South Africa Guide
The Eastern Cape
Shamwari Game Reserve
The largest and best known of the Eastern Cape's private Big Five reserves, Shamwari Game Reserve, 65km north of Port Elizabeth on the N2 ( 
042 203 1111, 
www.shamwari.com ; Price: R2000 and above), has cultivated an image as a jetsetter destination, hosting the rich and famous, such as Tiger Woods and John Travolta. The reserve has a diverse variety of landscapes, the requisite animals in sufficient numbers and high standards of game-viewing – which justifies its reputation as one of the leading wildlife destinations in the southern half of South Africa.
Accommodation is in the colonial-style, family-friendly Long Lee Manor and five other attractive lodges which don't take youngsters, dotted around the reserve and furnished with every conceivable comfort: restored Victorian homestead Bushman's River Lodge, overlooking a valley, the modernist stone and glass Eagle's Crag, ethnically decorated Lobengula, hotel-like Riverdene, and luxury tented camp Bayethe. Rates start at R3250 per person (May– Sept), R5250 (Oct– April).