Quatermain’s Safari Camp

Ever dreamed of staying in an intimate tented camp in a private game reserve but thought you would never afford it? Well, this Eastern Cape operation is tailor-made for ordinary South Africans, reports Jim Freeman.

Idoubt if there is a Roadtripping bushlover in this country that passes a private Big Five reserve without feelings of envy and anger … caused in equal measure by the knowledge that the best wildlife experiences South Africa has to offer is well beyond their financial means.

The truth, though, is that these exclusive getaways are feeling the Covid-19 pinch far more than many of the “humbler” game reserves. Their narrow focus on well-heeled foreign visitors seeking a once-in-a-lifetime African adventure has left them (hopefully temporarily) terribly vulnerable.

There are safari experiences and “safari experiences”: if you feel that living in an air-conditioned Wi-fi-served villa with walls made of canvas instead of stone was how big game hunters roughed it a century ago, a dollar-priced destination is probably your thing. If, however, you want to combine outstanding value and authenticity with fantastic game-viewing, go no further than Quatermain’s 1920s Safari Camp in the Eastern Cape.

Situated on the 8500 hectare Amakhala Game Reserve between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown, this intimate fly-camp is offering a post-pandemic self-catering option that aims at getting South Africans back into the bush – without putting them at heightened risk of infection.

Inspired by Frederick Selous

The camp is true to type of those that served the explorers and hunters of yore, such as Frederick Selous: comfortable, with all the essentials and whatever luxuries could be borne by porters from day to day. Selous, incidentally, was the inspiration for author H Rider Haggard’s adventure hero Allan Quatermain of the novel King Solomon’s Mines. Quatermain’s is owned and run by Riaan and Julie Brand, whose company is appropriately called Haggard and Brand Expeditions.

The camp sleeps six people in three handsome colonial-style tents nestled in the bush on the Carnarvon Dale section of Amakhala. It is off the grid except for a solar-powered unit for charging cellphones; heat and light is provided by wood, gas, and paraffin. Cuisine is whatever can be prepared over a fire or Cadac-style cooker in the small kitchen adjacent to the braai boma.

Instead of charging the usual allinclusive daily rate of R3 510 per person, the entire camp can now be booked out at a base rate of R1 800 a day for up to four people, with two additional guests being charged R250 per person. “Though the camp would normally accommodate six people in the three tents, we can provide two extra mattresses at R125 a night, if necessary,” says Julie. The daily conservation levy of R125 per adult and R75 per child still applies.

Haggard and Brand offers a wide range of ancillary activities – suitable for the entire family – that have been tailored to suit the finances of the average local but are directly comparable to those offered to guests on Shamwari and other luxury private reserves in the Eastern Cape.

These include:

• Morning and afternoon Big Five game drives conducted by a qualified field guide on the main Amakhala Game Reserve. (Quatermain’s is on the Carnarvon Dale section of the reserve, where there is no dangerous wildlife.) R350 per person for a four-hour game drive, with a minimum of two people.

• Big Five walks guided by a qualified trails guide on the main reserve. R400 per person for a three-hour walk, with a minimum of two people. Only for guests older than 16 years.

• A one-hour children’s adventure walk – conducted by a qualified guide – around camp looking for small animals, tracks, and signs in nature. Minimum of two people at R50 per person.

• Two-hour birding walks conducted on the camp section of the reserve by a qualified guide. R150 per person, with a minimum of two people.

• Three-hour bush walks conducted on the Carnarvon Dale section of Amakhala, departing from Quatermain’s. Led by a qualified guide at R225 per person, with a minimum of two people. No under-12s.

• Horseback safaris and boat trips on the nearby Bushman’s River. (Rates are available upon request.)

• Bags of ice, wood, and braai packs are for sale, as are selected drinks (depending on lockdown regulations). Amakhala Game Reserve began in 1999 as a joint conservation venture between the owners of six lodges who were direct descendants of frontier settlers who arrived in the Eastern Cape in 1820. Another four properties have been added to the reserve, which not only hosts the Big Five but has lately seen the birth of two cheetah cubs.

Self-drive game viewing is not permitted on Amakhala .

Make the journey your destination