Naizna Elephant Park is located near the resort town of Plettenberg Bay on Garden Route (Garden Road). Located 10 km east of the town, the Elephant Park is a rehabilitation centre for orphaned elephants. The park is considered South Africa's second largest tourist attraction with over 90,000 visitors per year.
The surrounding indigenous forests of Naizna were once home to herds of elephants that roamed freely in their natural habitat. Due to human intervention over the years, the elephant population has dwindled from 500 to three elephants believed to have remained living in the surrounding area.
Elephant Park was established in 1994 to restore the elephant population in the Naizna forests as a sanctuary for young orphaned elephants. The park offers its guests the unique opportunity to walk alongside the elephant herd. Visitors can observe the life of the elephants at close range. You can see them sleeping, playing and socialising with each other.
The park offers daily excursions where visitors can learn a little more about the elephants, feed them and take photos with them. Such activities take place every hour during the day. It is also possible to stay overnight in the Elephant Lodge's spacious and luxurious rooms overlooking the elephants' sleeping quarters, and take an elephant ride at sunset and sunrise. However, for such a 'safari', an application must be made in advance.
There is a restaurant within the park where you can have breakfast, lunch or a cup of flavoured tea. There is also a souvenir shop offering a wide range of merchandise.
