When we started planning our South Africa trip, there were 3 things we absolutely wanted to see and do: visit Cape Town, explore the wine region, and go on a safari. All of this had to fit within 8 days, so I quickly understood that visiting Kruger National Park wasn’t gonna be an option as it would have required us to take an internal flight. Luckily there are some amazing game reserves in the Western Cape region, that are easily accessible from Cape Town. If you’re dreaming of an unforgettable safari adventure, look no further than Gondwana Private Game Reserve, a stunning park nestled in the heart of the Western Cape. This exclusive game reserve offers an exceptional wildlife experience only a 4h drive from Cape Town, making it the ideal destination for a quick escape into the wild beauty of South Africa.
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Gondwana Private Game Reserve: A Natural Wonder
Gondwana Private Game Reserve is one of the most beautiful parks near Cape Town. The park covers 11,000 hectares with a great variety of landscapes and is home to the legendary Big Five ( lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and rhinoceros).
All the animals here are roaming the park freely, so each game drive is a different experience, and you can never predict what you will see! And that is the real beauty of a safari, isn’t it?
What sets Gondwana apart is its commitment to conservation and responsible tourism. The reserve actively participates in various conservation initiatives, ensuring the preservation of indigenous flora and fauna. For example, they are very strict about the kind and number of animals introduced into the park, to ensure the wellbeing of all the animals.
In Gondwana Private Game Reserve nature does all the work. There is minimal human intervention (no feeding or healing of the animals) and only the endangered White Rhinos are tracked to ensure their safety (sadly poaching is still very much a lucrative activity in South Africa).
Luxury in the wild: Gondwana accommodations
Gondwana Private Game Reserve offers different kinds of accommodations, each providing a unique way to experience the wilderness, but always with full comfort! From luxurious private villas to well-appointed lodges, there’s something for every type of traveler.
During our time in Gondwana, we stayed at the Kwena Lodge. The first thing you will notice arriving at the Kwena Lodge is the spectacular 180-degree views of the surrounding mountainous landscape and the occasional passing wildlife!! This is a truly breathtaking view, that can be admired from pretty much everywhere in the lodge, from the restaurant to the room.
There are 14 spacious stand-alone rooms in the lodge, with thatch roofs, beautiful bathrooms, and large terraces offering the same 180-degree spectacular view. If you are coming in a group or as a family there are also 7 villas of 3 to 4 bedrooms, located only 5 min drive from the lodge.
The Kwena Lodge facilities include a stunning infinity pool with a sun lounging deck, an open-air bar area, and a cozy dining room set around two fireplaces, an amazing setting to sip delicious South African wines!
Gondwana Private Game Reserve offers other types of accommodations in the park, including a tented camp, and an ultra-luxury private lodge. You can find more details on their website, or directly on Booking.com.
A typical day in Gondwana Private Game Reserve
A typical day at Gondwana Private Game Reserve is the perfect blend of adventure, relaxation, and immersion in nature. The game reserve operates on a well-organized schedule to make the most of your safari experience.
Morning Game Drive: We rose bright and early for the sunrise game drive. After gathering with the other guests and grabbing a coffee and a few breakfast pastries, it is time to embark on the sunrise game drive! The drives are conducted by very passionate guides who stay with you throughout your stay so they know exactly what you have already seen, and what you are most excited about so they can try to tailor the drives accordingly. Once the sun was up, we stopped for delicious rusks and coffee with a dash of Amarulla (a typical liquor from South Africa). After a few hours and the amazing sight of a full family of lions, we returned to the lodge for a delicious breakfast.
Free time: Most of the rest of the day is dedicated to chilling, swimming in the stunning infinity pool, or having a relaxing treatment in the bush spa! Lunch is served in the main restaurant, indoor,s or on the beautiful terrasse with an infinite view of the reserve. Like everywhere we ate in the Western Cape, the food in Gondwana Private Game Reserve was really delicious!!
Afternoon Game Drive: Around 4 pm, it is time to gather again in the main lodge, for a quick high tea. Tea, coffee, and a variety of cookies and mini sandwiches are the perfect send-off for a beautiful sunset game drive. Once again, our guide drove us to different parts of the park, looking for some of the most iconic wildlife! As the sun sets, we paused for sundowners at a scenic spot. Sipping on a glass of wine, while the sky turned to fire was really a magical moment! After the drive, it is time to freshen up before going for a delicious dinner by the fireplace.
If you feel like we ate all day it is probably because we did! Staying at Gondwana is on Half Board or Full Board basis. Half Board includes 1 game drive/day (you can choose morning or evening) while full board includes both sunrise and sunset game drives. Alcoholic drinks during the drive are included, but not the ones you consume at the restaurant. I definitely recommend the Full Board … you are in the middle of an 11,000-hectare park, so there is nowhere else to go for lunch anyway!
