We booked Meerkat Magic last week via our B&B and the cost was R750 per person which equates to about £50. It is not cheap although to put that into perspective for a UK traveller it is cheaper than many premiership football games.
We are also spending 3 nights at Addo and whilst I probably could take time to find the meerkats what appeals about this tour is being able to watch the meerkats from close quarters as the sun rises. I am not sure that Addo would offer this.
I have also quickly compared the prices of Meerkat Magic to the Aquila game reserve for which I understand the animals are imported. Costs for a half day guided drive are R1830. Compared to that the cost for the meerkats seem far from being a "rip off"
As a percentage the recent price increase is high and from a marketing perspective it would have been better to have phased in over a couple of years (I don't know how long the old price was in place for).
I regularly read the SA forums and the most common threads seem to relate to fine dining and/or wine. It seems that the increase of R300 roughly equates to the price of a very good meal. Its a matter of choice but for me it is "simples"