Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is home to four majestic safari lodges, each with its own distinctive charm and character.
Your Out of Africa experience awaits – Uplands Homestead is an intimate, colonial-style safari home set in a remote and tranquil valley and available for the sole use of families of up to six. This elegant 1905 farmhouse has been lovingly restored to retain all the charm and grace of yesteryear without losing any of its renowned warmth and ambience.
In-Room facilities:
Three suites with private verandas and en-suite bathrooms combine modern comfort with old-fashioned luxury. Antique mirrors and yellowwood chests and wardrobes blend seamlessly with air-conditioning, in-room safes, underfloor heating and other modern conveniences. The Uplands kitchen is the Homestead’s welcoming core. Meals are served in the dining area, where friends and family gather to share the day’s adventures, or alternatively under the African sky in the boma.
Establishment Facilities:
A private safari vehicle with ranger and tracker offers a completely flexible itinerary for daily game drives, nature walks, big game walking safaris (tracking white rhino, black rhino, elephant and buffalo on foot) and fishing. Back at the homestead, there is a full size swimming pool and gazebo set amongst rolling lawns, surrounded on all sides by sweeping slopes decorated with hundreds of aloes.
Kwandwe is located in South Africa’s malaria-free Eastern Cape near Grahamstown. The nearest national airport is in Port Elizabeth, which lies 160 km (100 miles) from the reserve. There are daily scheduled flights from both Cape Town and Johannesburg international airports to Port Elizabeth. There is a daily scheduled flight from Port Elizabeth directly to the Kwandwe airstrip. The reserve lies approximately 65 km from the coast and is located in close proximity to the renowned Garden Route.
* Twice Daily Game Drives: Explore the natural splendour of Kwandwe on early morning and late afternoon/evening game drives in an open 4x4 safari vehicle. An armed ranger and tracker team share their extensive knowledge of the bush with you as you track the Big Five, as well as a variety of other wildlife. Morning drives begin as dawn breaks over the Great Fish River, and guests have the opportunity to see the predators winding up their nocturnal hunts and settling in for the day. Many animals take advantage of the cool morning hours to graze before the heat of the day. In the late afternoon, wildlife can often be spotted coming down to the river to drink. Night drives produce some unusual sightings, including aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox and porcupine.
* Interpretive Bush Walks: In between game drives, take a closer look at the subtle, unseen wonders of the bush on a leisurely walk within easy reach of your lodge. Dense euphorbia thickets are best explored on foot, revealing a secret world of lichen, mosses and ferns. Various birds of prey and other species nest in the taller trees or in the spiny canopy. An armed ranger guides guests through ‘up close and personal’ sightings of occasional buffalo herds, various antelope species, giraffe, warthog, bushbuck or bush pig.
- If cancelling 30 days before arrival, forfeit 100% of the booking total.
- If cancelling 60 days before arrival, forfeit 50% of the booking total.
- 20% deposit to confirm booking. Balance payable 60 days prior to arrival. Should booking be made within 60 days of arrival, full amount will be payable to confirm.
- Check In: 12h00 Check Out: 11h00
- Conservation Levy per night per person excluded: 2024 : R700 per adult and R350 per child (16 years and younger) per night 2025: R800 per adult and R350 per child (16 years and younger) per night.
FROM PORT ELIZABETH TO KWANDWE PRIVATE GAME RESERVE: * From Port Elizabeth travel eastwards along the N2 towards Grahamstown. * Travel past Grahamstown and the Settlers Monument, ignoring the Beaufort Street and R67 Port Alfred turn-offs. * A few kilometres past Grahamstown turn left onto the road at the R67 Fort Beaufort. It should be approx. 10 km’s between the Settlers Monument and the Fort Beaufort Road turnoff. * Wind your way through the Ecca Pass for approximately 19 kms. On your right you will see a large sign indicating The Great Fish River Reserve. Turn left into the gravel road opposite this sign. There are two smaller signs on the left marked ‘Kwandwe’ and ‘Kranzdrift’. * Travel about 5km to reach the Kwandwe gate, and continue straight along that road for a further 6km * The first house on the left is Heatherton Towers Reception area, where you will check-in and leave your car. You will then be transferred to either Great Fish River Lodge, Ecca Lodge, Uplands Homestead or Melton Manor, which is between 15 - 30 minutes drive away.
FROM EAST LONDON TO KWANDWE PRIVATE GAME RESERVE: * From East London travel along the N2 towards King Williams Town and then on to Grahamstown * Before reaching Grahamstown turn right onto the road at the R67 Fort Beaufort. Wind your way through the Ecca Pass for approximately 19 kms. On your right you will see a large sign indicating The Great Fish River Reserve. Turn left into the gravel road opposite this sign. There are two smaller signs on the left marked ‘Kwandwe’ and ‘Kranzdrift’. * Travel about 5km to reach the Kwandwe gate, and continue straight for a further 6km. * The first house on the left is Heatherton Towers Reception area, where you will check-in and leave your car. You will then be transferred to either Great Fish River Lodge, Ecca Lodge, Uplands Homestead or Melton Manor, which are between 15 - 30 minutes drive away
DISTANCE CHART: * Port Elizabeth/ Kwandwe 160km 1 hour 45 minutes * East London/ Kwandwe 185km 2 hours
Children of all ages are welcome.