What is the ideal stay in Gondwana?
We stayed in Gondwana Private Game Reserve for 2 nights, and did 3 Game Drives (we skipped the last sunrise one in order to sleep in!) and I thought that was the perfect amount of time to fully immerse in the safari experience. Even though the park is massive, there is only so far you can drive on each outing so you are likely to see the same animals, and some of the same areas several times. Most of the animals are easy to spot, so over the course of 4 game drives, you will definitely see elephants, wildebeest, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, zebras etc. More difficult to spot are the lions (we were very lucky to see the whole family of 5 during our morning game drive) and the leopard (that we didn’t see), so having at least 4 game drives increases your chances of seeing them.
I think a two-night stay at the game reserve strikes a great balance between adventure and relaxation and is perfect if you are driving from Cape Town or other parts of the Western Cape. I think 1night only would be quite tiring!.
To make the most of your stay at Gondwana Private Game Reserve, arrive early afternoon on your check-in day (so as not to miss the sunset drive) and leave around lunchtime to enjoy the last morning game drive.
What to bring on a safari
There are only a few essentials to bring with you to this beautiful Game reserve:
- Neutral color clothing: You are in the middle of nature and the idea is to blend it! So pack some light beige, white, and green clothes. Avoid dark colors that attract mosquitos.
- Layers: When the sun is high, the weather is warm and lovely but it can be freezing early morning and late evening, especially in fully open cars, so pack a few extra layers. Long sleeves shirts, sweaters, and jackets are your friends! Luckily there are also some very warm ponchos and blankets in each car.
- Sun protection: Sunblock, sunglasses, and a hat are always a good idea to bring on a safari as the day can be really hot.
- Mosquito repellent: If like me you are prone to being eaten alive by mosquitos, don’t forget to pack repellent.
- Camera: Because it is a private reserve, the drivers at Gondwana can actually drive quite close to some of the animals so a regular camera can work in most situations but still, if you like photography, I recommend packing a good zoom, ideally around 200mm.
- Binocular: Similarly, binoculars are not absolutely necessary but can be useful, especially if you like birds or try to find elusive leopards.
You can check my blog post What to wear on an African safari for more details.
Best Time to Visit Gondwana Private Game Reserve
Gondwana Private Game Reserve is a year-long safari destination, each season bringing different fauna and flora highlights. If you combine a stay at this game reserve with a Cape Town trip, I suggest you visit between September and April, November to February being the warmest months, with average temperatures in the low 20 degrees. For more details on what to expect for each season, check out their website
Getting to Gondwana Private Game Reserve from Cape Town
Gondwana Private Game Reserve is located in the heart of the Western Cape, approximately four hours by car from Cape Town. The drive on the N2 Highway towards Mossel Bay is absolutely stunning and a great part of the journey.
Once you arrive at the main entrance of the Gondwana Private Game Reserve, report to the security team who will indicate to you which way to go to reach your lodge. You should be aware that before you even get to the main entrance the road turns into a rocky dirt road. If you have a regular car, you will have to drive really slowly to not damage your car, so just account for the extra time. If you have the option to rent a 4×4, I highly recommend it, The drive inside the reserve will be smoother and more pleasant.
Gondwana Private Game Reserve is a remarkable destination that offers a unique blend of wildlife, luxurious accommodations, and breathtaking scenery. Just a stone’s throw away from Cape Town, it is the perfect game reserve to embark on an amazing safari adventure in the Western Cape. Even though we have done safaris before, (including a stunning one in Tanzania), we left Gondwana with amazing memories of the African wilderness.
So, pack your bags, set off from Cape Town, and prepare for a stunning adventure at Gondwana Private Game Reserve.
Love, Emma
Useful tools to organize your trip in the Western Cape
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MARK BOTHA
Errr. Emma, you should get out more. There are many more beautiful, wild, authentic and diverse reserves in the Cape than this. At least go for places that are mostly natural and enjoy the unique endemics of the Fynbos, and wildlife experiences you can’t get on any bland, beige safari
…
Emma
MARK BOTHAHi Mark! I wish I had more time to “get out more” and visit more reserves in the region. I wouldn’t say that Gondwana was bland at all, especially if you are a first-timer. Of course, it is nothing like the safari I did in Tanzania for example, but for 2 days we still had a great time. But I would love to go back to the Cape Town region, so feel free to share some places you think are not Beige Safari 😉 and hopefully I can check it out soon! Thanks!
