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.
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
The cheetah and elephant interactions, and
Seeing a sleeping male white lion
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
Trumpeter Hornbill sitting on the top of a tree, and
A surprise close-up view of an ostrich that walked up to me at Inkwenkwezi game reserve.
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.
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.
View my South Africa Eastern Cape Photo Gallery
This article was originally written by me for the Travel Insurance Direct TIDbits blog.
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