Kwandwe Private Game Reserve
Sometimes you need a stiff drink after getting really close to the King of the Beasts, admits Jim Freeman after one of his many trips to the wilds of the Eastern Cape.
You might think you know lions but, till a male in his prime has stopped five metres away, looked you in the eyes and GLARED, you know nothing about them. It does not matter that you are sitting high up on a game-viewing vehicle, you just know he could hop up there in an instant and drag you off into the bush for breakfast or dinner.
“Look at the size of those paws!” whispered our guide, Courtney Steyn. It was at that stage, with the lion still eyeing us out and his brother wandering ever closer, that I became aware that my beloved girlfriend – who was sitting on the side of the vehicle closest to the two big cats – was trying to crawl into my armpit.
Later, back at Great Fish River Lodge and fortified with a stiff gin, she said it was easy to see why the lion was known as the king of the beasts. “You do not know how big … how frightening … they are until you have seen them up close.”
My lady, let me tell you, grew up on a farm in Zimbabwe and is no stranger to the bush. However, she has since repeatedly stressed that our recent visit to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve (www.kwandwe.com) in the Eastern Cape was the best wildlife experience of her life.
Place of the Blue Crane
The name Kwandwe translates from isiXhosa to “place of the blue crane” and the reserve is a noted breeding place for this South African endangered national bird. The history of Kwandwe started with a campfire conversation in Botswana between two American safari guests, Carl DeSantis and Erica Stewart, and their guide Angus Sholto-Douglas during the late 1990s.
The couple raised the subject of starting their own game reserve and Sholto-Douglas, who was born and raised on what is now Kwandwe, put together a proposal based on the purchase of adjoining farms, dropping fences and consolidating the properties before adding game.
Their collective dream was to return a piece of land in the almost forgotten Eastern Cape to its former glory and rehabilitate it with wildlife. A century of farming had taken its toll on the indigenous wildlife and a vigorous reintroduction campaign saw more than 7 000 animals released into the sanctuary of the Kwandwe borders.
Intensive conservation efforts and careful veld management means animal numbers are growing steadily. Given its size (it has grown to 22 000 hectares over two decades of existence), the reserve is capable of carrying significantly greater numbers of both herbivores and predators while still maintaining a healthy balance between the two.
The fact that the perennial Great Fish River runs through the reserve, giving it more than 30 km of river frontage, contributes enormously to its wildlife carrying capacity. The Great Fish River Lodge opened in October 2001, followed soon thereafter by a restored farmhouse known as Uplands Homestead.
River Lodge
The Kwandwe hospitality offering now comprises three exclusive-use private villas – Uplands, Melton Manor, and Fort House – as well as Great Fish River and Ecca Lodges. All the lodges and villas have their own dedicated staff including chefs and guides. River Lodge is a ‘child-free’ zone, no-one younger than 12, while the rest cater for all ages.
As to be expected from a five-star establishment, the rooms and suites at River Lodge offer all the luxuries and fripperies one could hope for, including a bath positioned before a picture window, outside shower, and private plunge pool. The highlight for me, however, was the evening meals and the dishes emanating from the kitchen were uniformly spectacular.
I must also doff my cap to our guide and tracker who made a formidable team. The former was knowledgeable and entertaining, while the latter impressed with the alacrity with which he vacated his tracker’s seat when the lions approached.
While Kwandwe is actively involved in regional conservation – as well as anti-poaching efforts that extend beyond its borders – it has not ignored social development. The Ubunye Foundation is a registered non-profit organisation that works with local communities, focusing on five key areas: leadership, self-help groups, health, education, and economic development.
Text & Images © Jim Freeman
