Shamwari Game Reserve, Eastern Cape Province, Shamwari Game Lodges

Game Viewing & Activities

At Shamwari you will experience, learn and enjoy the very best that African wildlife viewing can offer. There is great game viewing in modern Land Rovers converted into open viewing vehicles. 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.

Game viewing is carried out morning and evening on game drives, when you are driven in your open vehicle (which seats up to 6) over the rolling hills and valleys. If you have a particular species you would like to see, please mention it to your ranger; he will be happy to merge your plans into the group. In the early morning (if you are keen) you will leave before dawn, spending up to 3-4 hours spotting before returning to your lodge for a hearty breakfast. Blankets are supplied for those cold morning starts!

The heat of the day is usually spent in the shade, playing tennis, swimming, reading and, of course, eating a large buffet lunch. Between 4:00 - 5:00pm, you assemble again for the evening drive. As the animals emerge from their midday cover, you may see elephants brousing, rhino drinking at a waterhole, or perhaps the shy bushbuck motionless in the dense bushveld. At dusk, the Land Rover stops at some panoramic spot for a sundowner (from the icebox) and snacks.

Then, as the light fades, your ranger will plug in a powerful hand-held light. With its help, you can sweep the veld, seeing first the eyes and then the forms of a variety of nocturnal animals. By 8:00pm you are back at your lodge where a drink in the bar with your ranger, amid cheerful recollections of the day's discoveries is followed either by another great meal expertly prepared by our chefs, or a barbacue next to a roaring fire. Finally, a hot shower and a well-earned sleep. Before repeating it again the next day!

Generally, you may not leave your vehicle when it is in the reserve. Guided walks can be arranged in the company of your armed ranger, in search of rare animals. These hikes can often be the highlight of your African trip, for it is really only then that you gain a perspective of this great continent. Note:Game drives are done in open Land Rovers, so you can feel close to Nature. A closed vehicle is used when driving through the area where the lions roam.

The Shamwari Day Centre, Khaya Lendaba village, and the Born Free Conservation and Education Centres. This day experience offers visitors to Shamwari or the Port Elizabeth region a complete wildlife experience. The new centre is located in the southern area of Shamwari, next to Khaya Lendaba, a traditional African Arts and Culture Village. You can visit Khaya Lendaba after breakfast.

In partnership with actress/conservationist Virginia McKenna's Born Free Foundation, Shamwari Game Reserve designed the Conservation and Education Centre to incorporate a museum and educational facility whose goal is to create an awareness of the horrific way in which wildlife is exploited in captivity around the world.

The Centre has already become an international sanctuary for African species found in such situations. Animals like Raffi and Anthea are now kept in huge enclosures, living an almost free and natural life, in an environment as close to their original one as possible.

The Conservation Centre program starts daily at noon. Visitors take lunch on the game viewing deck, overlooking the Bushmans River, or in the dining room, after which they visit Khaya Lendaba. In an hour-long visit, guests experience the vibrant dancing, the dramatic history, the culture, the food, the healing methods, the rituals, and the art that is found in ancient and modern African life. Khaya Lendaba not only focuses on the Xhosa tribe, found in the Eastern Cape, but also includes other prominent tribes found in Southern Africa.

Guests discover the various stages of the ancient Xhosa initiation ceremony where a boy becomes a man. In a traditional marriage, the groom pays lobola or bride price to the bride's family - visitors are enlightened as to how this tradition ensures a husband's respect for his wife.

In the Sangoma's (faith healer) hut, visitors learn about the role of traditional healers within African tribal life - a role still very important to the majority of African people. A visit to the kitchen hut affords the visitor the opportunity of tasting traditional foodstuffs such as marogo, mealies & beans and traditional beer. Visitors are able try their hand at grinding corn and making soap the African way.

Well-known community head and cultural leader, Reverend Maqina from Port Elizabeth, is a partner in the Khaya Lendaba project. The Reverend offers remarkable and often humorous insights into the African culture as he shares his wealth of experience with visitors. He has produced many stage performances that have taken him and his New Generation Dancers to Europe on several occasions.

This is followed by a game drive in an open Land Rover, under the guidance of an experienced game ranger. The program is complete by approximately 6:30pm.

The experience is exclusive, and the maximum number of visitors is limited to 25 per day. Bookings can be made directly at Shamwari Game Reserve.

Facilities:

Lobengula Spa

At Lobengula, enter into a spa paradise, and experience exotic treatments in an African setting. Sensuous and invigorating therapies have been designed to refresh, purify, polish and pamper. Step out of reality into a world of indulgence, where professional staff use eclectic blends to increase circulation, ease tension, energise and revitalise.

Conservation at Shamwari

Conservation at Shamwari is about the management, development and rehabilitation of the environment to create a sustainable ecosystem through the implementation of fundamental conservation principals. The conservation department at Shamwari has a highly effective unit consisting of a wildlife manager, ecologist, education and an anti-poaching unit. To ensure the lasting sustainability of the reserve as an ecosystem rich in biodiversity, the ecology department strives to protect and where necessary to improve the environment. The wildlife department has received the Global Nature Fund Award for Best Conservation Practice and Dr Johan Joubert, Shamwari's Wildlife manager was voted one of South Africa's Top Ten Conservationists, awarded by the Endangered Wildlife Trust. The anti-poaching unit boasts highly trained personnel.

Shamwari pride of lions