African Dawn Wildlife Sanctuary Review

What an awesome game drive we had today at the reopening of African Dawn. You see so much wildlife. Well done to the perseverance of the owner Percy Hickman to make this happen. So bring your picnic baskets and braai lunches and share the space with ground squirrels zigzagging across the lawns.

Here, sick animals are being rebuilt and threatened species preserved.
Partial petting zoo character. Very bumpy drive.
A must for ornithologists and bird lovers.

Was there after it burned there and all the staff was so friendly with us

Great variety of bird species amongst other animals. Good fun for the whole family with good spots for picnics and braaing

African Dawn is a great place to visit for the family, friendly bunnies, birds for days and animals aplenty. The road in is a little rough, but well worth it!

Absolutely beautiful place, you just have to visit them!!!

Highly recommended, young people are integrated into everyday life! There is delicious food and a wide selection of drinks in the restaurant inside. Great value for money! The zoo is very large and there are many animals to see!

We love it. Lots of birds of all descriptions and they all look happy and well cared for.

The facility is a good example of the integration of young people, animals and nature. The experience can no longer be taken from young people.
The animals look well cared for and you can go anywhere.
The branch from the N2 there was worth it.

Very nice and clean facility, keep up the good work.

Nice place for small kids, a lot of birds, lots of walking - wear practical shoes. Lovely day out.

What an amazing place. We thoroughly enjoyed our morning there!

So beautiful worth making the trip out into the valley. I saw birds I would never have seen and didn't know existed. Peaceful atmosphere, you can picnic there or eat at the restaurant. Staff very friendly and helpful. Dirt road good to travel on.

Gravel road is hard on a vehicle and need to be scraped

Situated very conveniently. Nice little drive out of Port Elizabeth. Great for a family day out. The little ones really enjoy it. Actually quiet alot to see and experance. Take the picnic basket with or something for the braai and enjoy the song of nature.

Lovely for a picnic out and lovely animals and birds. Also eat in available. Closes at 5 pm. The birds there are absolutely so amazing.

A really nice facility, well looked after animals and friendly staff. Just a bit off the road so you need to be a little patient on the dirt. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Quite big with lots to see certainly worth the trip.

An amazing way to soend the day.
The animals are well looked after and the cages are very clean.
Woul definitely recommend.

You Must visit ...very neat ...friendly lots to see

Birds birds and more birds. Very relaxing atmosphere ... but a steep walk of going to the cats.

We love it at African Dawn! It is always neat and clean. It is relaxing and one can braai or picnic. It is also well priced for the variety of animals one sees. Our 6 year old loves seeing the animals and running around there. Bathrooms aren't fancy and the restaurant offers a small range of eats but there is a shop which sells sweets, chocolates and cool drinks ect. We would recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for wild life and the protection of it.

This animal santuary has grown over the years. Wide range of bird life including small animals.

Very very well kept!!! Place actually shows the amount of hard work and great deal of efforts put in...people must visit such places to keep them going and show their support...

Beautiful birds & friendly staff. Great for children.
It is about 3kms of dirt road until you get to it - was a suprise for us. Also, this place is definitely not wheelchair friendly.

Animals and Birds very good.More needs to be done regarding the facilities to make it professional!

Fantastic experience! Everything in perfect condition. Bird lovers' paradise!

Nice facilities, great for kids. Animals are all well looked after and staff appear to be there because they want to be,definitely worth a visit.

Nice walk about for the kids. Close to the animals etc. However many enclosures have quite a few species of birds... But no information available. There might be a bit of info for 1 of the 30 different birds. We ended up taking fotos and sending it to my father-in-law to tell us what we were looking at

Very friendly staff and animals are in great condition.

Beautiful scenery, fantasitic animals and birds. The Red Cats and Cheetah's is definitely highlights not to be missed. Some of the Marmosets are super tame and cute. Very well maintained facility.

