On the west side of the Hartbeespoort Dam tunnel, The Elephant Sanctuary is the perfect place to get up close to Africa’s most magnificent animal.
The Sanctuary is surrounded by natural indigenous bush and is home to Impala, Klipspringer, Baboons, Porcupine, Caracal, Leopard, a host of other small mammals, 350 bird species and, of course, five magnificent African Elephants.
The Elephant Sanctuary is a “half-way house” for several young African Elephants that have been kept in captivity and so cannot look after themselves in the wild. The sanctuary provides a reserve area for them where they can still roam like wild elephants, but at the same time be taken care of until they have adjusted enough to be released.
These young friendly elephants are tame, gentle and used to a great deal of interaction with humans. Visitors to the sanctuary can walk with the elephants or even ride them, and these interactions fund the sanctuary.