One of the main attractions of the Eastern Cape is the opportunity to visit a wildlife park and see the Big 5 in a malaria-free environment.

Right in the heart of the Eastern Cape’s game viewing region you will find Pumba Private Game Reserve, situated a mere 105 km from Port Elizabeth.

The reserve stretches over an area of 6,000 hectares. Home to the Big 5, the Reserve offers visitors the chance to experience the wonders of Africa – from the graceful giraffe to the seldom seen leopard. There are also 22 species of antelope and other small game.

Pumba is also home to the near extinct white lion and for bird lovers the 200 + species will delight.

There are just 2 lodges on the entire reserve. The stunning Pumba Water Lodge is, as its name suggests, situated overlooking Lake Kariega and offers magnificent views from its terraced deck. The 12 air-conditioned suites lead off meandering footpaths and are set along the lake’s edge. Each suite has a unique view of the lake and opens onto a private deck with outside shower and plunge pool.

Pumba Bush Lodge overlooking a small watering hole on a flood plain. There are just 11 thatched, glass enclosed chalets here, each in it’s own private bush setting – giving the ultimate feeling and experience of an African bush safari. Each chalet is air-conditioned, and has a spacious en-suite bathroom. Outside your chalet is your own private game viewing deck and plunge pool, plus an outdoor shower.

From NOW until the end of April 2013, Travel Butlers are delighted to offer a Stay for 3 Nights, Only Pay for 2 for any stays here (the exceptions being stays over the Xmas and New Year periods), which, coupled with attractive rates that only Travel Butlers can offer, really does make this a fabulous safari experience.

As an example … for 2 people staying at Pumba Water Lodge for 3 nights in May 2012, the total for all 3 nights would be just R13,320 / £1,210 (based on current exchange rates) – and this rates includes all meals, local beers, ciders, soft drinks and house wines, and morning / afternoon guided game drives.

AND if that isn’t enough … for any bookings between the 27th November to the 20th December THIS YEAR if you confirm with a deposit before the 30th September, we will offer you a further 10% reduction from our rates for this period. This would make our rate just R3,816 / £340 per person per night – and the Stay 3 / Pay 2 would STILL apply !!!

And finally, children of ANY age are welcome – Water Lodge has family rooms – children rates on request.

We look forward to hearing from you and booking your stay in this incredibly special game reserve.

The 5* Tuningi Safari Lodge is set in a valley on the western side of the malaria-free Big 5 Madikwe Game Reserve, situated just 5 hours from Johannesburg.

Daily game drives in open 4×4 vehicles allow guests to sense the excitement of the African bush. Lion, elephant, buffalo, white and black rhino, leopard and the rare and endangered wild dog are only some of the sightings that can be experienced during your stay.

The lodge has 4 luxury suites and a further 2 family cottages, each consisting of 2 bedrooms with an adjoining lounge.

Little Tuningi is part of the main lodge but can be booked as ‘stand alone’ accommodation. It has a double room and a family unit as well as a private pool and boma for outdoor meals around the fire.

The rate in a luxury suite from now until the end of September 2011 if you book with Travel Butlers is just R3,795 per person per night, and from 1st October 2011 until 30th September 2012 is just R4,510 per person per night. For stays of 3+ nights over selected periods from October, too, the rate quoted will INCLUDE return air flights from Johannesburg to Madikwe.

Book your safari for the month of August for ONLY R2995 per person per night.

All meals, daily bush walk and morning / afternoon game drives are included. Excludes drinks.

Cannot be combined with any other offer at Shamwari Lodges.

The Shamwari Game Reserve is 25,000 hectres of malaria-free, private game reserve situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The combination of luxury safari lodges and the outstanding work that the reserve does with the Born Free Foundation has earned them numerous travel industry and conservation awards over the years.

The reserve boasts 5 eco-systems, and supports many forms of plant, animal and bird life, including the Big 5 as well as wild dog, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, hippo, zebra and numerous antelope species.

Accommodation ranges from luxury tents to an Edwardian mansion in the heart of the bush.

Book 2 nights on safari at Lion Sands River Lodge and Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, in the exclusive Sabi Sand Game Reserve; OR at Tinga Legends and Tinga Narina lodges, in Big 5 Kruger Park PLUS 2 nights at Madikwe Safari Lodge, in the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve AND RECEIVE A THIRD NIGHT AT MADIKWE SAFARI LODGE FREE.

• Valid from NOW until 30 April 2013.

Restrictions of Offer: May NOT be booked over the peak periods of 23 December 2011 – 3 January 2012 and 23 December 2012 – 3 January 2013 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion.

