Amakhala Game Reserve

FFive of South Africa’s 7 plant biomes are found in the Eastern Cape. Here the botany is almost as compelling as the Big 5 attractions. 

These same ecosystems are found within Amakhala Game Reserve, not far from Grahamstown. Here you’ll find dense thickets of valley bushveld, thorn-tree savannahs, sweeping grasslands, knots of forests and hardy Nama Karoo. 

Punctuating it are spectacular aloes and candelabra euphorbias, with the Big 5 animals rambling through it all. 

Within this malaria-free diversity on the Amakhala Game Reserve are 10 properties that fall under a unified marketing umbrella. Within these properties are 6 lodges, 3 tented camps and a country house. 

All properties collaborate on conservation matters, HIV/AIDS education and other ways of uplifting the community. The lodges (marketed under Amakhala’s heritage collection) also support local businesses. They include a needlework entrepreneur, a small laundry and a group of women who do beading to generate funds for education bursaries. 

Bush Lodge and Safari Lodge are both 5-star. Think private plunge pools, fireplaces, romantic double indoor and outdoor showers, and game-viewing decks. Then there’s access to the magical whisper room, a place to be pampered and massaged. Bukela Game Lodge, another 5-star establishment, offers 4 suites and 10 luxury tents. 

Leeuwenbosch Country House, which has 3 stars, is owned and run by the Fowlds family, who have lived here for 5 generations, dating back to the family of William Fowlds, who arrived with the 1820 Settlers. This beautiful old house offers 4 en-suite rooms. A newer shearers lodge (converted from the original shearing shed) has recently been added with 4 contemporary double seats. 

Carnarvon Dale Lodge is also 3 stars, consists of an 1820 Settler farmhouse, the bottom house, where meals are served, and 2 en-suite serviced bedrooms in the 1907 Edwardian cottage, the top house. 

Woodbury Lodge, with 4 stars, is an elegant stone-and-thatch lodge with spectacular views over the Bushman's River valley. Elephants and other wild animals often pass by, and the suites are designed so that you can view from your own deck. Hlosi Game Lodge, also 4 stars, is a small 14-room game lodge and offers fenced camps perfect for families with small children 

The tented camps – Woodbury tented, Quartermain’s camp and HillsNek camp - all offer luxury safari tents on elevated platforms overlooking the plains. 

As you’d expect from lodges with an emphasis on holistic care for the community and environment, on game drives it’s not just about the Big 5 and other charismatic beasts like cheetahs and hyenas. The guides will also draw your attention to monkeys, tortoises, shy bat-eared foxes, mongooses and even dung beetles.