The Eastern Cape is blessed with amazing game reserves. The beauty of living in Port Elizabeth is that we are only a doorstep away from one of the world’s most incredible game reserves. We so often take this for granted. Our game reserves include an outstanding selection of private concessions and award winning and lodges. In the past few months, I’ve been privileged enough to go to three of our many beautiful safari tourism locations. These being Kragga Kamma, Kariega and Amakhala Game Reserve.
Kragga Kamma:
This game reserve is one of our smaller ones. It’s a midget in size compared to our bigger ones like Addo. Nonetheless, it fulfills it’s purpose and you would be amazed at the beauty and array of wildlife they have. Kragga Kamma is only a 30 minutes drive from my house. What I like most about this safari adventure is that you are pretty much guaranteed to see their main animals such as the Cheetah, Rhino and Giraffe every time you go there. Often in the bigger game reserves, you spend so much money on a game drive and come back disappointed because you were unable to see the main animals.
Kragga Kamma is big enough for the animals to feel free but small enough for the game rangers to track and know where their major animals are at any given time. This is a great game reserve if you are looking to go out with your family & friends for a few hours, see some wildlife, have a great meal at a restaurant and get back home in a jiffy without having to fork out a ridiculous amount of cash (great value for money).
I was rather shocked and sad to hear that one of their rhinos was poached just months after I had been there. This whole business of rhino poaching is escalating and sad to hear. It never really bothered me much, until I started going to game reserves and spending some time on game drives seeing wild life such as rhinos in their natural habitat is refreshing. I finally understand what all the anti-rhino poaching campaigns and fundraisers are about. Hearing the statistics on rhino poaching is unsettling, such a terrible reality.
Kariega:
This is one of my favourite game reserves. Not too far from Port Elizabeth as it’s located close to Kenton On Sea. I have been to Kariega three times now, and on all three occasions I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a lot more expensive than the likes of Kragga Kamma but it is indeed money well spent. The reserve is about 9 000 hectares so it isn’t too small. The reserve offers 5 lodges, Settlers Drift, Ukhozi Lodge, River Lodge, Main Lodge and the Homestead. I have been to two of these lodges and was impressed by the great service and friendly staff. A special shout-out to the hilarious barman in the Main Lodge, probably the main reason why I keep coming back, what a character.
Kariega has the Big Five, although I have yet to see the leopard. To be fair, it is a hard animal to spot. I have only seen four of the Big Five at this reserve.
I came really close to a herd of elephants. Not going to lie I was a tiny bit nervous when they surrounded the vehicle, especially when they stopped and checked us out for a while. Suprisngly, I aasn’t as terrified when we encountered the lions. They seemed at ease as they were lazing around on the field minding their own business. I don’t have much else to say about this game reserve, other than that it is amazing. If I had the money, I would be going here often.
Amakhala:
Went to Amakhala on a staff trip and it was incredible. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the reserve so I was happy to finally get the opportunity to visit. It’s closer to Port Elizabeth than Kariega. It’s only about a 20 to 25 minute drive outside Nanaga Farm Stall. It is said to be about 7 500 hectares. Smaller than Kariega, although it did feel a lot bigger for some reason. Amakhala also has the Big Five and we were blessed with an abundance of animal sightings.
The stay at Hlosi Lodge wasn’t as memorable as my stay in Kariega, however, the staff are just as friendly. As at Kariega, it was ‘open bar’ for the guests, that’s always a winner in my books. So I kept the Black Labels flowing. Not good for my belly-boep, but it is what is.
Not sure how this game reserve compares financially with Kariega for an overnight stay, but if you have the financial means, it’s worth a visit. I was also impressed by their anti-poaching unit on the reserve.
