Shamwari Private Game Reserve

We stayed here for 4 nights and wish it could have been longer. We stayed at Riverdene, which has a fantastic kids club with a zip line, climbing wall, and awesome tree house towers and walkways. Really one of the best playgrounds I’ve seen. Our room was lovely. None of the 9 rooms at Riverdene overlook the reserve, but there is a fence around the property so you don’t have to worry about your little ones being eaten. We found our room to be beautiful, clean, comfortable and had everything we needed. The highlight of Shamwari is the game drives. Our ranger was Raymond and he was amazing. We saw lions, rhinos, elephants, white rhino, cheetahs, zebra, giraffe, hippos, monkeys, and tons of other animals. We missed the leopard and the black rhino but not for lack of effort - they are just super hard to find compared to the other animals. We got to see tons of babies, including getting to watch the lion cubs play together, which was amazing. We saw two young male lions who were the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen. Raymond was very patient with my son, helping him find things for the workbook that came with his Shamwari backpack, including elephant and giraffe dung (which my son was sad to leave behind, but I did not want to have to explain to customs!). I also noticed him at breakfast reading books to young guests - he’s really great with kids. He also went out of his way to get my son elephant sightings (my son’s favorite!). He taught us how to tell the difference between all the different kinds of antelope. He knew his way around the reserve and was a safe driver on the “roads” around the reserve. He did his best not to terrify me driving the top of the saddle (a high narrow ridge that the animals seem to love but my fear of heights does not!). He was so knowledgeable and friendly, and was also obviously grateful to be at Shamwari. We would definitely request him again if we get back to Shamwari as he was really terrific. The staff at the lodge were also great. No request was too much. As a vegetarian, I found that there was always something I could eat, but they also encouraged me to just ask if there was something I wanted and they would make it. They really went out of their way to accommodate our requests. You’ll never go hungry here. My son joked that he had pre-pre-breakfast (snacks before the morning game drive), pre-breakfast (snacks on the morning game drive) and then a huge breakfast, and we had to skip lunch so we had room for tea, sundowner snacks, and dinner (not to mention the included mini bar!). On the night drives, the sundowner drinks with the sunset over the reserve are just amazing. We had a chance to visit both Born Free and the wildlife rehabilitation center. It was a real treat for me to visit Born Free as I had read the book as a kid and being at their sanctuary was amazing. Our car had been cleaned when we got back to the welcome center (an unexpected surprise). The road to Shamwari is dirt and very bumpy (it’s better if you are coming from N2 than if you are coming from Addo on 342). I’d never driven on those kinds of roads before and mentioned to the ranger who drove us from the welcome center to Riverdene on arrival that it was stressful and he gave me tips on how to make it easier - he was totally right. Main tip is to go about 40-50kms, not the 20km that a newbie in a regular car might try on the rough roads. I did that on the way to the airport and it was a million times easier so big thanks to him! It’s an easy drive here from the Port Elizabeth airport that you could do yourself, but since you won’t use your rental car while you’re here, it’s probably easier to just have them pick you up at the airport if you aren’t doing a longer drive. This place is expensive, but when you think about all that is included (game drives, food, most drinks etc), it’s not so bad. This was our first trip to South Africa and I thought it would be a one time thing to do a safari. But I found myself at the airport, waiting for our plane home, researching what time of year is best to get reduced rates at Shamwari! I love it here and was so sad to leave. I hope I will be lucky enough to return some day! Read less

This was the experience of a lifetime! My partner and I read about Shamwari online and were impressed with the conservation aspect and the reviews we read. We had two days at the reserve which included 4 drives. From welcome to farewell, Shamwari Bayethe was top notch in every way. They helped arrange our comfortable, efficient transport from Port Elizabeth and packed us lunch when we left to catch our flight back. The staff are entirely focussed on service and guest comfort. We were celebrating both a birthday and our anniversary and they went out of their way to acknowledge both, with a cake at dinner (complete with song) and a card and small bottle of bubbles in our room. The game drives were extraordinary. Our ranger, Jason was warm, welcoming, humorous, a great listener, a highly skilled driver and an extremely knowledgeable ranger on history, the land, the plants and the animals. He worked hard to cover a lot of ground and find a variety of animals, including all the big 5 over 4 drives (2 morning, 2 evening). He also arranged for us to go to the Born Free big cat sanctuary and get a separate pickup back to the site. It was amazing! Bring warm clothing layers and use the Range Rover blankets :-) The place runs like clockwork, the meals are delicious and healthy, and the luxury tents are well appointed and comfortable. I would not hesitate to recommend this reserve. I also commend our ranger Jason for making our experience a memorable one, and Nina, one of the managers, for taking time to make our stay feel so special. Read less

Thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Shamwari (Bayethe). The experience was incredible. Our game driver Tiem was so knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble. He amazed us all by finding nearly all the animals on the extensive list (provided in our welcome pack)! Only missed out on seeing a leopard ( which is very rare anyway!) The accommodation was great and very fitting to the habitat that was around us. As for the food, it was fantastic, plentiful and great choice and quality. To top it all the staff were all very friendly and helpful. A great stay Read less

Wow - one of the best places we have ever stayed, the room was amazing with everything you could ever need. All staff were amazing, very friendly and the service was superb. Our ranger, JB, was fantastic so knowledgeable about the animals and every living creature in the vast reserve a really funny guy as well. Food and drinks were superb. We also really enjoyed the daytime walking tour with JB and Jason. Couldn’t recommend this place highly enough - thank you everyone at Shamwari - we hope to come back one day! Read less

We just spent a fabulous holiday at Bayethe Lodge (16th-19th November 2019) We were made to feel very welcome from the moment we arrived. All the staff wanted to make sure we had a wonderful holiday and they certainly succeeded. The service and food (lots of it) was exceptional. The absolute highlight was our 6 game drives with our superb guide, Simone. Her enthusiasm and passion for the wildlife and environment is inspiring. Simone ensured we saw as wide a variety of wildlife as possible. We were lucky enough to see elephants, hippos, rhinos and cheetahs among many others. The main event was being in the right place at the right time to witness a lion make a kill. Simone was always cheerful and positive, very informative and focused on making sure we had the experience of a lifetime, which we absolutely did! If you’re thinking of a safari in South Africa, Bayethe Lodge won’t disappoint. Make sure you bring warm clothing. The game drives can be cold, even for a couple from Scotland! Read less