Shamwari Game Reserve
Riverdene Family Lodge is located in the award winning Shamwari Private Game Reserve, a 25,000 hectare, malaria-free private game reserve situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
Shamwari is about conserving a vanishing way of life, and has received numerous international awards, including the World's Leading Conservation Company and Game Reserve. Steeped in Settler history, and dating back to the time when a multitude of game roamed wild and free, the reserve is home to the Big 5 as well as cheetah, hyena, giraffe, hippo, zebra and numerous antelope species.
Shamwari prides itself on the knowledge and professionalism of their rangers, and guests will receive personal attention from their assigned ranger for the duration of their stay. Game viewing is carried out morning and evening on game drives, when you are driven in your open vehicle over the rolling hills and valleys in search of the wildlife. There is also the option to go on a guided bush walk with your ranger after breakfast.
Each of the 9 interleading luxury rooms are fully air-conditioned, and have a television and telephone, and a small lounge area. Private patios from each room leads onto the beautifully landscaped gardens.
The main areas consist of a large open plan lounge with a fireplace, a bar, a dining room with indoor and outdoor seating, a swimming pool with a shallow end especially for younger guests, and a boma overlooking the Bushmans River.
Children will love the Kids Club, which has a selection of games, toys and arts and crafts, and features a one-of-a-kind outdoor Adventure Centre to keep children of all ages entertained - from elevated walkways among the trees to ziplines and climbing walls. Visits to the Born Free Rescue Centre and Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is another great way for kids to grow their conservation knowledge.
Our standard rates for a Luxury Room | ||||
Dates | Price | Basis | Type | Nights |
1 October 2024 to 14 December 2024 | GBP 789 USD 1,018 ZAR 17,754 EUR 923 | per person sharing | Contracted Rate | 1+ nights |
15 December 2024 to 15 January 2025 | GBP 789 USD 1,018 ZAR 17,754 EUR 923 | per person sharing | Contracted Rate | 2+ nights |
16 January 2025 to 31 March 2025 | GBP 789 USD 1,018 ZAR 17,754 EUR 923 | per person sharing | Contracted Rate | 1+ nights |
Prices are on a per person sharing basis (pps).
Special offers for longer stays or when booked as part of a longer itinerary may apply - details on request.Rates Include
All meals; selected drinks (excluding French champagne and premium products); twice-daily shared game drives; guided walks; and the Conservation Levy are included.
Children Policy
Children of any age are welcome. Rates available on request. Special Children's Programme available - details on request. Children under 4 years of age are not allowed on game drives. Child minding facilities are available at an additional cost.
Bush Walks / Walking Safaris
Children under the age of 16 years are not permitted on guided walks in the reserve. Guests over 65 wishing to join a guided walk are required to have a letter or certificate from their doctor confirming they are in good health and are physically fit to do the walk. A guided walk can last a couple of hours and involve walking over uneven terrain that may contain dangerous wildlife in potentially high temperatures. Guests may need to move quickly and for a sustained period through rough bush terrain if instructed to do so by their guide.
Regardless of age or the provision of a doctors certificate, the final decision on whether a guest can join a guided walk remains with the guide and lodge manager.
Children of all ages are welcome at Riverdene Family Lodge. Children from the age of 4 years are welcome to join on game drives. For the youngsters under 4 child minders are available at an additional cost.
Upon arrival all kids age 4 to 11 years will receive a 'Kids on Safari' backpack filled with goodies to take with on game drive. The little ones will receive a soft toy.
Riverdene offers a wonderful Kids Club for games, toys and arts and crafts, and features a one-of-a-kind outdoor Adventure Centre to keep children of all ages entertained - from elevated walkways among the trees to ziplines and climbing walls.
Visits to the Born Free Rescue Centre and Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is another great way for kids to grow their conservation knowledge.
Guest Rating: 4.6 / 5.0 based on 15 ratings
We had a great time thanks and Riverdene Lodge was excellent.
H MCMANUS
Fantastic experience for the entire family. Though our trip was brief, everything went seamlessly so it actually felt very relaxed. Cannot wait to return! Thanks for your terrific service.
A KIPP
Staff/ Ranger at Riverdene were exceptional. They were very knowledgeable and had the kids amazed and entertained on the safaris. We also were not prepared for how good the food was. We had thought our safari trip would be a once in a lifetime experience, but now we realise we will take another safari trip in the distant future.
