The Elephant Sanctuary
Meet and Interact with Rescued Elephants!
The Elephant Sanctuary provides a safe-haven for
elephants and offers a platform for guest education and interaction.
We offer guest and elephant driven programs where the most important part of our operation is happy elephants and satisfied guests. Our programs offer one-of-a-kind elephant interaction and are unique to the Elephant Sanctuary.
All our elephants are rescued African elephants and we have gained their trust through our unique reward based training. We believe in forming bonds between humans and elephants and all our elephants are exercised and stimulated daily which provides a firm foundation for trust.
Elephants are highly intelligent and delightful and you will discover a different character, personality and temperament within each one. We are a family orientated operation catering for the young and old. Our focus is on education through interaction, so you will not only learn a lot about elephants, but also get to touch, feel, feed, walk trunk-in-hand and even ride these magnificent animals.
We have three operations: one in The Crags, near Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route and one at the Hartbeespoort Dam, only an hour's drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria, and one in Hazyview 10 mins from the Kruger Park
Example experiences Plettenberg Bay
The one hour Trunk-in-Hand program
An experienced guide will introduce you to the elephants, and you will learn about their backgrounds, behaviours, characters and more while being able to touch, feel, feed, interact and walk trunk-in-hand with the elephants. Suitable for all ages.
The program lasts approximately one hour and the rate is R125,- for children (3-12yrs) and R250,- for adults.
Elephant-back Ride
This includes the full Trunk-in-Hand program followed up by an approximately 15 minute ride - a privilege historically reserved for kings! It is a truly amazing experience to ride these magnificent animals. Long pants and closed shoes are recommended.
The rates are R295,- for children (8-12yrs) and R595,- for adults. Please note children have to be a minimum of 8 years old in order to ride.
Elephant Brush Downs
This is a very special program - you take part in the morning grooming of the elephants. Afterwards you join the training- and stimulation program the handlers do with the elephants every day. All this is followed up by the Trunk-in-Hand program.
The duration is approximately 75 minutes and the rates are R150,- for children (3-12yrs) and R325,- for adults. Booking essential.
Sundowner Elephant Experience
This program includes all the other elephant educational programs for the full Elephant Experience: The Trunk-in-Hand, the Elephant Back Riding & then finishing the program off helping to groom the elephants and getting them ready for bedding down for the night with the Brushdown program.
The duration for the Sundowner Elephant Experience is approximately 1½ hours and the rate is R320-00,- for children (8-14yrs) and R670-00,- for adults. Booking essential. Children under the age of 8 can participate in this program except for the elephant back ride. The rate for children under 8 is R150-00
BEST OF THE CRAGS – DAY PACKAGE
Nestling in the foothills of the OuTeniqua Mountains, The Crags is situated just outside Plettenberg Bay, and has become a hub for tourists wanting to experience environmentally sensitive activities. This educational day package offers the best of what The Crags has to offer.
Get off to an early start at 7.30am and walk with the Cheetahs of Tenikwa through indigneous forest and Cape Floral Fynbos.
Join a guided safari through the world's first multi-species free-roaming primate sanctuary at Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary.
Thereafter work up an appetite as you wander through the world's largest free-flight aviary at Birds of Eden.
Luncheon under the vines at The Crags very own Vineyard, Bramon Wine Estate.
End off the day with the Elephant experience, as you join them for an Elephant Brushdown at The Crags Elephant Sanctuary.
Duration : Day Trip
Price : R820 per person
