Kwandwe Private Game Reserve - Great Fish River Lodge

This is a long review but worth the read if you want to hear how amazing this place and it’s people are. We would choose this reserve 10/10 times every day of the week and twice on Tuesday! If you are lucky enough to have found this special place in your search for a game lodge, book your stay at Kwandwe now! Arrival: We booked transport from Port Elizabeth airport which does cost about R12,850 round trip. The lodge is roughly 2 hours from the airport and the company used for transportation was amazing. We arrived mid morning and were greeted at the reception warmly and with water. We were then driven to our lodge, The Great Fish River Lodge, by Luke who was a pleasure to talk to on our 15 minute drive from reception to our lodge. When we arrived at the lodge we were greeted with cold towels and the warmest welcome by Stacy, one of the lodge managers. We were offered drinks and then brought to our suite. Suite: The suites are roomy, luxurious and possibly the nicest accommodation we had ever stayed in. Everything was spotless, beautifully designed, and made us feel at home. After every game drive or meal we came back to the suite tidied, bed made and fresh water bottles. The fridge located in the suite contained 2 bottles of wine, some fizzy drinks, beer, milk and additional water. Also located near the fridge is the kettle for tea / coffee for you to make on demand. The outdoor lounging area is perfect for a lunchtime nap followed by a dip in the pool also located just outside the suite. If you would like to book a massage they offer in suite massages where they come to you! Food and Drinks: The quality and flavors of the food blew us away. Every meal (Breakfast served after your morning game drive ~9:45AM, lunch served 12:30-2:30PM, dinner served after your afternoon game drive ~8:15PM) had 3 main options and additional starter and dessert options for lunch and dinner. The chef(s) being the rockstars that they are accommodating to guests asking for tweaks to the food going off menu. The full bar at the lodge has anything you could ever want to drink made by a very talented bartender. The server team that we were most lucky to have been served by at the great fish river lodge was outstanding. Was able to joke with us, teach us words in Xhosa, make us laugh and have every meal that much more enjoyable. Game drives: Every day you are given a wake up call at 5AM as a reminder to be at the lodge by 5:30AM for some light breakfast and coffee and then on to the game drive. We cannot recommend our ranger, Niso and tracker, Yongama, enough they are incredible people. We were able to find all of the big five and then some. Yongama has eyes like a hawk and a knack of where to look for animals in the given area. Niso took us to all the best areas to search for the animals and taught us all interesting facts regarding the animals we found. Niso and Yongama were great to talk to and felt like friends at the end of our trip. The land cruisers are stocked

I stayed at both Ecca Lodge and Great Fish River Lodge. As a solo traveler, I felt more comfortable at Ecca. Great Fish was more for couples. Having said that, you can't go wrong with either. October 2023 I traveled to Botswana's Okavango Delta, Chobe River and Zimbabwe Victoria Falls. The animal sightings at Kwandwe surpassed the other 3 combined. As I just left Kwandwe Tuesday, we were out on the additional 6,000? hectares added to the property. Food choices were great. I prefer gluten free and they made every effort to accommodate me. Beautiful decor, super comfy beds and bedding.... Now, about the staff....from reception, to housekeeping, chef, serving staff including management were all delightful. For me, the highlight was my ranger/guide Martin and head tracker Vuyanne. Knowledgeable with delightful personalities. There's alot of land but they certainly knew where to look in spite of the animals always on the move. I chose Kwandwe as I hadn't yet seen Cheetahs and I wanted to see Black & White Rhinos in their glory with full horns. The sightings were fantastic! I even got to track White Rhino on foot. The conservation focus on Rhinos is a huge plus as the population struggles with massive poaching. Kwandwe is all in on their preservation. K9 units, heat sensing drones and more. I could go on, but you get that I'm a huge fan. I will be back in 2026 with family.

It was an amazing experience to stay at Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge. Everything was perfect, the facilities and all the staff The twice daily safari drives were wonderful, our Ranger had an encyclopediac knowledge of animals, birds and plants. Truly a remarkable place to stay for that very special occasion.

Excellent experience all around. We went there for our honeymoon and all expectations we’re exceeded. Fantastic hospitality all around across the staff, ranger, and tracker. Food was excellent. Very private, stayed at the Great Fish River Lodge. Highly recommended.

what a dream place to stay from start to finish. just amazing. from the accommodation in Ecca lodge, to the fantastic game drives with Trsitan a great ranger pointing out all the animals, to the delicious food and wonderful staff. This really is a dream destination. The holiday of a lifetime. we will be back. This Reserve really offers 5 star luxury with attention to detail and a personal service.

We stayed at Melton Manor for two nights with 3 other couples and every couple was more than impressed by Kwandwe. From the time we were welcomed at main reception, to the time we left, we were treated like royalty. Nothing was too much trouble even for those of us with specific dietary requirements. Our meals, including the skottle breakfast in the bush, were delicious and beautifully presented. Our accommodation was extremely luxurious with great attention paid to the finest of details. Ivan, the ranger assigned to us, was unanimously the best guide any of us have experienced. He's in a league of his own and we've visited some of the most exclusive lodges and reserves in SA, Botswana and Tanzania. His enthusiasm, broad knowledge of not only the animals but birds, plants and our night sky, and willingness to delight, were commendable. The game were plentiful and we witnessed our first cheetah kill. We also saw 88 species of bird in just 3 game drives! We lost our one hubcap of the hired care on our drive to the lodge. Without us knowing they went back and found it, cable tied it back on so it wouldn't fall off again, and had washed our car on our return. The owners of Kwandwe can pride themselves on one of the finest lodges and reserves in South Africa.