Brilliant work being done. Beautiful experience, the birds are a treat and all enclosures neat and tidy. Only negative was the small restaurant, the girls did their best but no one had an idea how to make and serve food. Still a brilliant experience though only bring your own picnic basket.

Lovely place to visit if you are in the area. Definitely buy some birdseed from the shop as you go in as there are lots of chickens and Guineafowl walking the grounds.

Beautifully maintained enclosures which are large and spacious. Amazing variety of birds. A definite must see

We went to have a picnic in the grounds. It was a very nice area and, hahaha some of the animals came to look at the fence what the humans were up to. The facilities were very rustic. I couldn't help thinking that it would be more popular if it was upgraded. But it must be a costly concern, and more interest would help to improve it.

If you love animals then is the place to go. The food is also excellent. The people and volunteers working there takes good care of the animals. We have been there twice already. I just love all the animals.

Clean and very nice picnic places with braai areas. Lots to see. My 3 and 4year old enjoyed it a lot.

Really nice place to go for a day outing
Picnic spots for self catering and food available at a restaurant.

Averies are well kept and place in general has a really nice feel.

Really worth while , an amazing variety of bird's and animals. Fun for a family outing , with braai areas.

Beautiful to see and hear the beautiful birds and caracal. Animals are in very good condition. Awesome experience.

A most enjoyable outing. Food at restaurant good value.

This is a lovely animal sanctuary to spend the day doing very little. The entrance is through what looks like a cave, very atmospheric and organic. Lots of plants, trees, birds and a few animals to admire. The bird collection is especially exotic. I tend to have a good walk around to built up my 'daily steps', then lounge around outside reading or just chilling out. There is a cafe on site but I never saw much food there, mostly drinks so its best to bring a packed lunch or a picnic if you plan a long visit.

Tourist Trap

On our way to Jeffrey's Bay we decided to stop by to learn about the birds and endangered wildlife they have for their breeding project.
Unfortunatly there was no readable information what so ever as all the signs were faded and the birds and other animals were locked up in disturbingly small cages.

Terrible to see so many animals locked up in tiny areas.

Beautifully maintained with so many interesting birds and animals. Would've liked some more identification/information on some animals. But overall quite a fascinating experience. I will visit again soon!

Lovely, well kept. Good place to take kids to as well.

Friendly staff. Huge selection of birds and other animals.

Nice sanctuary with many animals. The kids loved the parrot which is saying "hello".

Very nice place to visit. Only negative was the bad tiolets, hence 4 stars

Excellent place to visit. Please support the work they do as they provide a much needed place for animals to live out their days after humans have harmed them directly or indirectly.

Very family friendly and quick to go around. Took us about 1.5 hours in total. Take your sun cream and a hat as it gets quite hot. Although there are lots of big trees for shade.

They provide drinks and snacks also if you forget. Nothing overly healthy but snacks all the same.

Great place for a family outing or a date. You can look at all the different species of Birds present at the sanctuary as well as a few leopards and wild cats. They do have braai facilities but I feel like they can improve them a bit. Really enjoyed the visit.

Support them
It is well kept , friendly and an ideal place to take children for a day.
I see negative comments about the food on offer. It is not a restaurant. And you don't go there for the food !

Great place for a day out, especially for children.

Beautiful place with a lack of funds! All rescue animals! Birds, tigers, monkeys etc.

Great place to visit for a few hours! Chickens and Peacocks roam freely with their chicks, and you can feed them (R5 for a small cup of food - there are a lot of them and they're always hungry - kids love it!).

Animals are well looked after and the facility as well. They accommodate volunteers if that's of interest. There was a parrot that was able to say my daughter's name after a few repeats which was absolutely crazy! Had to "bribe" him with clean water from my water bottle though...

We love going there. The grandchildren love feeding the animals and feeling free. The people who work there are doing outstanding work.

The work these guys do, is unbelievably special !!! The care these animals get, is awesome