Kwandwe Uplands Homestead

Kwandwe Uplands Homestead is a restored farmhouse which dates back to 1905. The villa is available to rent for exclusive use and is ideal for small groups and families of up to 6 people, with three double suites. Each of the bedrooms includes a king-size bed, small fireplace and a private verandah where guests can admire the passing wildlife and stunning gardens that contrast against the South African wilderness. The bedrooms also include private en-suite bathrooms with a walk-in shower and a bathtub with a view.

The contemporary farm style kitchen is the heart of the house, providing a comfy space for families to gather and interact. You or your private chef can whip up incredible meals to be shared with your loved ones. Outside is a living area where you can congregate and watch the incredible African sunsets. There is also an outside dining area for a stunning dinner under the stars.

A stay at the Uplands Homestead includes an expert chef who will craft high-quality meals for you and your family/group to enjoy using fresh ingredients. Guests can look forward to delicious pan-African inspired dishes and can converse with the chef to craft a menu that suits them. Enjoy wholesome meals either in the comfort of your own villa, outside in the gardens or in the cosy boma.

A selection of fine South African wines is also available. Special dietary requests can be catered for if requested in advance, and kosher food is available at an additional cost.

Enjoy up to two game drives each day and explore the diverse setting of the Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, where guests can look out for incredible animals including the Big 5, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, hyenas and cheetahs. Game drives in the morning allow visitors to see predators returning from hunts while the other animals graze in the cooler climate before the heat of the day. The late afternoon and evening drives focus on the wildlife travelling down to the river to quench their thirst before nocturnal species such as aardvark, bat-eared foxes and porcupines begin to emerge.

The professional guides and game rangers will be able to take you to the best spots for watching game in the reserve, while teaching you fascinating facts about the South African bush and its occupants as you admire the astonishing landscape.

Journey across the verdant plains on foot and experience the thrill of tracking big game such as white rhino, black rhino, elephant and buffalo while enjoying a leisurely exploration of the incredible landscape. Guests will be accompanied by an armed specialist ranger and tracker team who will keep you safe while you learn to spot and follow tracks and clues that lead to the game.

The walk lasts 3 to 4 hours, finishing with a tranquil picnic lunch on the banks of the Great Fish River. Participants must be aged 16 or over.

Guests can enjoy a peaceful afternoon beside the Great Fish River, reeling in Largemouth Bass, Yellowfish, Carp and Sharptooth Catfish while admiring the stunning scenery. Alternatively, guests can enjoy fly fishing in the reserve’s largest dam. This activity is suitable for adults and children alike.

Private fishing trips are also available, allowing guests to spend as much time as desired out with their fishing guide and surrounded by the tranquil setting of Kwandwe’s wilderness. Private fishing experiences must be booked for the duration of your stay.

Enjoy a gentle stroll through the wilderness at your own pace where every detail, track, plant and insect can be admired. Look out for the smaller species that often go unnoticed during drives, and listen to the gentle songs of birds without the distracting noise of an engine.

An armed ranger will accompany you for your protection as you get up close to amazing mammals such as antelope, giraffe, warthog or zebra. This activity is not suitable for children under the age of 12.

Private bush walks are also available, allowing guests to dictate when they want to walk or explore inside the comfort of the open-topped safari vehicle. Track the species that interest you the most and get close to your favourite safari animals. For a fully private experience, this must be booked for the duration of your stay.

Learn all about the rhinos of Kwandwe and the threats they face from poachers as you track them with a specialist ranger and tracker team. This activity lasts 3-4 hours and allows guests of all ages to find out more about Kwandwe’s conservation efforts and how their stay is helping to support rhino populations. Rhino tracking concludes with refreshments and relaxing at a scenic spot in the bush.

Guests staying at Kwandwe Uplands Homestead for three nights or more are offered the amazing chance to participate in Kwandwe’s exciting rhino-darting and notching programme. This enables the wildlife management team to monitor and identify the individual rhinos and is crucial to the conservation of this beautiful and sadly endangered species. Guests will be supervised by experts as microchips are planted into the rhinos’ horns and they receive ear-tags for future identification.

This activity is usually carried out from May until the end of September when weather conditions are cooler, but can be done year-round. The procedure is always subject to the availability of the wildlife management team as well as the availability of rhinos that need to be notched for conservation purposes. Participants must be aged 16 or over.

Capture unique and personal images that record your amazing safari experience with a private photographic safari. A professional photographic guide will assist guests by advising the appropriate camera settings, angles and imaginative compositional ideas. Learn more about the world of photography and build on your skills. This activity is open to guests with any level of experience and includes a game drive in a private vehicle, edited photographs and a digital photobook.

