaria-free days, two rivers, one manor house, and more elephants at close range than most itineraries three times the price can promise.

Safari highlights

  • Two nights at Settlers Drift on the Bushmans River
  • Three nights at Gorah, the only camp inside Addo
  • Addo's six hundred elephants at the camp waterhole
  • Big Five drives and river cruises
  • Entirely malaria-free
  • Easy access through Gqeberha, no light aircraft

What is included

Included

  • 5 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Road transfers Gqeberha-Kariega, Kariega-Gorah and Gorah-Gqeberha
  • All meals at both camps
  • Local drinks at Settlers Drift
  • Twice-daily game drives and a Bushmans River cruise
  • Kariega conservation levies and Addo park fees
  • Government taxes and VAT
  • Emergency medical evacuation cover

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Domestic flights to Gqeberha, quoted separately
  • Visas and entry permits
  • Comprehensive travel and medical insurance
  • Drinks at Gorah beyond meal service
  • Gratuities for guides, drivers and camp staff
  • Items of a personal nature and telephone calls

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 6-day Kariega and Addo safari cost?

From USD 5,980 per person sharing, rising to about USD 6,480 in peak season. That covers five nights at Settlers Drift and Gorah Elephant Camp, all meals, game drives, the river cruise, park and conservation fees and every road transfer from and to Gqeberha. International flights and the domestic hop into Gqeberha are excluded and quoted separately.

Is the Eastern Cape malaria-free?

Yes, completely, in every month of the year. Neither Kariega nor Addo requires any malaria prophylaxis, which makes this route one of the safest Big Five choices for young children, pregnant travellers and anyone avoiding the medication. The absence of light-aircraft legs also means no luggage limits and no small-plane nerves.

What is Settlers Drift like?

A tented lodge in the loosest sense: nine stone-and-canvas suites on a ridge in Kariega's remote western section, with glass frontage over the Bushmans River, freestanding baths and wood-burning stoves for the winter. Game drives cover lion, elephant, rhino and buffalo in the euphorbia valleys, and the boat cruise at dusk, fish eagles calling down the river, is the lodge's signature hour.

How many elephants will we actually see at Addo?

Addo protects roughly six hundred elephants in its main game area, one of the densest populations on earth, and Gorah's private waterhole sits on their daily routes. On a normal day the deck logs several family herds; on a dry-season afternoon fifty animals at once is not unusual. The park also carries lion, buffalo, black rhino, spotted hyena and the endemic flightless dung beetle.

How do you get there?

Fly to Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, about 1 hour 40 minutes from Johannesburg or 1 hour 10 from Cape Town. Kariega's Settlers Drift is then about 75 minutes by road, the inter-camp transfer to Gorah about an hour, and the final run back to the airport 45 minutes. All road legs are included and the loop never doubles back.

When is the best time for the Eastern Cape?

May to September is dry and mild with animals concentrated at water, ideal for the waterhole theatre at Gorah; mornings need fleeces. October to April is green and warm, with newborn game from November and the river at its best for cruising. The malaria-free status removes the seasonal health calculation entirely, so school holidays work as well as shoulder months.