Set within the picturesque Alexandria Forest in the Woody Cape Section of Addo Elephant National Park, a new, exclusive accommodation offering is set to be a hit with birders, those who enjoy escaping to a private destination under a canopy of trees and others who just wish to “get away from it all”. Prospective visitors with a special interest in botany, trees, ferns and mushrooms will also delight in using this accommodation as their base from where to explore the forest.
Listen for the haunting calls of the rare tree dassie by night and awake to a chorus of birds in flitting through the forest canopy. Then in the early morning take a birders walk through the forest which has an abundance of bird species in an environment similar to the Knysna Forests.
The birds are packed into the dense forest and range from ground feeders to raptors.
The two Langebos Huts are booked “simultaneously”, meaning visitors have the entire camp to themselves – even if they don’t book the second hut. Each hut sleeps up to four people and is cleverly laid out with an open plan lounge (with a sliding door leading onto a wooden deck) and fully-equipped kitchen. There are two bedrooms, with the main bedroom with double bed also leading onto the deck through a sliding door, while the second bedroom offers two single beds. Views from the lounge and main bedroom onto the magical forest are idyllic. A short wooden walkway leads from the kitchen to an adjoining, spacious bathroom with toilet, shower and sink.
A central braai area provides the perfect setting for a good old South African braai at any time of day or night.
The Woody Cape section of Addo Elephant National Park is about one-and-a-half hours outside of Port Elizabeth. It is unique in that it encompasses three distinctly different environments – high forests, desert-like dunes and cliffs crumbling into the sea and spectacular beaches.
Bird life is prolific with about 300 species recorded. The forest is home to the spectacular Knysna turaco and charismatic trumpeter hornbill. Forest weavers also hang delightful nests in forest clearings.
The conservation status of Alexandria Forest is extremely high, because most of it has been lost to planted pastures and only five percent is formally conserved. It is also home to the nocturnal tree hyrax (tree dassie) – listen out for its wailing cries at night. Signs of leopard and brown hyena have been recorded and, on occasion, sighted by hikers and locals, but these shy animals are seldom seen. Bushbuck, bushpig, common duiker, grysbok and blue duiker frequent the forest.
Activities to do in and around Langebos: Great bird watching opportunities, not only in the forest, but the entire Woody Cape area. AENP offers the two-day, 32km Alexandria Hiking Trail, as well as the shorter 7km Tree Dassie Trail, both departing from the Woody Cape Reception office. Shorter walking trails also lead off from around the huts. Guests to the area can also spend some time along the coast, accessing the beach from the nearby Woody Cape Backpackers.
The Alexandria dune field is considered to be the best example in South Africa of bare coastal dune field, often referred to as a dune sea. It offers a unique and extraordinary wilderness resource which only a few other landscapes in South Africa provide. It is the largest and least degraded coastal dune field in the southern hemisphere. The dune field imparts a unique experience of solitude, infinity and spatial freedom.
The Alexandria dune field has a surface area of about 15 800ha, stretching over 80km in length, with a width of up to 5km in places. The dune system is extremely dynamic with sand being continually blown in, building up and traversing inland. Some 375 000 cubic tons of sand is deposited into the dune fields each year.
Costs: The special introductory offer until 31 October 2015 is R560 for the first two people. Thereafter it is R150 per additional adult and R75 per child under the age of 12. Children under two stay free of charge.
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- South African Conquers Rats on the World Stage - 30 October 2026
- Old JPG on a Memory Stick? Vectorization Studio in Observatory Redraws Faded and Low-Resolution Logos by Hand - 30 October 2026
- ReAutomated Adds Robot Palletising and Case Packing Cells to Existing South African Packing Lines Without Stripping Out the Conveyors - 30 October 2026
- From a 5 KM Sprint to an Ultra: Punisher Sets Out Its Magaliesberg Obstacle Race Formats for First Timers, Teams and Fitness Clubs - 30 October 2026
- Rotary or Dual Action? Germiston’s Polisher Lists Its Machines, Buffs and Compounds for Car Paint and Metal Finishing - 30 October 2026
