Kwandwe Private Game Reserve

Spanning 74,000 acres of restored farmland dotted with spekboom thickets on the Eastern Cape, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is one of the largest private reserves in the country, home to the Big Five and seven of South Africa’s eight biomes. Plus, Kwandwe is malaria-free, making it an ideal destination – especially for families with kids.

‘Kwandwe’, from Xhosa, translates to the ‘Place of the Blue Crane’. Rightfully so, the area is a refuge for the silvery blue, endangered species, crowned South Africa’s national bird. It’s also a sanctuary for other rare wildlife, including the Knysna woodpecker, black-footed cats and the crowned eagle. You can also see game such as cheetahs, kudus and black wildebeests roaming its vast plains, cut through by the Great Fish River.

Its impressive biodiversity delivers enriching game viewing exclusive to guests staying at its lodges and villas. On night safaris, you can glimpse aardwolves and aardvarks. You can also traverse the rolling terrain on foot, following the tracks of elephants and buffalos. Specialist experiences centred on conservation, let you monitor rhinos and learn about Kwandwe’s diverse birdlife with expert birding guides, who’ll give you an insight into the reserve’s 300 species.

Across its wilderness, you’ll find two safari lodges – Great Fish River Lodge and Ecca Lodge – and three private villas: Fort House, Uplands Homestead and Melton Manor. Both lodges create effortless indoor-outdoor experiences, opening to spacious viewing decks overlooking the sweeping scenery. You can spy hippos slinking into the river at sunrise from the Great Fish River Lodge. At Ecca Lodge, specially designed for families, you can look out to the lush valley bushveld from your personal plunge pool.

Kwandwe’s villas additionally provide private rangers, trackers, safari vehicles and chefs. As a guest of Uplands Homestead’s farmhouse, built in the early 1900s, you’ll savour high tea from its elegant porch, which spills onto neat gardens. Meanwhile, you can gaze across Afromontane forests from one of Melton Manor’s freestanding bathtubs. Fort House looks out to a busy waterhole. Come night, you can delight in wine picked from its cellar before dining under the stars at its traditional boma.