Eastern Cape Safari
Only 90 minutes drive from Port Elizabeth, the malaria free lodges of the Eastern Cape are ideal for people who wish to combine a beach holiday or the ever-popular Cape Town and Garden Route with an unforgettable African safari wildlife experience.
The lodges offer a fully inclusive African safari including accommodation, all meals, and safari activities. These activities include opportunities for open vehicle game drives, night drives, guided bush walks (and some have boat cruises) in search of big game and to experience the wilderness.
The Eastern Cape is the ancestral land of the Xhosa people and birthplace of Nelson Mandela. Some of the reserves provide cultural interpretations where you can learn of the rich culture of the Xhosa people and other South African ethnic groups. Visits to historical sites portraying the rich heritage of the area are a highlight of any safari holiday to the Eastern Cape.
ADDO ELEPHANT PARK
The Addo Elephant National Park was established in 1931 to protect the last 11 wild elephants from extermination. Today more than 350 elephants roam through an area that is so diverse that no matter how many times you experience it, its magic will never fail to captivate you. On a good day, Addo Elephant National Park offers the greatest elephant spectacle on earth. The park also offers excellent viewing of black rhino, Cape buffalo and leopard, as well as a host of other large and small mammals and over 400 species of birds in the greater park area. The recently released pride of Kalahari lions is also often seen. At present the park attracts over 115,000 visitors per year, and the park has an expansion plan to expand the current 125,000 hectares to a 492,000 ha 'Greater Addo' park.
SHAMWARI GAME RESERVE
Founded in 1992, Shamwari Game Reserve covers 20000 hectres (49000 acres) in the malaria free, private game reserve situated in the Eastern Cape. It has received numerous international awards, including the World’s Leading Conserva-tion Company and Game Reserve for five consecutive years. It is situated in verdant bush along the Bushmans River, halfway between Port Elizabeth (45 minutes drive outside the city) and Grahamstown, forming a natural extension to the famous Garden Route.
Steeped in Settler history, and dating back to the time when a multitude of game roamed wild and free, the reserve boasts five eco-systems, thus enabling the support of many forms of plant, animal and bird life. There is great game viewing, of course, and Shamwari provides modern Land Rovers converted into open viewing. Each vehicle has a trained ranger who will increase your enjoyment with his knowledge of both the flora and fauna. The rangers are in 2-way communication with each other at all times, so on any day they know where the game is, and how to find the elusive animals such as the rare Black Rhino.
AMAKHALA GAME RESERVES
Some five generations ago English families settled in the Eastern Cape to farm sheep and cattle on the wild and often hostile frontier of the Zuurveld.Today their ancestors still live there, in historic and hospitable Frontier Country, re-creating a wildlife experience, which will capture your imagination, refresh your soul and conserve our natural heritage. Amakhala Game Reserve began in 1999 as a joint conservation venture and today has six independently owned lodges. All are owner managed by the descendants of the original families who arrived there with the British settlers of 1820. The lodges offer various styles of accom-modation, which include two gracious colonial homesteads, two classic bush lodges, an historic inn, a Settler farmhouse and an authentic ox-wagon camp.
We offer a selection of excellent safari options to suit all tastes and budgets and having stayed at the lodges we can ensure you get the right option to suit your requirements.