Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Luxurious safaris in the Cape Floral Kingdom
The Gondwana Game Reserve between the Swartberg and Outeniqua mountain ranges offers luxurious accommodation for visitors, and an opportunity for guests to become residents. Brian Berkman reports.
“It was the true khaki-fever cliché,” says Wendy Rutherford, recalling her meeting and whirlwind romance with her future husband Mark, then an environmental scientist working for the De Beerslinked Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.
Rutherford, at that stage a New York advertising executive working on the De Beers diamond campaign, had been flown out to South Africa with a few colleagues by De Beers as a reward for helping to achieve outstanding US diamond sales results. Mark was helping to take care of the group, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The couple spent eight glorious months in the Kalahari, but Mark had already set his heart on an ambitious goal: to establish his own game reserve. And remarkably, it was a visit to his American father-in-law, who was involved in a non-profit organisation called
Open Lands on the outskirts of Chicago, that inspired the structure of Gondwana Game Reserve.
A BUSH ESTATE
“Mark felt that the Open Lands model of preserving tracts of land on the suburban fringe, funded through residential sales on a small portion of the open land, could be applied on a larger scale to the establishment of a South African game reserve,” recalls Rutherford. “The selling of land for holiday homes on a portion of the ground would capitalise the majority of the development of the game reserve.”
She adds that while a bush estate was not unique to South Africa, it was a new concept for the Western Cape.
“We were inspired by living in the Kalahari Desert and wanted to provide that experience to others, not only as visitors on safari, but as residents, too.”
Gondwana Game Reserve is situated near Mossel Bay on the plains between the Swartberg and Outeniqua mountain ranges in the Western Cape. It covers over 11 000ha, which allows for the free roaming of the Big Five and many animals indigenous to the Southern Cape, as well as a number that are under threat, such as the Cape mountain zebra, bontebok, cheetah and Cape leopard, and birds such as the black harrier.
ACCOMMODATION
The reserve has three fenced housing nodes where homeowners and many of the rare antelope live away from predators, but Kwena Game Lodge, which comprises 14 open-plan suites with grass-roofed huts similar to early Khoi homes, is at the epicentre of the free-roaming environment. Here, guests will encounter Big Five game simply by being there.
Rutherford says that the people, rather than the animals, are fenced in at Gondwana, and this includes the protected walking area (about
a 15-minute drive from Kwena). Visitors can safely walk or cycle on demarcated single-track trails without accompaniment.
All suites offer a 180° outlook from the bedroom through the windows of the spectacular fynbos and mountain landscape, as well as the two waterholes frequented by wildlife.
Designed to be comfortable in all seasons, the units have a closedcombustion, wood-burning fireplace and air-conditioning, and the bathroom has a deep soaking tub next to the window, which concertinas back to provide direct access to the outside.
In addition to Kwena Lodge, there are the nearby Fynbos Villas and, further afield, Bush Villas, which are privately owned but made available for luxury accommodation for families or groups of friends travelling together. While these are self-catering units, the restaurant at Kwena Lodge is available to villa guests too. The villas can be booked with a full board or half-board package, including game drives with meals provided at Kwena Lodge.
“Guests love the privacy of the villas and often enjoy lunch picnic basket deliveries with a bottle of rosé, or private dinners on their deck overlooking the game reserve and passing wildlife,” says Rutherford.
Ulubisi House, which accommodates six adults or four adults and four children, is Gondwana’s most luxurious and exclusive stay: an all-inclusive, privately staffed lodge with a butler, chef and field guide. There is even a helicopter pad.
For a glamping getaway, there are also luxury tented camps with private staff and exclusive use of the camp.
FINE DINING
Farmer’s Weekly was wowed by the cuisine on offer. Dinner dishes included grilled salmon with beetroot tartar and a lime and fynbos vinaigrette to start, or chicken and cabanossi sausage satay with barley, lentils, chickpeas and roasted nut and honey vinaigrette.
The Mossel Bay sole was a particular revelation, as fresh fish is not frequently found on game lodge menus; the fact that it was caught half-an-hour’s drive away was also appealing. Carnivores will enjoy the Angus steak or wildebeest loin, and there were a number of vegetarian and vegan options too.
PRIVATE HOMES
A backbone of the success of Gondwana is that private residences can be purchased on the game reserve. There are two things to note when considering these properties. First, the Mossel
Bay Mall is just 25 minutes away, as is the beach. Second, all the home sites are far enough away from each other that each has a stunning view of Gondwana’s beautiful landscape, with no other infrastructure or houses visible from the main view.
That Gondwana provides an authentic big game experience within the Cape Floral Kingdom is enough to recommend it as different from most. Farmer’s Weekly was so enchanted that a future visit is already on the cards for next year. This will be to experience the Pioneer Trail, a three-day slack-pack walking safari with overnight stays in luxury tents and all meals and drinks included.
Visit gondwanagr.co.za.
THE GAME ROAM FREE; THE PEOPLE, NOT THE ANIMALS, ARE FENCED IN