Knysna Elephant Park

The Knysna Elephant Park has a bit of history to it… it was actually the first place in South Africa to take in orphaned African elephants when it opened back in 1994.

What makes it different from a typical safari experience is that it’s not about game drives or spotting animals in the distance. You’re actually walking alongside elephants, sometimes close enough to touch them if the handlers say it’s alright. It’s a strange feeling at first, these massive animals just calmly going about their day while you’re right there.

You get a real sense of their personalities, how gentle they can be despite their size.

The park is in Knysna, along the Garden Route, so it’s quite accessible if you’re doing that coastal drive between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. It’s become a proper home for elephants that wouldn’t have survived on their own; some were orphaned, others rescued from culling operations or difficult situations.

Day Rates at Knysna Elephant Park (Bookings required)

Photo opportunities (available in the Curio shop)

Option	Rate
High-Res Digital Photos on USB	R285
A5 Photo Print	R215 per person
A6 Print in Photocard	R495 per person
A5 Print in Photocard	R305 per person
A6 Photocard & USB Combo	R345 per person

Volunteering at Knysna Elephant Park

Now, if you’ve got more than just a few hours and you’re keen to actually get involved, they run volunteer programmes through the African Elephant Research Unit. It’s not one of those pay-to-play things where you just take photos, you’re genuinely helping out.

The good thing is you don’t need fancy qualifications. Just a proper love for animals and a willingness to get dirty.

The work’s quite varied. Some days you’re prepping food for the elephants or putting together these musical enrichments they use to keep them stimulated. Other days it’s more hands-on conservation stuff, like, cleaning camps, working in the plant nursery, clearing alien vegetation.

They even have you helping with fundraising activities, making things like dung paper (yes, actual elephant dung paper – it’s surprisingly nice) and up-cycled crafts they sell. There’s an educational side too, helping with outreach programmes.

It’s the kind of experience that changes how you see things. Working that closely with elephants, day in and day out, you realize how intelligent they are, how much personality each one has.

For students studying natural sciences or doing research, it’s solid practical experience. But honestly, even if you’re not in that field, spending time there doing real conservation work – it stays with you.

If you’ve got the time and you’re serious about it, Volunteering at Knysna Elephant Park is definitely worth looking into.

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