South Africa Guide
The Eastern Cape
Kwandwe Private Game Reserve
Adjoining the Great Fish River complex is the Eastern Cape's top wildlife destination, the very exclusive 
Kwandwe Private Game Reserve ( 
011 809 4300, 
www.kwandwereserve.com ; Price: R2000 and above – first week of Jan, Feb, March & Oct– Dec R5740 per person per night, last three weeks of Jan & April– Sept R2605), with 30km of Fish River frontage and the Big Five in attendance. There are four lodges, two of which, Uplands Homestead, a beautifully restored Victorian homestead which accommodates six adults, and Melton Manor, a modern villa with four bedrooms set back 100m from a river, are for the exclusive use of single parties, with butlers, chefs and dedicated game rangers at guests' disposal. Of the other two, the fabulous Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge, close to the water, is the quintessential traditional luxury safari lodge with nine suites and thatched roofs, wooden walkways and French windows that afford panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, while the ultra-luxurious and child-friendly Kwandwe Ecca Lodge – a funky boutique-hotel-in-the-bush – has six chalets, ingeniously designed with glass walls that allow you to lie on your bed and feel you're totally alone in the middle of the wilderness. Each unit has its own private plunge pool set into a wooden deck.
Apart from twice-a-day game drives, Kwandwe's safari activities include guided river walks, canoeing on the Great Fish, and rhino tracking, in which you follow one of the large mammals on foot. It also runs cultural tours with a resident historian who looks at the fascinating social and archeological past of the area. At Ecca Lodge special activities are laid on for children, including family game drives, short bush walks, and frog safaris. Service at Kwandwe is superb and highly personalized.
It's easy to drive to the game reserve, which is 160km from Port Elizabeth and is reached along the R67 that runs between Grahamstown and Fort Beaufort. Road or air transfers are available from Port Elizabeth airport.