Kwandwe Private Game Reserve lies in the heart of South Africa’s malaria-free Eastern Cape near Grahamstown, and is a natural conclusion to a journey along the world-famous Garden Route. A victory for far-sighted conservation, 25 000 hectares (62 000 acres) of farmland in the Great Fish River region were restored and restocked with African wildlife. Today, thousands of animals including lion, black and white rhino, buffalo and elephant roam this diverse and fascinating reserve.

Kwandwe aptly means “Place of the Blue Crane” in Xhosa (South Africa’s highly endangered national bird) and is home to a population of these rare birds. It offers an exceptional safari experience in a region with a rich history and culture. The Great Fish River was a hotly contested border during the Frontier Wars of 1779 to 1878 between the Xhosa nation, Dutch farmers and the 1820 Settlers from England. Kwandwe’s reception building is a Frontier War-era fortified homestead, and the Reserve boasts its own intimate chapel.

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Kwandwe is a bio diversity ‘hotspot’ with six of South Africa’s seven biomes converging in this region of the Eastern Cape.

Herds of elephant and buffalo frequently drink and mud-bathe at waterholes, and cheetah and lion are regularly encountered in open habitats.

The home ranges of both black and white rhino are well known and these bulky herbivores are often seen, whilst hippo move between the Great Fish River and larger waterholes.

Springbok are the most abundant antelope, with good populations of greater kudu, oryx (gemsbok), red hartebeest and eland. Bushbuck and Cape grysbok keep to dense thickets. Family parties of suricate (meerkat) provide entertaining viewing.

The bush-clump savanna-thicket dominates on flat terrain and north-facing slopes. From June to August, the Reserve boasts a spectacular display of winter flowering aloes.

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Accommodation in Kwandwe

The perfect place for a private safari. Exquisite guest areas overlook spekboom valleys with a backdrop of the distant cliff-faces of ecca shale. Spectacular views of the wild yet gentle African landscape.

• Great Fish River Lodge
• Kwandwe Ecca Lodge
• Uplands Homestead