Happy Jackal

Amazing establishment. Just been sold and they are busy with renovations, without bothering anyone. We will most definitely go back, as we are also excited with them for the changes. Lovely Manageress, Ranger and staff. Breakfast was absolutely delicious with home baked bread daily. The whole ambience from when you meet management right to when you leave, is just something else! Magnificent! Looking forward to our next stay.

Super nice! The rooms were very clean. Everything was more than fine! Breakfast was the best we had! The owners are super friendly and kind! Definitely recommend this stay! The woman's kindness gave me goosebumps!

My name is Sally, I came to your lovely hotel with my husband Andy, my sister in law Ygerne and Clive my brother in law, a at the end of March. We were given beautiful rooms upstairs,. Suzette was very welcoming as was the fantastic breakfast. Tim took us into Addo, I cannot tell you how fabulous the trip was, I really wanted to get close to elephants. We did get very close. I have to say that was the best day of my life. Thank you so much.

Our recent stay at the Happy Jackal was just amazing! Suzette and her team made us feel very welcome after a traumatic journey from the UK! Even though we missed our first evening with them due to missed flights and baggage handling issues, we arrived at 9am the following morning - Suzette still made us a lovely breakfast with hot, fresh bread, which was very well received - after travelling for more than 30 hours! Nothing was too much trouble during our 5 night stay and they made us feel very welcome, hosting a braai (bbq) for us and other guests, making bookings at local restaurants, as well as liaising with other excursion companies on our behalf. Tim took us on our own private safari into the Addo Elephant Park which is very close by, and was very informative and knowledgeable about the animals, birds and fauna within the park, even so far as explaining the behaviour and antics of individual family groups of elephants, which was amazing. Hubby loved fishing from their jetty on the Sundays River, and was watched over by monkeys every time from the nearby Mackay Bridge! They made every guest feel special and it was lovely to see their joy and enthusiasm in everything they did.

I feel beholden to future guests to alert folk to exactly what they are getting. This is advertised as luxury and in SA terms reasonably costly. We were there to celebrate 36 years together. It is clear from the website that there is no catering on the premises in the evening - fair enough. The guest house made arrangements for us to eat next door - the elephants footprint. We duly departed, equipped with a light from the Happy Jackal, to be told no the kitchen was not open at the elephants footprint. There is absolutely nowhere else to eat, no delivery service, no reliable taxi. I had a drink so would not drive. The response to our situation at the Happy Jackal was underwhelming - no offer to prepare sandwiches in their kitchen which let us not forget serves breakfast. If I had said I had arranged something and it failed I would act to remedy not shrug my shoulders, really very poor! I am British I do not complain but I do warn so be warned. I finally summoned the "gumption" to ask for a bottle of wine - for which I was billed 90R. After meal of packet of crisps had bath. Plug would not open to let water out - we reported this at breakfast by the time we left the next morning still not fixed and starting to smell. No milk in the rooms. To be clear the hosts were lovely, the property beautiful and the room excellent but the attention to detail woeful. When traveling to a foreign country and shunning hotels for private guesthouses you need to be confident and I truly hope this feedback is acted on and maybe reassurance provided on the website. Until then fellow traveller book elsewhere but seek out Captain Beau - worry not about finding the park if you stay a little out it is very easy.

Suzette, Tim and the whole team are amazing! The three days at Happy Jackal were not enough to experience all, that Suzette and Tim could tell about the area and especially the elephants in Addo. We knew the Happy Jackal already and came back for the fourth time and are always surprised how nice and clean they keep it over the last ten years. Suzette, we love your wonderful composed dinners as well as the freshly baked warm bread after Peters recipe. To come to the breakfast room and to smell the fragrance of fresh bread and coffee...its fantastic! How much better could a day begin?! Thank you for all and be sure, it wasn't our last stay with you!

Our family stayed 1 night at the Happy Jackal while visiting Addo National Park. Our rooms were well appointed and more than comfortable. The hosts were amazing, hosted us for dinner at a local restaurant and ensured our short stay was coordinated, comfortable and memorable. The breakfast was the best we had in our 3 week vacation.

Very nice stay with a very friendly and helpful host. Beautiful view and the rooms were very clean. The beds were very good and the breakfast was complete and delicious! Would totally recommend it! Super close to the addo elephant park so perfect location.

We stayed at the happy jackal for our safari around Addo, as we were hesitant to go to a smaller and private game reserve as some of them are cruelly small for the animals to live. Addo is HUGE and our ranger who drove us round (in the best game viewer to the park [see the photo!]), was extremely knowledgeable and helpful, even knew the approximate age of the animals he showed us! He made every effort for us to see all the animals, which seeing them in the wild like this is truly nothing a private game reserve can match if you ask me. You get a lovely and filling lunch (and the amazing breakfast keeps you going until then)! The accommodation is beautiful, after doing the garden route and staying in over 6 air bnbs.. happy jackal was the first time we felt like we were in Africa! All our previous accommodation was beautiful but so modern it was like sitting at home (England for us)! You can sit outside your room at the guesthouse and watch a beautiful sunset. There’s a shop near by (drive only) where we grabbed some beers and dinner and sat with the sunset. If you go perhaps stop off at the shop en route. It’s very easy to find as just off a main road when you come into addo area. Google maps took us right there. Not relevant to happy jackal but if your a tourist please always check your map isn’t taking you through a township to your destination, they can be dangerous. The best part of our trip by far and it has been jam packed. Thank you so much to the hosts for being so helpful too, and so nice. The game viewer used to go round addo is a real special addition to this guesthouse. Many others are in enclosed vehicles and cars and you can’t see as much. If you truly want an African experience with a top safari, go here.