SanDiego1K

We have the possibility to insert a 3 day trip to Port Elizabeth into a larger trip. Our reason for going would be to visit game parks. We had a brief visit to Addo National Park some 15 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd like to stay within a 3 hour drive of Port Elizabeth. Some cursory research gives me these as possibilities:

• Addo Elephant National Park
• Lalibela Game Reserve
• Amakhala Game Reserve
• Shamwari Game Reserve
• Pumba Game Reserve
• Kariega Game Reserve
• Kwandwe Game Reserve
• Mountain Zebra National Park - 4 hour drive so at extreme of my willingness to drive

I got this list from this article.

I have a 9:30am flight on the 4th day, so might prefer to spend the third night in Port Elizabeth. Given that, I would be restricted to two parks max. I know nothing about these parks. Who has visited and what do you recommend? Do you have favorite places to stay?

@johan rebel @Happy

jsnydcsa

+1

Search for previous comments on or contributions to threads re: Kwandwe. Old, I know. But, still valid IMO.

SanDiego1K

Thank you. I think I have now searched out every mention of Kwandwe. The most information I found was a post by you from 2005. Is there anything more you'd add 12 years on? It's a pricey place, and I'd love to hear about:

- quality of game viewing
- quality of rooms
- quality of food

Also, this thread has useful comments.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/afric...ce-please.html

dbuckho

I went to Kwandwe in 2012. It was amazing - highly recommend.

Overall Port Elizabeth part of our trip was 3 days -- we stayed 2 nights at Kwandwe -- not sure I would move parks in the time you have (will explain reason below).

Flew into Port Elizabeth arriving around 9:30 AM, looked around there a bit and had an early lunch, and then drove to Kwandwe - made it in time for that day's late drive. Then had the full next day (2 drives + special outing with our son) and then the morning drive on the 3rd day before leaving (we were heading to the garden route, so drove back through Port Elizabeth and on to Knysna on day 3).

The viewing was great over the course of the 5 drives -- the last one being the best as we tracked a lion for most of it and had a great up close experience. But you really need to give it at least two days there as each drive can be very different. Our late drive on the full day we really saw nothing -- there was a couple with us and that was their only drive at Kwandwe as they were park hoping - felt bad for them as our other drives were amazing and they were just getting this one dud.

Rooms and food were great - turned us into more regular Relais & Châteaux travelers.

jsnydcsa

12 years! Phew! It hasn't been that long, I'm sure. But, still, I'll admit its been a while. Perhaps last person visit was 2008. With freinds and family visiting since then and all universally holding the same opinion.

I (and on one visit, a licensed SA PH friend of mine and another experienced hunter) found their rangers and trackers, excellent and very accommodating towards the group's various interests (admittedly, my groups have always been large enough that everyone in a vehicle knew each other and was rather homogeneous in their interests). Friendly, knowledgeable and always giving extra info and anecdotes. Answering even the dumbest questions (e.g. from me) with professionalism and seriousness.

With the exception of rhino - which are always tough - I would say we got big 5 viewing (the buffalo - were they Cape Buffalo, I don't recall - were tremendous). On one or two visits, a kill or just completed kill by lion. I'm a city slicker and not a game person. Yet, every time I visited, I was impressed and everyone in my group (novice to experienced hunters) were impressed as well. Some of the rangers also seemed to be into bird watching. I'm not, so they avoided that with us. And, I think they do serious walks and/or near-professional photo drives. But, again, not my thing. So, I stuck to the vehicles.

It is expensive, I'll admit. But, fortunately, I had (emphasis on past tense) more disposable income at that time. I'd go back in a heartbeat without any enquiry about how it has/hasn't changed since my last visit.

Food and wine were always top notch in my opinion. Excellent wine selections. Couldn't really ask for more in terms of dining and an accommodating staff when it came to food and dining interests (and dietary restrictions).

The accommodations were fabulous. I know they've built up a bit over the years -with more accommodations and lodge areas - as they've expanded the property. I've always stayed at the "original" Kwandwe - either Uplands or the original lodge. Fantastic accommodations. Private. Well kept. Luxury for sure (again IMO).

If you were a "first time" visitor to a game reserve, I'd recommend it b/c they really cover everything in a luxury setting and, if you're doing Garden Route, Plett, etc. as part of a road trip, I'd recommend it.

If you were experienced, I'd recommend it as well as they were really quite accommodating about each groups interests. And, as I mentioned above, some of the folks who I visited with really commented on the quality of the rangers, trackers and staff in general.

Anecdote. I understand from one of my visits to Kwandwe that, way back when (yeah, this would be 12+ years ago at least), when Disney was looking to develop its Florida-based "Game Park" the folks from Disney actually visited Kwandwe (and I'm sure, other places) to see what the "real" thing was like. So, you have that for better or worse.

Good luck. Enjoy.

SafariCraig

Hi SanDiego1k - Marguerite from my office lives in Port Elizabeth so I asked her to write this up. She knows all the reserves well.

"Dear SanDiego1K

I actually live in Port Elizabeth and am always so excited when people from the US come this way. I lived in Chicago for 19 years and recently moved back. Not many Americans travel to these parts...and they miss out on so much! I’m glad you have made it to Addo, the park has changed quite a bit!

