James Clarke
describes a new destination in the Eastern Cape
 It's
not that it's malaria-free and has the big five
- the elephant, lion, buffalo, black rhino and leopard
- the attraction of Kwandwe Game Lodge is that it's
in that Lost World area of South Africa, the Eastern
Cape.
Kwandwe, (its name means "the place of the
blue crane") is not far off the N2 - just 20
minutes from Grahamstown. It is set inside the vast
wilderness that, in the 19th century, was the first
part of Africa witnessed by many of Europe's historical
figures - missionaries, botanists and hunters.
The region around Kwandwe has changed very little
since then. At night one still hears the lions'
rumbling call and on a recent dawn game drive visitors
saw four black rhino in separate sightings, four
bull elephant interacting with a pair of lions,
four cheetah, two white rhino, a male lion, two
aardwolf and cubs, jackal, eight species of antelope,
giraffe and zebra. Most astonishing of all they
saw a pair of aardvark.
I was there in winter and what impressed me most
was not so much the new species I was seeing but
the great vistas aflame with red and orange aloe
spikes. It is a very singular part of Africa.
One indelible sight epitomised three of Kwandwe's
great qualities - its solitude, its links with the
past and its bird emblem - it was a pair of blue
cranes in a natural meadow spotlighted by a sunbeam
in a great ocean of veld - it was a skyscape rather
than a landscape. In the far distance the 1830 fortified
Settler farmstead which now serves as Kwandwe's
reception centre. It has been restored and furnished
in Settler style.
Here one leaves one's car and we were fortunate
in having assigned to us ranger Mark Galpin who
was born in the area, speaks the Xhosa language
and reads the bush well.
Kwandwe's owner, a retired American pharmaceutical
entrepreneur, Carl DeSantis who sold his company
Rexall-Sundown not long ago for $1.8 billion, lost
his heart to Africa and its wildlife on his first
visit three years ago.
A chance over-dinner encounter with Angus Sholto-Douglas,
then a 29-year old who was managing a camp in Botswana,
so inspired DeSantis that he asked Angus to find
him a game-reserve and partner him in the venture.
Now three years later, DeSantis has invested $12
million in Kwandwe, has demolished 22 homesteads,
removed 2 000 kilometres of fencing, cleaned up
the original landscape and restocked it - and Angus
is now MD.
But what has been kept and restored makes this 16
000 ha reserve a unique restoration of 19th century
Eastern Cape. Conservation Corporation Africa (CC
Africa) which operates 25 game-lodges on the African
continent manages it.
For those who want total seclusion there's a luxurious,
self-contained character homestead called Uplands
with three large period bedrooms, swimming pool
and a staff which includes a butler, ranger and
vehicle.
The main lodge with its chalets is hidden away
up in the hills above the Great Fish River that
runs through the reserve. It decor sets a new benchmark
for safari lodges and its cosy, glass-fronted lounge
has a breathtaking panorama. Guests stay in nine
unobtrusive stone and thatch cottages, luxuriously
furnished and each with its own reed-screened private
plunge-pool and river-bank game viewing.
A just added feature is a beautifully restored
19th century chapel for wedding ceremonies, the
reception being held in the spacious old farmhouse.
Within 20 minutes you're in Grahamstown and a short
drive on you are watching whales in some bay (I
saw them almost every time I stopped) or playing
golf at one of the marvellous golf courses that
characterise the southern Cape coast.
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