Anne Munro
As a South African I was very disappointed in Gondwana. Food and accommodation was great, but the game drives left a lot to be desired. We had to find lion at all costs, and we’re still unsuccessful. I understand that international visitors want to see lion, however, they miss out on so much by chasing after lion, and then seeing two eyes shining in the dark, is anything but a good sighting.
There are other reserves in the Western Cape, however, most of them are like zoos. We will find rhino around this corner, elephant the next and so on. If you want to have a truly authentic bush experience, do a self drive to Kruger, nothing beats that, other than doing one of their guided walking trails. Again, you will most probably not see lion on a walking trail, but I would far rather go into the bush on foot than in a game viewing vehicle.
Emma
Anne MunroThanks for sharing your feedback Anne! I agree that our driver really tried to find the lions, and we were sooo lucky to see them early on during our morning drive, walking right past our car. Some of the other cars looked for them or stayed put for a VERY long time trying to see them, and I think that would have annoyed me too! I really liked our time in Gondwana, but of course it is nothing like the big National Parks. I visited Tanzania a few years ago and that was truly mind blowing! I would love to see Kruger, and doing a self-drive would also be a great new experience! And if I go for a walk, I am more than glad to not see a lion 😛 !! Is there any place you would recommend for a quick safari for people visiting Cape Town and short on time like I was? Thanks a lot!!
Alex
Well, that’s just like your opinion man …
Guido Brits
Just of note: Every park has its downfalls. Kruger is over rated. I’ve been to all parks in SA and countless times to Kruger in which up to date never saw any lions, cheetah or leopard. Kruger’s disadvantage is besides enormous, the bush is very dense making it difficult to spot the cats. Much better at Etosha. However, don’t forget Addo.
Emma
Guido Britshi Guido,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. You are so lucky to have visited all these parks!!
I have heard mixed reviews about Kruger indeed, so it is not really on my top priority list of parks to visit at the moment.
Well noted on Etosha and Addo though, I will definitely look it up!
Best,
Emma
Nataliya
I love Gondwana game reserve too. We went there for my birthday a few years ago. One can definitely get there from Cape Town, specially if you don’t have enough time to fly to Kruger national park. And you see animals. We also were lucky to see lions. In Kruger national park you can drive for hours without seeing much, You can be lucky to see a lot, but you can be unlucky and see only monkeys and birds. Avoid school holidays. You see a lot of cars, not animals.
Emma
NataliyaHi Nataliya,
Such a nice birthday trip, right?!!
I would love to do a self driving safari but indeed I always wonder how much you can actually see. I feel like the expertise of the driver is such an integral part of the experience . But still, I would love to try, just to get that incredible feeling of freedom!
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your experience.
Best,
Emma
Marcel van der Merwe II
Well done on a great piece! As a Western Cape local, I can certainly agree with you that Gondwana Game Reserve ranks up there in the top spots as an authentic Cape safari experience. It is one of only two private game reserve that have reintroduced the iconic ‘Big 5’ as self-sustaining free-roaming (within large reserves at least), a feat that not even any of the National Parks or government Nature Reserves have managed to accomplish. The other private reserve being Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, who with Gondwana, deserves to be recognised as the top authentic Western Cape safari destinations. Of course these can’t be compared to the expansive savanna reserves like Kruger because they are located in a totally different landscape.
Africa is much more that just the savannas that tend to receive all the focus on Wildlife documentaries. Well done on a great article and a superb literary encapsulation of Gondwana Game Reserve and the unique Cape safari experience!
Marcel van der Merwe II
Gora Wilderness Foundation
Emma
Marcel van der Merwe IIHi Marcel,
Thanks a lot for your kind words!
Well noted on Sanbona, I will definitely look it up if & when we visit Cape Town again.
Of course, there is so much more to see in Africa, with such rich variety of landscapes, I really want to visit more and more. I hope something will be in the cards for 2023!!
Best,
Emma
Grant Insley
Hi Emma.
If you want Big 5 parks, then the Western Cape does not really have much to offer, especially if one wants free roaming animals, but if chasing after the Big 5 is not essential and you want to self-drive, then the Karoo National Park is worth a visit and is also around 4 hours from Cape Town out on the N1. Most of your catering will be self-catering, but breakfasts come free with chalet accomodation. There is a restaurant where you can get supper as well, but when in SA, do as South Africans do and braai at your chalet for dinner.
Normal SANParks rules apply for driving in the park. No real luxury, but much more freedom at a significantly lower cost.
Grant
Emma
Grant InsleyHi Grant,
I would love to do a self-driving safari someday, that must indeed feel like the next level of freedom. And a braai at the end of a long driving day … sign me up immediately!!
I hope to be able to come back to SA soon! Thank you for taking the time to share this precious information 🙂
Best,
Emma