J CAMERON
Riverdene Lodge was fantastic - the rooms were beautiful and very spacious. Tracey Campbell worked hard to find us accomodation that suited us and she succeeded very well - I will definitely be using Tracey's and Travel Butlers' services on my next trip to Africa.
S EYRE
Shamwari is an extremely slick operation and Riverdene was all we expected. Fantastic game drives; relaxing atmosphere; luxurious accommodation.
S Economides
Thanks for the email. I was planning on emailing you this week anyway to say thanks for everything that you organised for us. I cannot stress enough how impressed we were with each and every place we stayed and each time we moved on we thought that the next place could not possibly be better, but it always seemed to be!! In particular, we had an absolutely fantastic time at The Constantia, very luxurious. The weather was awful on the day we arrived but Claire was just so lovely and had a bath running for us at 11.30 am with a bottle of wine at the ready!! We could not have asked for more from her and her staff. She is like a mind reader - she seemed to anticipate everything we needed before we had even thought of it ourselves!! All of the guest houses were really lovely, and in particular the hosts at each one were so helpful to us, always wanting to suggest great restaurants and things to do in their area. Peter at Bradach Manor was great for a chat and Brenda at Oceansong in Plett was a really nice person. The Aloe Guest House in Hermanus was lovely. And of course, Shamwari was the highlight of the trip, a really amazing place. Fantastic accommodation and our safari ranger, Vincent, was such a great guy, we had really good fun with him and the other guests we were on our drives with and we saw all of the Big 5 apart from a leopard. I was so sad to leave, really did not want to come home, which has never happened to me before on holiday! Darren and I will certainly be recommending Travel Butlers to anyone we know who is planning on visiting SA - we cannot speak highly enough of everything you arranged for us.
P DENMEAD
Riverdene Lodge / Shamwari was absolutely brilliant it was just a shame we were only there for 2 days - I could quite happily have stayed a week - it was wonderful and the service was 1st class. All your arrangements were 'spot on' and we had no problems whatsoever. If and when we go back to South Africa I would definitely use Travel Butlers again. Once again thanks for your help in making our trip to South Africa truly memorable for all the right reasons.
H FOSTER
Just had to drop you a line to thank you for your help in arranging our holiday. We had a fantastic time and all the hotels/guest houses were fabulous. Riverdene Lodge at Shamwari and the safaris were simply wonderful. Thanks again, we would certainly recommend Travel Butlers to our friends.
L PRETTY
Thank you for your email. My mother and I had a wonderful holiday in South Africa. Our stay at Shamwari has more than met our expectations and it was simply wonderful. From our first encounter with 4 lions as soon as we entered the game reserve to the welcome we received from Warren the Manager and Fred our game ranger. Our room was magnificent, the food was superb and the staff extremely attentive. The game drives were very exciting but unfortunately I never did get to see the leopard, which was my wish right from the very beginning. Our 3 night stay at the Radisson Waterfront in Cape Town was also wonderful, the room was lovely and the breakfasts were magnificent. The staff were all very pleasant and very helpful to all our needs. Thank you very much for helping with organising of our holiday.
C SWANSON
We're just back and I can assure you it was the most amazing holiday we've ever been on. As you know I was a bit apprehensive about the safari but it was fantastic. every aspect of it. I just want all our friends to go and experience what we did. Riverdene Lodge was perfect in every way. Such attention to detail, I could get used to such pampering, sadly tho the 3 days passed too quickly. But we do have nearly 1000 photos to reminice with' plus video footage, and will email the best to you soon. Thanks again for all your help and advice. Shamwari was certainly an excellent choice and after we arrived in Cape Town anyone we spoke to told us we were going to the best. We believe it was ....
I ARMSTRONG
Melanie and I have just returned from Shamwari. It was excellent. Thank you.
G WHITEHAIR
Shamwari lived up to our recollections and was thoroughly enjoyed by our friends on their first visit. We had an excellent ranger and the accommodation and food was first class so really I have no comments to offer other than to thank you for making our arrangements which went very smoothly.
S KERLEY
We had a wonderful holiday. Absolutely outstanding was our time at Shamwari. Riverdene Lodge was superb, everything we’d hoped for. I would recommend it to anyone and would definitely go again. We would recommend Travel Butlers and will certainly use your services again.