Book 3 nights on safari at the following safari lodges, and receive 2 FREE nights at either the Cape Cadogan or More Quarters, in the buzzy and beautiful city of Cape Town – the perfect way start or end your safari trip of a lifetime.

Lion Sands River Lodge and Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, in the exclusive Sabi Sand Game Reserve

Tinga Legends and Tinga Narina lodges, in Big 5 Kruger Park

Madikwe Safari Lodge, in the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve

• Valid from 1 October 2011 – 30 April 2013.
• Free accommodation will be either in a Standard Room at Cape Cadogan or a luxury apartment at More Quarters. If 3 nights are reserved at Ivory Lodge then a luxury room will be reserved at Cape Cadogan.

Restrictions of Offer: May NOT be booked over the peak periods of 23 December 2011 – 3 January 2012 and 23 December 2012 – 3 January 2013 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion.

STAY 4 NIGHTS AND ONLY PAY FOR 3

• Valid from 1 October 2011 – 30 April 2013.
• Valid for all room categories at the following properties :

Lion Sands River Lodge and Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, in the exclusive Sabi Sand Game Reserve

Tinga Legends and Tinga Narina lodges, in Big 5 Kruger Park

Madikwe Safari Lodge, in the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve

and Cape Cadogan and More Quarters, in the buzzy and beautiful city of Cape Town.

Restrictions of Offer: May NOT be booked over the peak periods of 23 December 2011 – 3 January 2012 and 23 December 2012 – 3 January 2013.

For that last minute safari getaway, contact us for availability at AmaKhosi Safari Lodge, only 4 hours from Durban.

Until the end of January ONLY, they are offering a Stay for 3 Nights, Only Pay for 2 deal.

AmaKhosi Safari Lodge is situated in the 12,000 hectare Amazulu Private Game Reserve. The reserve is home to the Big 5 as well as giraffe, zebra, warthog and hyena, hippopotamus and crocodile. There are also no less than 400 bird species. Early morning and late afternoon guided walks and game drives lead you into the African bush to observe the animals and their fascinating behaviour.

he magnificent regal River Suites offer superb views of the flowing Mkuze River. Each suite boasts a separate air-conditioned bedroom and lounge with fully stocked mini bar and tea / coffee making facilities. Guests can slip into an African dreamland with high thatched ceilings and glass walls reaching for the open African sky.

We stayed at Billy’s Lodge, in the Balule Game Reserve, for just one night in February.

Firstly, getting here … true, we stayed in Dullstroom (Critchley Hackle) the night before, so we knew we only had a relatively short drive that morning, but even so, it was less than 3 hours from here via the Strydom Tunnel (tunnel ?? … ha ha … blink and you will miss it !!), so from Jo’burg I reckon it will take about 5-6 hours only if you are driving. If you fly into Hoedspruit Airport, however, you are looking at about a 30 minute drive / road transfer.

To enter the reserve cost us just R60 (although the published entrance fee is R70 – but I wasn’t going to argue with them !! ), and then from the gate to the lodge was very easy … follow the road, turn left at the sign … and we were there! The road was perfectly OK to drive in a saloon car (we had a Toyoto Corolla).

Upon arrival, we parked in the shaded parking area, and were greeted by a cold drink and a face cloth. And had our first wildlife sighting … a tiny tiny bush baby, who had made its home in the thatch just above the main entrance !!

We had to wait for our room to be finished, but that was no hardship at all … we were taken out onto the wooden viewing deck where we just sat and just enjoyed the sounds of the bush. There is also another viewing platform, up high … great views but I don’t like heights very much, so climbing up there and back down again via the wooden staircase was not something I particularly enjoyed !!

Lauren, the manageress, came to find us when our room was ready … what a great girl. The lodge is actually her family home (her mother, Tess, runs the Reservations Office from Johannesburg), so she has lived here all her life … lucky lucky lucky !!

Our room was lovely – rondavel style, so round in shape, with a small tea / coffee station, a comfy bed complete with romantic mosquito net, and an en-suite bathroom with a large walk-in shower.

The lodge has just 4 rondavels in total, so a maximum of 8 guests, so it really is an ‘intimate’ safari experience.

And very reasonably priced … between now and the beginning of December (excluding the World Cup period), rates are just R2,140 per person per night if you book with Travel Butlers. The rate includes all meals, and morning / afternoon guided game drives.

There were just 4 of us for our game drive, and we met our ranger, Jonathan, who had just joined Billy’s only recently from another reserve / lodge. Again, great guy … friendly, knowledgeable, enthusiastic … all the qualities you want from your ranger really !

