For a minute, I thought the cheetah had lost. Outpaced by a lion, and soon to beon the receiving end of a few millennia of evolutionary envy.
We’d been watching three lions – two sturdy females and a majestic male, whose role seemed to consist primarily of sleeping – hunt a herd of Red Hartebeest. Or perhaps they were after the lone zebra hidden among them; his dazzling stripes no help among the dusty copper coats of the ‘harties’.
It was a blustery, overcast day, but the herd seemed relaxed on the grassy plains between the thickets. On the opposite hillside we noticed a small yellow splodge. Binoculars went up and the radio crackled to life: “Young male cheetah on northern ridge. He’s spotted the lion.”
Cheetah and lion are sworn enemies, although the malevolence is firmly on the side of panthera leo. Even a fully-grown cheetah stands no chance against the stronger and heavier lion. Speed is its only option.
Creeping closer for a better look, the cheetah – wisely – chose discretion over valour and padded away. We all went back to watching the Hartebeest. All, that is, except the lions.
Seeing their ancient enemy alone and exposed, the lionesses decided rivalry trumped rump and trotted off in pursuit. A trot turned into a jog, a jog dialled up to a sprint and in the game vehicle our minds quietly raced: “Why the hell is that cheetah not running?”
Padding away at a leisurely pace, it wasn’t until the lions were thirty metres off –their long, bounding leaps threatening to close the distance in seconds – that the cheetah turned. An explosion of speed sent it off between the euphorbias, a dust cloud billowing as it bobbed and weaved away through the thickets.
Our game vehicle raced down the gravel road in pursuit, catching up with the thwarted lions as they searched for the cheetah’s scent. Foiled, this time. My heart returned from my throat to its rightful place.
But this incredible safari scene wasn’t played out on the grassy billiard table of the Masai Mara, the steamy bushveld of Botswana or the sandy tracks in Kruger. This ancient drama was performed on the scrubby hillsides of Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, in the heart of the Eastern Cape.
Billed as ‘Frontier Country’ for the Anglo-Xhosa wars that racked these hills in the mid-1800s, the stretch of countryside between Port Elizabeth and East London has fast become South Africa’s new frontier for Big Five safaris; malaria-free, mild and the perfect bookend to the popular Garden Route.
There are close on a dozen, mostly private, reserves offering wildlife experiences in the area, but you’d do well to remember that not all safaris are created equal. When it comes to Eastern Cape reserves, size certainly does matter and on the smaller reserves there’s a fair chance your game viewing will have a backdrop of traffic and tar. Not quite ‘Out of Africa’.
But not so on Kwandwe, where you’ll mostly enjoy a 360° view of untouched wilderness. Like many of the private reserves in the area, Kwandwe’s 22 000 hectares were once marginal farmland, but the power lines, houses and fences that scarred the horizon have long since been bundled away, and the land rejuvenated.
Named for the Blue Crane – known as kwa-indwe in the local isiXhosa – the endangered national bird of South Africa is just one of dozens of species that now call this restored landscape home. Elephant enjoy the lush riverine grasses, black rhino stick to the thickets and the Great Fish River flows languidly through the property, harbouring hippo in the deep pools and drawing a menagerie of wildlife in the hot summer months.
The sub-tropical thicket that coats much of Kwandwe’s hills may not support the vast herds of game to be seen further north, but in my handful of game drives we were privileged to enjoy an array of breathtakingly unique sightings: lions ferrying a warthog kill to their cubs, the shy nocturnal aardwolf hunting in broad daylight and, of course, a close call for a lucky cheetah.
On these private reserves you’re just about guaranteed four of the Big Five (darn those shy leopard), but in this corner of the country it seems less is definitely more.
While Kwandwe keeps a low profile, Shamwari is the big, brash reserve that has been beating the drum of Eastern Cape Big Five safaris for over a decade. One of the first to reintroduce big game to its 25 000 hectares, Shamwari is also host to a dubious honour: in 1856 the last free-roaming lion in the Eastern Cape was shot here.
