SILVER SERVICE SAFARI
Silver Service Safari - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Silver Service Safari | |||||
| By: Beatrice Spence, Issue 47 – Winter 11 | |||||
| (Safari Kwandwe Private Game Reserve , South Africa) | |||||
| AT FIRST LESS THAN ENTHUSIASTIC, IT DIDN’T TAKE BEATRICE SPENCE LONG TO BECOME TOTALLY ADDICTED TO THE GAME DRIVES AT KWANDWE PRIVATE GAME RESERVE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S EASTERN CAPE. Going on safari had never been on the top of my list of yet-to-do travel experiences, however now I would say it is something everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime. We were planning a surfing trip to South Africa, but were urged by many friends to go on safari while we were there. From our main location of Cape Town, it was possible to test the safari waters for just three days. We flew by small plane from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth (a one-hour flight) and transferred by car to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve. A two-hour trip, our driver’s enthusiasm for the landscape and the game we would see was contagious, and we were quickly straining to spot the zebras he pointed out en route. Kwandwe Private Game Reserve was opened with philanthropic intentions by an American to increase wealth and employment in one of the poorest provinces, the Eastern Cape, in South Africa, and it now has a reputation as one of the top game reserves in this area. There is now an entire community on the reserve, with childcare and a craft workshop that produces goods that are sold at the entrance shop, including beautiful handmade dolls and jewellery, which we purchased as gifts for friends. A choice of accommodation is offered at two lodges, and also two houses for private groups. We stayed at the Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge, which as the name suggests, is situated along a river with spectacular views of the landscape from most areas of the lodge. Great Fish River Lodge accommodates a maximum of 12 guests, with the main building housing a welcoming lounge with a drinks bar and a large circular wood fire that on the other side opens on to an intimate dining room, with a private library at the end of the house with games, books, and internet available. With its high concave thatched roof, stone walls, leather chesterfields and crystal drinks trays it has the ambience of an old colonial hunting lodge. On arrival we were greeted by the lodge managers and led through to a verandah where lunch was being served at nestles of tables, set with beautiful silver and linen. All guests are housed in separate private suites, spread out around the main building, again along the river. After lunch, we were shown our digs for the next three nights, a large spacious studio room with French doors onto a wooden deck with lounge chairs and a plunge pool. Before leaving us to freshen up, our guide mentioned that an important security feature of the building was to never walk between the main house and your room unescorted at night in case we encountered wildlife, such as a lion! The first safari drive was to be held at 4pm sharp, after afternoon tea. Over tea we were introduced to the English couple with whom we would be sharing the open jeep on our drives and who were experienced safariers. We were also informed that the morning drives went out at 5am and guests were expected to meet at 4:45am sharp. Rangers would come down to quarters to haul people out of bed who were tardy. My look of disbelief at this news was met by slightly disapproving frowns all round. By the end of the three days I had become well and truly addicted to the drives and was the first up in the jeep in the mornings, rain, hail or shine. Indeed over the next few days we experienced all weather conditions, only retreating back to the lodge when mist made it impossible to see past your hand. South Africa has seven different habitat types – broad ecological life zones with distinct environmental conditions and related sets of plant and animal life. Considered a conservation victory, Kwandwe is home to all of these seven habitat types and the landscape varied from flat, arid, cacti to dense, mountainous scrub. As we headed out on the drives in the rain, looking onto never-ending plains, it seemed an impossible ask that any kind of creature would be spotted, but the rangers and spotters astonished us every time, with Andy our spotter, quite miraculously locating a six centimetre chameleon in a bush 20 metres back from the road, as we drove back to the lodge at night. Apparently, only a handful of times in the last ten years had these been spotted, and only by Andy (who had grown up on the reserve) and his father. The staff at Kwandwe is from all over Africa. Our young ranger, Ryan, came from Zimbabwe where his family had been dispossessed of the land they had farmed for the last thirty years. Nonetheless, he feels he has fallen on his feet at Kwandwe and his excellent knowledge, people skills and passion for the landscape and animals ensured that the drives were fascinating and informative for both experienced and novice safariers. One evening upon our return from a game drive, we were treated to a braai (a traditional South African barbeque) and had the opportunity to taste some of the animals that we had been looking at during the drives: Kudu, ostrich, Guinea fowl etcetera. When weather permits, dinners out on the reserve are organised under the stars. Over our three-day visit we saw all of the big five game including a lioness and her five cubs. The lioness was bored by our jeep and sleepily watched her five inquisitive cubs rolling over each other as they snuck up to the car to inspect it. Leopards were spotted sleeping under trees, and lions and lionesses creeping out from under bushes, blood still dripping from their jaws after they had feasted on their prey. We watched as a herd of elephants with young cubs thundered across the plains, heading into the mountains to seek shelter from the rain. The excitement and wonder of seeing these beautiful animals in their natural habitat put rest to any other thoughts outside the moment being experienced right then and there. Three days seemed like months away from our everyday lives. | |||||
| WHEN TO GO | |||||
| You can expect to see the big five all year round at Kwandwe. Summers (October to March) are hot and wet with high daytime temperatures sometimes soaring above 36°C. Winters (May to August) are dry and the days can sometimes be warm but it can get very, very cold and even on the warmer days the evenings and early mornings can be chilly. | |||||
| STAY | |||||
| KWANDWE PRIVATE GAME RESERVE | |||||
| Rates begin at ZAR3,800 (about A$527) per person, per night sharing in the Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge. Inclusions: Accommodation, three meals daily, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits and beers, teas and coffees, refreshments on game drives, laundry, scheduled safari activities, nature walks (one hour) accompanied by experienced armed trackers (subject to availability), emergency medical evacuation insurance, VAT and transfers to and from the airstrip. For bookings contact &Beyond at andbeyond.com | |||||
| GETTING THERE | |||||
| GETTING TO PORT ELIZABETH | |||||
| Qantas flies from Sydney to Port Elizabeth from A$1,152 one way or A$2,358 return (low season, between May and September). Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is in the malaria-free Eastern Cape near Grahamstown. The reserve lies approximately 65 kilometres from the coast and is close to the renowned Garden Route. Guests fly in to Port Elizabeth and then proceed to Kwandwe either by road or air transfer. | |||||
| By road: The distance from Port Elizabeth to Kwandwe is 160 kilometres and can be comfortably covered by road in an hour and 45 minutes. On arrival, guests will leave their vehicle at a dedicated car park at Heatherton Towers and will be transferred to the lodge by open safari vehicle. A road transfer can be arranged from Port Elizabeth to the lodge for between ZAR1,439 (about A$199) and ZAR1,918 (A$266) per vehicle depending on the number of people. | |||||
| By air: A flight from Port Elizabeth directly to the Kwandwe air strip takes approximately 30 minutes and are scheduled for the morning or early afternoon to arrive in time for the afternoon game drive. Luggage is generally limited to 20 kilograms per person. The flight is ZAR1,559 (about A$216) per person. | |||||
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