No sooner had we driven out of the camp, we met a giraffe, and then tracked a MASSIVE bull elephant, who later that evening reappeared back at the camp, and wandered around immediately under the viewing deck … we were able to stand VERY quietly on the walkway looking down on him … I swear we were only a few feet away.

The highlight of the drive was tracking the lions tho … we tracked them this afternoon, and caught a fleeting glance of 2 lionesses just before they disappeared into the bush, but the next morning we actually tracked and found the 2 male lions of the pride, lying in the shade of a bush and who really didn’t care whether we were there or not … so we got some great photos !

That is one advantage of a safari in this reserve (aside from it being ‘fences down’ with Kruger and also being home to Africa’s Big 5) – because the reserve is also ‘home’ to less lodges, your ranger and tracker have to ‘work’ that much harder to find the animals (versus a lodge in say Sabi Sands, where you have more lodges, so therefore more vehicles out on game drives … so you can go on a drive and just wait for the sightings to be called in over the radio by the other rangers !!) … in Balule, however, you actually do some proper tracking … it is so satisfying !!

True, the vegetation is thicker than you will see in other reserves such as Sabi Sands – there are definately more bushes and trees and not so many open spaces, so the slight downside is that you won’t get to see such large herds of wildlife together here. If you like birding, the birdlife is extremely good.

Oh yes, another nice touch was that when we got back from the afternoon game drive, Lauren ‘hosted’ a wine tasting for us all down in the wine cellar – I believe she offers this to all new arrivals, so we were not just singled out for special treatment.

Before we left the reserve the next day, we were taken up to their other lodge, Ezulwini River, for a quick look around. Ezulwini River is much further into the reserve, so from the gate I reckon it will take about an hour to drive here through the reserve. Again, another great lodge – lovely rooms, great guest areas.

It was my first time to Balule, and I sincerely hope it will not be my last. I enjoyed it immensely, I would have NO hesitation in recommending Billy’s, Ezulwini River Lodge OR the reserve to anyone, and overall, 10 out of 10 for everthing.

Guests at AmaKhosi Safari Lodge, about 3 hours from Durban, are used to their rangers taking them off road during exciting game drives in search of Africa’s Big 5 … but recently some guests got a slightly closer encounter than maybe they had bargained for !

An everso slightly curious elephant decided to investigate the Land Rover that the guests were sitting in. He came so close, it would have been possible to actually reach out and touch this gentle giant of the bush.

Ranger Philip Khumalo, however, showed why it is important for all rangers to be fully qualified and comfortable in their surroundings. He instructed his tracker to get into the vehicle, and then told all guests to remain extremely quiet and very still, and eventually the elephant, having satisfied his curiousity about this ‘strange metal thing’, wandered away.

Generally, when out on game drives, although the rangers will approach wildlife so that guests can enjoy an unbelievably close encounter, they do like to keep a respectful distance from the animals, in order not to spook or scare them – but if these animals decide to come closer on their own accord, then the ranger has to be prepared for all eventualities. A good and experienced ranger will always ensure that he has parked his vehicle at a sighting with an ‘easy exit route’ – so that he can move away if he feels that it is safe to do so without scaring or frightening the animal greatly. Guests safety always comes first.

I think it is fair to say that these guests probably didn’t need the zoom feature on their camera in this sighting !!

Although already a beautiful lodge, the Phinda Forest Lodge has undergone a recent refurbishment … and if it was ever possible to improve on perfection – well, they have successfully achieved this !

Forest Lodge is just one of lodges situated in the 22,000 hectare Big 5 Phinda Game Reserve, just 3 hours from Durban.

Forest Lodge is unique, in that it is extremely eco-sensitive, and it is set deep in a sand forest within the heart of the reserve. The refurbishment took over a year to complete, and care was taken to protect the natural surroundings.

The suites all now boast newly tiled bathrooms, and each suite has been completely repainted with colours reflecting the Zulu culture and which accentuate the dark, handsome furniture used throughout. Each suite now offers complete privacy and intimacy.

The main guest area in the lodge has also been extended, with over 100 square metres (330 square feet) being added to the deck, splitting it now into 2 levels. The boma area has also been completely rebuit, with the addition of an elevated platform designed to accommodate nighttime choir performances for guests enjoyment while dining around the open fire under the stars.

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better … you can also stay here for 4 nights and only pay for 3 between the 6th April and the 10th October (excluding the World Cup period).

So go on … why not ask us to check availability for you now so that you can experience this all for yourself ?