Eastern Cape Game Reserves

Located east of Cape Town is a collection of incredible safari destinations known as the Eastern Cape Game Reserves. Not only is this area beautifully diverse in its landscape, flora, and fauna, it is also rich in its wildlife. Because each reserve is privately owned, the game reserves are all fenced. While this is very different to a lot of other safari destinations – like the Kruger National Park for example – these private reserves have such huge areas that, during a game drive, you would go unnoticed.

Inside the private reserves, you will get the opportunity to see the Big Five – elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and lion – as well as a host of other resident wildlife. During your safari in the Eastern Cape Reserves, you may notice that some of the animals are collared. This is often for monitoring the behavior of the animal (such as a pride of lions’ movement), as well as ensuring they are protected at all hours of the day from poaching.

You can get to these Eastern Cape Reserves by car or plane. For those flying, the closest airport is Port Elizabeth. There are daily flights between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth so it’s a great way to combine time in the Mother City, as well as a luxury safari. Depending on which reserve you visit, it is approximately a 90-minute drive from Port Elizabeth to the game reserves. You can also access the Eastern Cape game reserves by driving, and those who drive South Africa’s garden route will be able to continue along, past Knysna and Plettenberg Bay for a few hours until you reach the start of the Eastern Cape Reserves.

The Eastern Cape Reserves are particularly popular for families and this is for a number of reasons. As one of the very few destinations that offer a malaria-free safari, this makes it appealing to bring families with children, or multi-generational families. The safari camps and lodges recognize this as being a big draw, so they have all become family-friendly in their accommodation and safari activities. Most of the lodges have kids’ clubs where young children can stay and be looked after while game drives are being enjoyed or, if the children are old enough, private vehicles and guides can be allocated to families so that they can enjoy the safari at their own pace.

Some of our favorite reserves along the Eastern Cape include Shamwari and Amakhala Game Reserves. Within these reserves, there are a handful of lodges that cater for different clients and budgets. The safari experience here is fantastic, with plenty of resident wildlife in the reserves, and safari surprises along the way, like breakfasts in the bush and special sundowner spots.