Elephant Sanctuary Plettenberg Bay

This is the most hands-on elephant experience on the Garden Route, and the operator is direct about that. The shorter tour, about an hour, opens with a guided introduction in the forest and a walk through the sanctuary and the night shelters, then has guests walking hand-in-trunk with the elephants. The longer brush-down runs about ninety minutes twice a day and adds brushing the animals. Two keeper programmes, half day and full day, put a guest alongside a guide for a working day with the herd, the full day on weekdays only. It sits on Animal Alley at The Crags, off the N2 near Natures Valley, about sixteen kilometres from Plettenberg Bay and next door to the other wildlife attractions in that cluster. Elephant back rides are not offered.