L CORLEY
We had a fantastic holiday and we are enchanted with South Africa. The recommendations you made were wonderful. We saw plenty of whales, lots of wild animals and thought the scenery, food, wine and people were great. Les Cascades, Franschhoek Country House, The Plettenburg and Shamwari were all superb. All in all a great holiday and thank you for your planning and booking. First class.
A AKERS
Riverdene Family Lodge Location.
Directions For Drivers
From Port Elizabeth/Knysna/George/Mossel Bay: Follow the N2 out of Port Elizabeth heading towards Grahamstown bypassing the town of Colchester. 11 km past Colchester use the left lane to take the N2 ramp to Grahamstown. Continue on the N2 for 17 km and take the R342 turn-off for Shamwari Private Game Reserve on your left. Travel 7 km up the gravel road and enter at the Shamwari Private Game Reserve gate where you will stop at the Welcome Lounge to check in.
From Grahamstown: Travel along the N2 towards Port Elizabeth, and follow the directions as above.
Please note that you drive through the reserve to get to the lodge - do not get out of your car until you reach the lodge. You may see some wildlife on your way - if you do, slow down and maintain a good distance. Do not drive off-road in any circumstances.
General Information For Guests
All rooms have air conditioning, en-suite bathrooms with a bath and shower, international dial telephone, private patio, tea/coffee making facilities, private minibar, television with selected satellite channels, hair dryer and electronic safe.
There is a swimming pool with a shallow area for children, a bar/lounge, a dining room, and a gift boutique.
Shamwari spa treatments are the ideal way to unwind. The luxury wellness retreats are based at other lodges on the reserve, but treatments can be arranged for guests staying at Riverdene upon request.
American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Diners Club credit cards are accepted.
There is complimentary Wi-Fi available. There is also mobile phone connectivity.
A laundry service is available (additional cost).
Should you wish to leave a gratuity, envelopes are available at reception. Alternatively you can add it to your final bill and settle by credit card when you check out.
The game drives themselves last for approximately 3 to 4 hours and take you through the reserve. Included on the game drive is a coffee stop for the morning drive and a sundowner stop in the evening. The rangers are experts at navigating the Shamwari terrain and are readily available to answer any questions you may have. If there is a certain species you’re hoping to spot, please do chat to your ranger.
In collaboration with the Born Free Foundation, the Big Cat Rescue and Education Centres are situated within the game reserve. They aim to draw attention to the plight of wild cats, confined in impoverished, captive environments throughout the world. It is the mission of The Born Free Foundation, founded by actress and conservationist Virginia McKenna and her late husband Bill Travers, to ‘Keep Wildlife in the Wild’. Both Shamwari and Born Free aim to promote conservation and protect these species and their habitat, whilst maintaining a compassionate approach to the welfare of animals. The rescue and education centres home rescued lions and leopards from across the world and aim to be an enlightening experience for all visitors.
You also have the opportunity to visit the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre when you visit Shamwari Private Game Reserve. The Centre helps to rescue, rehabilitate and care for sick, injured, abandoned or orphaned animals under the care of professional veterinary team. Once these animals have been nursed back to health, they are released back into their natural habitat. Part of this experience is Vulpro - a unique captive breeding centre and the only one of its kind in Africa. Injured vulture species that can’t fly will breed in captivity and the healthy young are released back into the wild.
A compulsory Conservation Levy has been included in your rate - this contribution will aid conservation efforts as well as the anti-poaching unit.
Bush Walks / Walking Safaris
Children under the age of 16 years are not permitted on guided walks in the reserve. Guests over 65 wishing to join a guided walk are required to have a letter or certificate from their doctor confirming they are in good health and are physically fit to do the walk. A guided walk can last a couple of hours and involve walking over uneven terrain that may contain dangerous wildlife in potentially high temperatures. Guests may need to move quickly and for a sustained period through rough bush terrain if instructed to do so by their guide.
Regardless of age or the provision of a doctors certificate, the final decision on whether a guest can join a guided walk remains with the guide and lodge manager.
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If you're not sure which place might be best for your own trip then either give us a call or get in touch via the website, and we'd be delighted to run through the options with you.