Gwe Gwe Lodge

Location

Gwe Gwe Lodge within the Mkambati Nature Reserve is a new community based initiative of Wilderness Safaris scheduled to open mid to late 2005. Mkambati Nature Reserve is in the heart of Pondoland and the "Wild Coast" - and extraordinary area located midway between Durban and East London in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Botanically, this area is located between the floral kingdom of the Cape "Fynbos" and lush and tropical vegetation of KwaZulu-Natal. As a result, it is an area of incredible richness and variety. Internationally, it is one of the top 100 most important ecological areas on our planet.

But it is not only the extraordinary vegetation that make this area special - the scenery is truly outstanding. When one drives around Mkambati, herds of animals graze against the backdrop of the blue ocean. There are only about half a dozen waterfalls on earth that cascade directly into the sea and the Pondoland Coast has three of these - two are within Mkambati. The reserve has in total around 23 different waterfalls, two incredible river estuaries, and a breeding colony of endangered Cape Vultures.

Out at sea, the Mkambati story gets even more amazing. Each year, the planet's largest single migration takes place off-shore from Mkambati. Countless sardines migrate northwards past Mkambati in May and June, and create what is known as the "Greatest Shoal on Earth". This was featured in the August 2002 edition of National Geographic. David Doubilet, National Geographic's foremost underwater photographer, rates his dives at Mkambati during the shoal as one of his top five dives anywhere on earth. The shoal varies in size every year and can be up to 16km long, 6km wide and 60 metres deep. Schools of up to 50 000 dolphins and many thousands of sharks are known to follow this shoal, making it one of the wildlife spectacles of the world. In our winter months right through to about November each year, whales patrol the coastline.

Mkambati is going through a period of transformation. From a beautiful nature reserve run by the province for about 30 years, ownership has now reverted back to the Pondo community - who live inland from Mkambati Reserve. We have partnered with this community and the province to create a world class reserve and to build great new lodges on the reserve. As part of our partnership with the community, the reserve will be doubled in size - making it around a 12 000-hectare reserve, excluding the marine reserve out to sea.

The main attraction will be the beaches and the coastline. This will be one of the only places in South Africa where you will be able to walk out from your room on to a pristine beach - with no road getting in the way. The lodge will be built right on the beach and along the coastline of this unique reserve. Guests will be able to enjoy incredible game drives, with the Indian Ocean as the backdrop to many game sightings, or enjoy ocean adventures, especially when the "greatest shoal on earth" is at its peak. There will be 15 luxury sea facing brick and glass villas.

Activities include boating excursions, beach activities, game and nature drives, nature walks, mountain bikes and horse rides. One of the finest excursions will be the canoeing up the Mtentu River and its gorges and visiting the crystal clear rock pools in the mountains. Visitors to Mkambati can also drive into the neighbouring rural Pondo community for a cultural experience.