Port Elizabeth - South Africa. Visit to Kwantu Game Reserve.

Princess Cruises - Port Elizabeth - South Africa.
Our day tour to Kwantu Game Reserve.

Today we are in Port Elizabeth on the beautiful east coast of South Africa facing the Indian Ocean. This City is the gateway to some of the finest Game Parks in all of Africa. It is also noted for its glorious beaches.

Unfortunately we are only going to see a little of Port Elizabeth as we drive through the outskirts of the city on our way to the Kwantu Game Reserve.  Today we are going on an 8 hour ships tour, which will include a 1.5 hour drive to the Game Park, as well as 3+ hours in an open air 4WD Safari vehicle looking for Africa’s “Big Five” – (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino), a buffet lunch in the Kwantu Lodge and then the return journey back to the port.


One of the old houses at Kwantu.

There are many large Game Parks throughout South Africa, some are run and maintained by the Government and many others are smaller privately run concerns. Animals in these parks are allowed to roam freely and co-exist just like they would in the wild without any human interference. The only difference between Government operated Reserves and those privately operated is that if an animal gets injured or is sick, it receives vet treatment in a private park but in the Government Reserves they have to fend for themselves. Poachers, after rhino horn or elephant tusks break into both types of Game Reserve and either kill or severely hurt the animal to get their trophies. There are armed guards in most of the parks but poaching is still widely practiced.

Kwantu Game Reserve is a privately run park and it is operated by Muslims. Kwantu was originally a African village that was bought and turned into a very large tourist complex and nature reserve. It is also noted for its rehabilitation of special lions, tigers and cheetahs. Most big cats in this area have been brought by people as small pets and then abandoned or orphaned at a very young age and then hand reared. It is hoped to make them independent and to eventually release them into the park or in the case of the tigers return them to India.


A beautiful young white lion in the rehabilitation area.



A young cheetah with fantastic markings



A beautiful female lion in the rehabilitation centre.

When we arrive at Kwantu we are welcomed by the staff and given light refreshment and a cool drink in one of the many beautiful rooms in the complex. We then meet our local tour guide – a young African man of Zulu origin named Answer and then board our vehicle which holds 10 people to head out on our adventure. But before we go out onto the Game Reserve we are taken into the rehabilitation area where we see white lion, two beautifully marked young cheetahs, a large male lion and his two mates and five gorgeous tigers. All these wild cats are in fantastic condition and look very much at home on their large enclosures. The animals in this area are fed regularly where the animals in the reserve have to hunt for their food.

We then venture out onto the plains, where we see many different varieties of African antelope as well as wildebeest, zebra and rhinoceros grazing and roaming across the plains. Answer then takes us to a water hole and there we see our first hippo in the wild – only this ears at first but then his eyes and nose appears as he takes a breath. Hippos’ apparently spend most of their time submerged in water because they burn very easily in the hot African sun.


Antelope.



Antelope on the plains.



A big blue wildebeest.



Hippo submerged in a large pond.



Burchells Zebra.



Animals grazing.

Our young guide is very passionate about the work he does and he has a genuine love for all the animals in the park. He is also very keen for us to see all of the “Big Five” so he next takes us into the more thickly vegetated part of the reserve. Here we see giraffe and several big African elephants crashing through the undergrowth. We also find and save the cutest little tortoise with beautiful markings which we nearly run over.  We stopped for a long while just watching four very mature giraffes grazing and nibbling at trees. They all had fantastic markings and were a delight to just watch.

This rhino is eyeing us up.

This beautifully coloured tortoise was crossing the track in front of us - so we had to stop and save him.

A beautiful big giraffe walked out of the dense undergrowth.

A giraffe grazing right near us.

A giraffe with the 4WD vehicle we drove around the Game Reserve in the background.

One of the male giraffe we saw and watched for some time.

An elephant raises his trunk.

An elephant in the dense part of the Game Reserve.

For all his effort we do not find a lion or a buffalo but we do see beautiful scenery and many more grazing animals. Two of the rhinoceros we see have actually had their horns removed by poachers but fortunately they were found quickly enough for them to be given medical help and they were saved and are now happily grazing together. All too soon our adventure comes to an end and we are taken to a magnificent African Thatched Roof Lodge for a traditional African meal, refreshments and entertainment. Through the large windows of the Lodge we have a fantastic 180° view out over the reserve with many animals on the plains and some drinking at the water hole – it was just what you would have imagined Africa to be like.


Answer and I after our safari ride.



The inside of the Safari Lodge.



This is the part of the Safari Lodge where we had lunch.

We then boarded our bus and headed out of Kwantu - but just after we had passed through the main gates someone on our bus said “look behind that shed is a lion” and sure enough right next to the road and where everyone had passed by were two lionesses just sitting looking at the buses going by. So our wonderful day of animal watching was topped off by us actually seeing lion in the wild.

 

This is the lion we saw that is actually in the wild but sitting near the fence at the entrance to Kwantu.