Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is located in the beautiful and historically rich Eastern Cape.  Kwandwe means “Place of the Blue Crane” in Xhosa, and is home to a population of these majestic endangered birds. The Reserve sponsors the Blue Crane Initiative, assisting survival of the species. The Game Lodge is surrounded by 16000 hectares of exclusive, malaria-free wilderness. Overlooking the wide and winding Great Fish River, the camp is masterfully contoured to blend with the magnificent landscape. Stylish settler cuisine can be served on guests’ private observation decks, or enjoyed under the stars in the fire-lit boma. Theatrical bush dinners are hosted by friendly and hospitable staff who are on hand to ensure your every comfort. Game drives are available twice-daily in open Landrovers, guided nature walks, bush sundowners, dinners on the banks of the Great Fish River and picnics on the Reserve are unforgettable. Guided river-walking and hiking in the reserve is a special experience, delivering an intimate acquaintance with the flora and fauna of the reserve. The main lodge at Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is set along the lush banks of the Great Fish River which are studded with euphorbia and aloes, red-leaved rock fig, sneezewood and Karoo Boerbean trees. Uplands Homestead: This gracious homestead offers an alternative experience at Kwandwe Private Game Reserve. Available only for the sole use of a group or family of up to six people, it is a restored 1905 farmhouse featuring three spacious bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, and private balconies. Uplands Homestead is situated in a remote and tranquil valley festooned with hundreds of aloes and ringed by beautiful, undulating hills. It is the perfect place for a private safari, with a romantic, Out of Africa farmhouse ambience. Kwandwe Private Game Reserve also boasts its own chapel, in a renovated stable on the Reserve. It is a stylish, intimate and unusual venue for couples wishing to be married in the heart of Big Five wilderness. Facilities are ideal for small conferences and exclusive business meetings and intimate weddings and family functions.

(Click on the photo for an expanded view...)

Retiring to your luxury suite - one of nine suites - you will find a tranquil haven. Swirling ceiling fans and air-conditioning provide pleasant temperatures in the rooms, and the en suite bathroom with bath and indoor and outdoor shower features matchless views over the wild yet gentle landscape. Floor-to-ceiling doors fold back to reveal uninterrupted wilderness vistas. Each suite also features a spacious thatched deck, private plunge pool with river deck terrace.

Ecca Lodge
Six suites of inventive architecture feature wood-panelling interspersed with mesh-covered Stone gabion walls, and pagoda-style corrugated iron roofs. The suites are extremely spacious, with luxuriously proportioned living areas, bedrooms and bathrooms furnished in a style complementary to the main guest areas. Glass doors slide back leaving gauze doors to admit welcome cooling breezes and the fragrances of the bushveld. Wrap around wooden decks lead from the sitting rooms and bedrooms, and feature an outdoor shower with galvanized bath base and stone gabion wall. The original trees have been allowed to grow through the decks in line with our commitment to treading lightly on the earth. Tall clay pots cluster on the decks, planted with cacti and succulents indigenous to Kwandwe.

Uplands Homestead offers an alternative experience at Kwandwe Private Game Reserve. Ideal for a group of family of six people, it is a sensitively restored 1905 farmhouse featuring three bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, and private balconies.

Suites - No children
Uplands Homestead - 1 child and 1 infant (in cot)
There is also a full-size swimming pool and gazebo and Uplands Homestead has its own dedicated ranger, tracker and chef.

Rates Include:
Accommodation, three meals daily, teas and coffees, two game drives daily in open Landrovers, including refreshments. Nature walks (1 hour) accompanied by experienced armed trackers, subject to availability. Emergency Medical Evacuation insurance. Laundry, soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits and beers. 14% Vat.

Rates Exclude:
Telephone calls, curio shop purchases, transfers to and from the lodge, gratuities, champagne, cognacs, cellar wines, cigars and cigarettes. Bar account (including Personal bars).
1% Tourism levy charged per person rate per night.
Conservancy or park entrance fees (where applicable).

Twice-daily game-drives in open 4x4 safari vehicles, night drives, bush sundowners, dinners on the banks of the Great Fish River, picnics, guided river-walking/hiking, canoeing, nightlife at Kwandwe adventure.

CHILDREN – Special Interest Packages
Children are welcome guests at Kwandwe where rangers and trackers are specially trained to look after their needs. On arrival, all children will be presented with a special eco-guide for planet-managers containing a quiz, a learning guide and tips for spoor and animal identification. Rangers will help the children collect pods, feathers, bugs and leaves and teach them to identify different animal species. When complete, the child receives a certificate and graduates as a planet-manager!

Children are given aprons with specially designed pockets for collecting leaves and dung as well as bug-boxes for bug collection. Children will be taken on special “Pooh Walks” on which they are taught to identify droppings and spoor. Special fishing and frogging safaris, bark-rubbing expeditions, visits to the garage to tinker with the Landrovers, re-cycling of paper and helping the chef in the kitchen keep them well out of harms way.

Parents can rest assured their children will always be safe and well-cared for both on and off game-drives, that they’ll delight in a programme specially designed to give the parents a break and provide the entire family with a safari-experience they’ll never forget!

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