The notion of restoring the indigenous wildlife to its rightful place is precisely what inspired local businessmen Adrian Gardiner to create Shamwari over 20 years ago, buying up parcels of abused farmland that were crying out for restoration. That renewal is still very much a work in progress though, with wide-open plains of grass separating the hilltops of indigenous thicket.
It’s a slight distraction from the Big Five on offer, but it’s not the end of the world. Days at Shamwari follow a similar pattern to most private lodges, with morning and evening game drives crisscrossing the reserve. While the grassy plains of Shamwari support fairly large herds of antelope, again it’s the smaller sightings that you’ll remember: the shy Black Rhino, cheetahs sheltering from a blustery spring wind and the rumble of a lion’s contact call echoing across your hilltop sundowners.
While Shamwari has something for everyone, Gorah Elephant Camp is unashamedly, gloriously, romantic. Set on a private concession within the Addo Elephant National Park, the tented suites of Gorah fan out away from the historic homestead.
In the late-1800s Gorah was once one of the wealthiest farms in the district thanks to the boom in ostrich feathers, and the manor house today reflects the comfortable opulence of the time. Deep leather armchairs, high ceilings and thick walls, magnificent iron fireplaces and a deep stoep overlooking a waterhole make for a loveably old world safari escape.
As with Shamwari, the scars of farming are all too obvious in the flat fields of grass stretching away from Gorah, but it does have the significant benefit of panoramic views across the plains and up into the shrub-covered hills. Addo Elephant National Park has been a haven for elephants since it was proclaimed in 1931, and you’re almost guaranteed some wonderful elephant sightings during your time at Gorah.
Game drives here can traverse the park’s 24 000 hectare main section, but it’s the quiet tracks and off-road routes on the private concession that are the highlight here. Unlike Addo’s self-drive visitors, the beauty of a private safari escape is the sheer gluttony of having a small stretch of African bush all to yourself.
It’s a pleasure that visitors to the Kruger bushveld have long enjoyed, and now the Eastern Cape is slowly muscling in on the act. Bush aficionados will tell you there is nothing like a Lowveld safari, and they’re right.
But when it comes to exquisite lodges and unique sightings these smaller, leaner Eastern Cape reserves are showing they may just be one step ahead of their big brawny bushveld cousins. A little like the cheetah that got away.
Stay here:
Kwandwe Private Game Reserve offers two lodges and two family-friendly exclusive-use villas, but our firm favourite is the sleek modern Ecca Lodge. Just six oh-so-secluded suites stretch out along the hillside, with svelte sliding doors opening onto private decks and panoramic views. This is Norwegian cool meets funky African farmhouse. Low-slung beds and glassed-in rain-showers, rough gabion walls and settler-chic tin roofs. Private plunge pools and outside showers make short work of hot summer days. Room #1 is tucked away and private. Visit www.andbeyond.com or call 011 809 4300
Bayethe Tented Camp is one of seven lodges on Shamwari, and escapes the grassland views by being hidden away in a bird-filled valley. The riverside tents are spacious and tick all the five-star boxes, but could do with a little TLC. This sleek safari lady is showing her age and needs a nip/tuck and a few new frocks. However, the feel is more casual than at other lodges so there’s no need to dress for dinner, as meals are a casual fireside affair.
Visit www.shamwari.com or call 041 407 1000
Gorah Tented Camp is pure Out of Africa romance. Formal dinners – Gorah is a member of the gourmet Chaîne des Rôtisseurs – in the historic homestead are all crystal and candlelight, but the suites are the real highlight. White canvas tents belie the homely luxury within, where four-poster beds and cosy armchairs cry out for afternoon naps and quality time with a good book. And the best bit? It’s canvas, so the rustle of furry critters outside the tent adds a shiver of excitement in the dead of night. Ask for tent #10 to ensure uninterrupted views of the plains.
Visit www.hunterhotels.com or call 044 401 1111
First published in Indwe magazine, February 2011
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