2 minute read
Advertorial: Shamwari Private Game Reserve
Local visitors help
private game reserves’ conservation efforts
Some 2 500 years ago Sun Tzu, the Chinese military strategist and philosopher wrote: “In the midst of chaos there is also opportunity.”
Of course, he wasn’t talking about taking a holiday a year after the outbreak of a global pandemic, but the quote informs the unprecedented opportunity South African travellers now have to enjoy some of the country’s premium private game reserves at a fraction of the pre-COVID-19 prices.
One of these is Shamwari Private Game Reserve, an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth, which is offering some exceptional specials. It has re-opened two if its seven lodges – the recently refurbished Long Lee Manor and the exclusive Sarili Private Lodge.
Long Lee Manor is R4 150 per person per night sharing. The offer includes a five-star suite, two game drives a day, guided bush walks, a tour of the Born Free Sanctuary and the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Visits can be arranged to the Children’s Adventure Centre, which offers ziplines, climbing walls, a mini-football pitch, trampolines and stacks of other supervised activity.
Families or groups of friends are able to book the entire five-bedroomed Sarili Private Lodge for R38 000 a night. This includes a bespoke itinerary and a private staff, including a personal chef. The minimum stay is two nights.
Helping to conserve a vanishing way of life
Joe Cloete, CEO at Shamwari, says that for the foreseeable future the domestic market will be critical to the future of private game reserves and the work they do to protect and conserve indigenous fauna and flora.
He explains that private game reserves have no other source of revenue than what guests spend when they visit. Every dollar, pound and rand spent contributes to a business model that absorbs the cost of wildlife conservation, protection and rehabilitation and ecological restoration. “By staying at private game reserves guests are participating in projects that conserve South Africa’s natural heritage. Many of these have been outstandingly successful,” says Cloete. Shamwari is a good example. Over the past 25 years the conservation team has arrested the impact of human activity and returned 25 000 hectares to the rich diversity for which the area was once renowned.
With growing demands on state coffers, a declining tax revenue base and the need to prioritise, government will simply not be able to afford to support the extent and scale of conservation efforts in South Africa without this private-sector support.