As the previous posters noted, Kwandwe is a wonderful option but I would also look into Kariega, they have a new 5* lodge in their portfolio; Settlers Drift, unlike Kwandwe, you can combine a beach and bush experience here. Both River Lodge and Settlers Drift sit on the Bushman’s river which flows into the ocean not far from camp. If you are looking for something more cost effective they have 2 other properties in the portfolio Main Lodge and Ukhozi Lodge. The ambiance at Settlers Drift is amazing if you have the budget, it is currently selling for around ZAR6,700.00 per person per night depending on the time of year. Main Lodge starts at about half that. The scenic beauty this area has to offer is unparalleled. Seeing a Kudu with its spiral horns stare at you through lush green vegetation while canoeing down the river is just exceptional. The properties that sit on the river offer river cruises, guided bush walks, fishing, canoeing, regular game drives and beach picnics.

Something you had not mentioned in your outline is Samara, which I would highly recommend. The property offers exceptional Cheetah interactions as well as amazing plains game. The property is located in the Karoo, 2.5 hours from PE and just outside Graaff-Reinet, which is rich in culture and heritage. If you are interested in combining that sort of thing, the small town of Nieu Bethesda is home to some amazing artists, the world renowned sculpter Frans Boekkoi has a studio there not far from the Owl House (also a real gem).

In my opinion the combination of Kariega (or Kwandwe) and Samara would offer something unique and different with game you won’t see in the Kruger region. As you only have 3 days, I would pick the one that suits your expectations the best. Kariega would probably offer the most diverse experience in my opinion and is close enough to PE to make the trip out. All 3 are wonderful choices though.

I hope this helps in your planning process, if you have any specific questions regarding this area please don’t hesitate to ask!

Marguerite Smit - Safari Consultant - Travel Beyond"

SanDiego1K

Thank you for the description of your stay. It is greatly appreciated and gives me a better sense of the property.

Thank you for telling me more about your stay. This is extremely helpful.

Wow! Just wow. What wonderful word pictures of the various properties. I love hearing from someone on the ground who has gone and seen and can compare.

SFore

I can 2nd a trip to Kariega as well as Samara. Do try and spend some time in the Karoo, it is a magical place!

johan rebel

One would hope so, as the only lookalike (Asian water buffalo) would be rather far from home.

The buffalo found in Eastern Cape reserves are the disease free variety, and very expensive.

Johan

SanDiego1K

I have settled on Gorah Elephant Camp. This was suggested to me by Marguerite from SafariCraig's office. I would have happily chosen Kwandwe as so many suggested but it was not available one night that I needed. I was very attracted to her suggestion of Samara along with the gallery town of Nieu Bethesda. However, temperatures in late November jump as high as 100 degrees. I decided to stick close to the temperate coast.

It turns out that a number of the preserves near Port Elizabeth were once farms. Gorah was as well but it is within Addo Elephant Park. There are no fences between it and Addo so animals can roam freely. Addo has the highest concentration of elephants in the world. Many years ago, we were in India on a small island at a hunting lodge once owned by an Indian noble. One of the most sublime experiences of our lives was sitting for hours, watching elephants bring their babies to the river to get water. I hope we have the good fortune to experience similar while sitting on the verandah at Gorah's lodge. In their marketing speak "The gracious Gorah Manor House, a National Monument built in 1856, ..recalls the opulence and romance of the noble safari. Lazy colonial verandas spill out onto the African plains overlooking the waterhole..."

johan rebel

You will be pleased to learn that South Africa's record high (50°C / 122°F) was recorded in Dunbrody, 15 miles due west of Gorah Elephant camp. There's a competing record from Kirkwood (50.2°C / 122.5°F), another 7 miles up the Sunday River Valley.

That valley gets extremely hot due to its low altitude at the foot of the Zuurberg mountains, and because it is far enough inland to escape cool coastal breezes. In that sense it resembles the Luvuvhu and Limpopo river valleys, which also get almost insufferably hot and humid in summer.

Johan

SanDiego1K

That's depressing. I sent back to the temperature charts for Gorah and hope we'll be ok. The camp runs off solar power. It has fans but not air conditioning.

johan rebel

Well, the bad news is that that record was set in November, but the good news is that it happened 99 years ago!

The Eastern Cape has exceptionally variable weather of the four-seasons-in-one-day kind, especially along the coast. When I was last in Addo, temperatures dropped to 8°C / 46°F on the night drives, and that was in summer.

Johan

Happy

In late Feb of 2015 when we were overnighting inside Addo in a Safari Tent (the only option available for our date when we drove down from Mountain Zebra where we had a nice bungalow), it was freezing cold at night. Very very cold that we could hardly sleep for the night. The bedding provided was not warm enough despite very heavy weight, and the electric space heater was useless - you barely felt the warmth even when you put your hands directly above the unit.

While we saw lots and lots of elephants in Addo, we found the herds wandered the river beds in Kruger at dusk, are more impressive - from the bridge we could see tiny babies to old bulls with many different sizes in between, crossing the riverbed when the sun slowly going down - it was a magical moment that repeated each evening. That was early Sept 2016.

SanDiego1K

We had a superb stay at Gorah Elephant Camp. I am completely happy with my decision to go there. The property is very luxurious in an understated way. We did not need to ask for anything. It had all been anticipated in so many thoughtful touches. The verandah at the main building was a wonderful place to sit any time of day and watch game come to the water hotel to drink. A solo elephant stopped by each day as did many zebra, red hartebeest, vervet monkeys, wart hogs and more. We had an exceptional experience one night on hearing lions roar. One of the camp staff briefly shown a spotlight and we saw two lions coming to the water hole. Food was good to very good, with more to eat than one possibly needed. Game drives were 3 to 3 1/2 hours long two times a day with excellent guides. Vans were equipped with blankets, ponchos, and hot water bottles for each person. The concession is within a busy national park yet is very quiet thanks to its extensive private land. We occasionally traversed the Addo roads but when on Gorah paths saw no vehicles other than another camp vehicle. It was a great stay.