Shamwari Private Game Reserve
Expert Reviews (7)
South Africa Parks
Kim is a travel writer who authored and updated over 15 guidebooks, including Lonely Planet's South Africa and Bradt's Tanzania guides.
4 people found this review helpful.
Indulgent game viewing
There are many reasons why I love Shamwari and keep returning, but the most simple is that it always delivers. Situated along the Bushman's River, Shamwari is a private, family-owned game reserve which offers visitors a chance to combine Big Five viewing with luxury living… Well, at least for the few nights you stay here. Any place that combines game viewing with spa treatments certainly wins my tick of approval. The accommodation and meals at the well-run lodges are included in packages. As are the twice daily game drives. While the vegetation is not as lush as in the north around Kruger and the 20,000-hectare park is comparatively small, this is a major advantage when it comes to game viewing. It’s also malaria-free, which is a big bonus, especially for anyone travelling with children. On my last visit I saw all of the Big Five as well as numerous other larger mammals. I watched cheetahs feed and got within metres of a pride of lions. Then topped my day off with an indulgent massage… Heaven!
Gemma authored several Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guides to Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.
2 people found this review helpful.
Shamwari, the Ferrari of safaris
Shamwari is a very, very smart private game reserve housed on land reclaimed from farms by a prominent South African conservationist and businessman, Adrian Gardiner. The experience is slick and the service at the various luxury lodges is definitely five star – I certainly appreciated wallowing in my spa bath and wrapping myself in a fluffy dressing gown after my evening game drive. During my stay at Shamwari I saw a great variety of game, with the reserve’s relatively small size and well-organized network of driver/guides yielding big five sightings right, left and centre.
If this all sounds a bit un-adventurous, it is – the vibe at Shamwari is very much all about luxury and ease rather than wilderness and exhilaration, and the prices can be eye-watering. But spa treatments and amazing food are still always welcome, and this would be a great place to bring a friend or partner who’d like to see game but doesn’t fancy roughing it. It’s also easily accessible from Port Elizabeth, making it a good one-night stopover option on a driving holiday in the Eastern Cape.
Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.
1 person found this review helpful.
Big Five and more in the Albany thicket
Shamwari is the most famous private reserve in the Eastern Cape, and it is hard to fault the quality of its lodges and camps, or its wildlife viewing. Established in 1990, it now extends over a vast 250km2/96mi2 and is divided into two distinct sectors by the Bushman’s River as it flows eastward through the reserve. I was hugely impressed by the northern sector; the mountainsides support a cover of Albany thicket punctuated by bright orange stands of winter-flowering aloes. Wildlife viewing is patchy but this densely vegetated sector certainly lived up to its reputation as the main haunt of the reserve’s closely guarded black rhinos, delivering us with two separate sightings – one of a solo male and the other of a male with two females. The grassy south is flatter, and the vegetation more degraded. However, it is productive for the likes of lion, white rhino, elephant, buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, hippo, Burchell’s zebra and most of the reserve’s 17 species of antelope. With luck, you might see four of the Big Five on one wildlife drive (the exception being the elusive-as-ever leopard) but a two or three-night stay is recommended to be reasonably confident of this. Shamwari’s reputation for luxury and exclusivity is justified when it comes to the stunning accommodation and food, and the quality of wildlife sightings. However, with a total of 71 rooms and suites spread between eight lodges and camps, it can get pretty busy with tourist traffic compared to the likes of Samara or Kwandwe.