Shamwari:Shamwari Private Game Reserve is a
Family friendly, malaria free, easy to access Big 5 game reserve.Traveling to the Eastern Cape (South Africa) games reserves is always great for our family. Especially as we are based in Cape Town and it is a short flight and drive, which is a big plus when travelling with younger kids. (Note: Flights from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth are less than a hour as is the drive to Shamwari. Furthermore, one can easily combine a Cape Town stay, drive the beautiful garden route and end up at Shamwari for your safari experience)About Shamwari:Shamwari is 25,000 hectares of land that has 6 separate 5-star lodges. We chose to stay at Long Lee Manor, which is an old British colonial style manor overlooking a waterhole that many plains game visit throughout the day. Our kids were able to safely observe the resident warthogs, who seem to keep the lawns well manicured, whilst the vervet monkeys are a little shy but still move around the lodge.Staff at the lodge are fabulous and and treated us like royalty, especially our kids. Kids were well catered for at meal times, which can be challenging when you have kids with demanding food requests.Accommodation was more than adequate. Our family of four stayed in two inter-leading air conditioned rooms that were extremely spacious and luxurious. Upon arrival the kids received a welcome pack that kept them entertained for hours. In between meals and drives we spent some of our time on the private balcony in front of our rooms, which had the same great views, which was the perfect opportunity to relax (read a book, have a drink or just lay in the sun). It was also a safe place for the kids to play while we had a little down time. The communal pool was also great for the kids and also an opportunity to cool down after a hot day.Rangers must hate us on games drives as, being in the industry for many years our children are fortunate to have been on many safaris, which means that the Big 5 is not our biggest priority and our wish list is full of those smaller, shyer and lesser known animals. Our ranger tried her utmost to take us throughout the reserve and we were lucky enough to tick off some of those on our wish list. Should you wish to see the Big-5, not to worry, we easily saw all expect for the elusive leopard (Note: it is not common to see the leopard on game drives due to its behaviour. However, there are quite a few reserves in South African where it is very likely to see a leopard during your stay) . One of my favourite things about game drives at Shamwari is drives over the large mountain ridges, where it feels one can sometime see forever. We often stopped on these ridges for a break and observed the hippo in the river and the many game grazing in the distance. Our game ranger was fabulous, knowledgeable and very patient with our kids.Another worthy attraction at Shamwari is the Born Free Big Cat sanctuary, which aims to draw attention to the plight of wild cats, confined in impoverished, captive environments throughout the world. The rescue and education centres home rescued lions and leopards from across the world and aim to be an enlightening experience for all visitors.We visited all the luxury camps within Shamwari, which all provide their own unique experiences. Whether you are going on safari for honeymoon, family vacation, quiet retreat with your partner, etc. there is a lodge to meet your needs at Shamwari.
Shamwari have just completed a revamp of a number of lodges and the changes are unbelievable, watch the video of Riverdene lodge for a children’s paradise.
Shamwari Riverdene lodge – malaria free, paradise for children.
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Should you need any advice on your next trip, please feel free to contact us at Love Africa Travel.Happy TravelsSandy, owner at Love Africa Travel