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5 star review on TripAdvisor
Reviewed 28 January 2023
In planning for our trip to Port Elizabeth, I came upon Alan Tours. I had lots of questions and right from the get go, they were on their “A” game.
From booking and logistics, to pin pointing what I really wanted to achieve, they blew me away and I booked all my adventures through them.
First up was with Andrew and the “Big 7”. We travel quite a bit and track nature, so we know sometimes the nature isn’t there, but on this day…..the ocean and the park were alive!
Andrew was punctual and pleasant when he arrived to pick us up to the marina. We received an explanation from Captain Jake and we all headed to the boat. Within the first 15 to 20 minutes, Captain Jake stated he saw some bird activity and was going to head in their direction. As we neared the activity, the ocean was a boiled with action. Birds diving from the sky, dolphins above and below and whales all chasing and eating a school of anchovies! This lasted for 30 to 45 minutes and it was believed that we encountered 800 to 1,000 common dolphins & 3 to 5 whales; O M G! Then we were off to the see the penguins, but encountered sharks jumping in the air! They had to have been 7 to 9 feet long, so keep your eyes peeled, so you can see this spectacle. Upon arrival to the island, we saw tons of bottled nosed dolphins playing in the water and penguins! Captain Jake maneuvered us around while First Mate Purity shared valuable information about the penguins and their plights. After our time, the boat headed back, where Andrew took us to a delicious lunch! Super fresh calamari was on the menu and was soon consumed.
After lunch, we were off to Addo Elephant park, which did not disappoint.
Andrew continued to spot wildlife for us and share information and about these magnificent creatures and answered all our questions. We wound up seeing 5 out of the 7 which was way beyond our expectations (especially since it wasn’t whale season). Andrew drove us safely back to our hotel and bid us farewell. The “safely” part is due to the power outages and no traffic lights! Makes things a bit dodgy, but zero events to conclude our perfect night. The experience was way beyond our expectations and we cannot recommend it and Andrew enough!