Venture out with a specialist guide and search for the elusive species of bird who frequent Kwandwe Private Game Reserve. Guests can spend as long as they desire learning about South Africa’s prolific birdlife, while scanning the treetops with a pair of binoculars for Kwandwe’s 315 recorded species of bird. The guides are familiar with the bird’s nests and habitats as well as the best places to spot them.

Kwandwe offers a variety of fun activities for children and families. On arriving at the lodge, children will receive a welcome gift including an animal checklist, themed games and activities, a pledge to ‘live green’, crayons or colouring pencils, and an age-appropriate gift.

Families can enjoy exciting pastimes such as kite building, scavenger hunts, creating animal-shaped crumpets, sand art, beading, fishing trips and baking.

Plant a Spekboom, one of the top five carbon-storing plants on Earth and do your bit to offset your carbon footprint, or join in with Kwandwe’s voluntourism activities through the reserve’s Ubunye Foundation, helping to better the lives of the community members who live in and around the reserve.

Guests can enjoy a variety of wellness treatments from the comfort and privacy of their own suites. Experience a relaxing and rejuvenating pamper day with treatments and therapies that use only natural ingredients which celebrate the rich heritage of South Africa’s natural world. Lie back and enjoy a soothing massage with oil from the Marula fruit, ointment from the Baobab tree or, or healing Shea butter.

Develop your safari barbequing skills and learn new methods of food preparation and cooking authentic South African ‘braais’ using fresh local ingredients. Enjoy a hearty meal of meat cooked over an open fire and learn more about traditional South African cuisine.

Guests staying at Kwandwe for 3 nights or longer are able to join in on a wilderness walk and fly camping adventure, where guests are given the unique opportunity to explore the stunning landscape on foot with a private guide before arriving at a private fly-camp where you can sit around the fire, swapping exciting stories and cooking a meal over the open flames. Listen to the sounds of the nocturnal wildlife while snuggling down into your sleeping bag and enjoying a night under a canopy of beautiful stars.

This activity is enjoyed during Kwandwe’s winter months (May – November) when conditions are drier. Guests can return to their suite at any time if they wish, and their rooms will remain available to them. The day begins with a walk and guests will be able to stop and enjoy a picnic lunch in the wilderness before continuing to the private fly camp. A vehicle is available, allowing guests to take a break when needed, choosing when to walk and when to enjoy the drive.

This activity can cater for a maximum of four guests at a time.

Guests who stay within Kwandwe Private Game Reserve pay a Community and Conservation Levy which is included in their stay. This levy makes a difference to those who are supported through community projects and helps to monitor and protect the reserve’s amazing wildlife.

Through their social development partner, the Ubunye Foundation, Kwandwe has been able to invest in a number of community projects designed to ‘improve lives and create sustainable livelihood opportunities in marginalised rural communities.’

The Ubunye Foundation was set up in order to support and empower local communities. So far, the foundation has been able to provide employment for over 200 people from rural communities, provide housing and service for over 400 people, build the Mgcamabele Community Centre, provide pre-school, meals and aftercare services for staff member’s children, offer primary healthcare support and counselling for staff and their family members, provide leadership and professional development training for staff, donate land for an agri-village and they co-funded the Development Centre at Rhodes University.

Kwandwe’s founders created The Ubunye Foundation in 2002 in order to help support and empower people living in and around the reserve. Since then, the foundation ‘has grown to become an independent non-profit organization with a reputation for work that is innovative and rooted in a genuinely developmental approach.’

The poorest province in South Africa, around 60% of the Eastern Cape’s population live in rural areas. The Ubunye Foundation focuses on community leadership, savings and financial education, supporting early childhood development, education and health and livelihoods. Ubunye comes from the word ‘togetherness’ in Xhosa, and Kwandwe aims to bring local people together by supporting ‘nearly 30 communities in the Makana and Ngqushwa Municipal Districts.’

Kwandwe Private Game Reserve consists of 22,000 hectares of pristine wilderness, home to a variety of unusual and endangered species including both black and white rhino, leopards, cheetah, and the endangered blue crane from which the reserve gets its name. The reserve acts as a sanctuary to these creatures, protecting them from poachers and monitoring them with initiatives such as the Rhino Monitoring. In total, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve has translocated 7,000 mammals and given them a safe environment for their populations to recover.

Through projects such as Spekboom planting, Kwandwe has ‘in excess of 13,000 hectares of subtropical thicket, amounting to 520,000 tons of carbon being stored on the property.’

‘Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is a conservation victory. Comprising just 30 rooms split across six intimate lodges, villas, and camps, providing understated luxury and one of the highest land-to-guest ratios in South Africa. The successful development of this high yield/ low impact conservation model is key to furthering our numerous conservation initiatives.’