South Africa Wildlife Safari Eastern Cape Road Trip

You may not have heard of South Africa’s Eastern Cape “wild coast” but it’s definitely worth a visit if you have a limited amount of time in South Africa and want to see animals up close. Flying from Australia you’ll land at Johannesburg or Joburg as the locals call it. From there the Eastern Cape is a short flight away to East London Airport.

Giraffes - South Africa Eastern Cape

Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve is a short drive from East London Airport. Situated in a prime, malaria free zone in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, Inkwenkwezi‘s rich diversity of landscapes offers you an unparalleled wildlife viewing experience.

The highlights of my stay at Inkwenkwezi were:

A night safari drive where we saw a pair of giraffes really close up
Giraffes Eastern Cape-South Africa

The cheetah and elephant interactions, and
Cheetah up close Eastern Cape-South Africa

Elephant experience Eastern Cape South Africa

Seeing a sleeping male white lion
Sleeping Male Lion - Eastern Cape - South Africa

Eastern Cape birdlife

The wide variety of regional eco-systems (biomes) and mixture of coastal and inland areas means South Africa’s Eastern Cape is a great place if you are a birdwatcher “twitcher” or just appreciate birdlife, with over 400 birds in the province.

Bird spotting highlights of my trip to the Eastern Cape included:

A Yellow Weaver Bird tending its nest
Baby African Weaver Bird in Nest - South Africa Eastern Cape

Trumpeter Hornbill sitting on the top of a tree, and
Trumpeter Hornbill bird sitting on the top of a tree South Africa Eastern Cape

A surprise close-up view of an ostrich that walked up to me at Inkwenkwezi game reserve.
Ostrich head close up Eastern Cape-South Africa

Samara Private Game Reserve

Where Inkwenkwezi provided close up wildlife encounters saving time, Samara is a luxury lodge located in the wide open spaces of the Karoo semi-desert natural region of South Africa. Hence it offers quite a different, more spacious natural experience.

Plateau overlooking Samara Game Reserve - South Africa Eastern Cape

During our amazing game drives, we saw many types of wildlife including antelopes, zebras, a herd of giraffes, had a close encounter with some white rhinoceros, tortoises, monkeys and much more.

Herd of white rhinoceros South Africa Eastern Cape

Mirrored Zebras - South Africa Eastern Cape

View my South Africa Eastern Cape Photo Gallery

South Africa - Eastern Cape 2011 Highlights

This article was originally written by me for the Travel Insurance Direct TIDbits blog.


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