Now I was dying to see for myself what Sanbona Dwyka Lodge was all about since I had heard so much about it! After our stay in Swellendam on the Route 62, we made our way through the Tradouw’s pass to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve. This is a big reserve at around 54 000 hectares in the Klein (Small) Karoo. The area is stunning and with views to die for, you can guarantee a very different safari experience.
A few Rhino Africans managed to see Sanbona Dwyka Lodge last year after it opened in April 2009 and they raved about the accommodation. There is no doubt they were not wrong with their judgments. The suites are designed so perfectly for the environment – with canvas roofs and elegant decor inside, you wouldn’t think they are so luxurious inside. But they really are! As you can imagine, the Klein Karoo does get a little cold at this time of the year, so we were eagerly waiting to see if there was some sort of heating and were happy to find that there was! Fully equipped with under-floor heating and standard heating / air-conditioning, you will be fine (the plunge pool is NOT heated though and best saved for those summer months).
We arrived at the Welcome Lounge / Staging Post which is about 20 minutes from the gate to the reserve where you are met with some coffee / tea and escorted to the Lodges. Tilney Lodge is about 45 minutes, Sanbona Gondwana Lodge is about 55 minutes whereas Sanbona Dwyka Lodge is a little further from the Welcome Lounge. IMPORTANT: It is recommended that you take this transfer (free of charge) as driving the rough terrain between the Lounge and Lodges is long and quite tiring! It’s best that you don’t arrive at the lodge frustrated and stressed since you are on ‘holiday’ after all, so please take this well-organised service and arrive before the scheduled times of the transfers which is at 12:30 and 16:00. Your car is safely parked at the Welcome Lounge for the duration of your stay and you will be safely escorted back to your vehicle when you leave.
The game-viewing was better than I expected. During our 1 night stay, we happened to spot white rhino (several times), jackal, lion (tawney and white), giraffe, all the buck (eg. springbok, rhebok, hartebeest, kudu, gemsbok, eland etc.) and one or two ostrich (can’t miss them!) as well as exquisite birdlife (such as eagles). We also saw the lonely Harry the Hippo and we had to look for him several times since he was a little scarce! We unfortunately didn’t stay long enough to see the elephants who were on the other side of the reserve at the time. Trevor, our game ranger, was superb and really catered to our every need. He was a great host and has numerous years of experience which showed in the way he handled us as guests. The vehicles that are used are great bucket seat vehicles with canopies (a little useful in the rain) and in winter you will get your trusted blankets and hot water bottles to keep you toasty!
One of the best features and draw cards of Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is the magnificent white lion and their rehabilitation programme to get them back into the wild. These animals are absolutely beautiful and a wonder to see. So far, they have been very successful with the programme and the lion continue to adapt to the environment they are in. The lionesses do interact with tawney lion on the reserve and we were very fortunate to see them hunting some game in Sanbona Wildlife Reserve. It was spectacular.
If you are looking for a wilderness experience or looking for more of nature oriented programme, then Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is great and offers excellent game-viewing as well as rock art walks, star gazing, bird watching and world-class accommodation and services!
This isn’t the first time a Rhino African has had the pleasure of visiting Sanbona, you can read our previous posts about Sanbona on our blog:
https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/2009/09/10/sanbona-revisited/
https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/2008/06/02/a-san-inspired-sanbona-safari/
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We are currently running a competition on our Facebook group, the prize a luxury safari worth R70 000. All you have to do is ‘Like’ us to stand a chance to win. Find our group at https://www.facebook.com/RhinoAfrica
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