The Wild Side of the Cape
Most travellers don't realise that a genuine safari is only a few hours' drive from Cape Town. The Western Cape is home to a growing collection of private game reserves that offer malaria-free wildlife encounters without the need for a flight across the country.
It's one of the few places in the world where you can watch the sun rise over Table Mountain in the morning, and in the evening go to sleep hearing the roar of a lion.
Authentic Safari Lodges near Cape Town
Within easy reach is Inverdoorn Game Reserve, set in the Ceres Karoo and home to over 1,200 animals across 10,000 hectares, including the Big Five, hippos, giraffes and a celebrated cheetah conservation project that gives visitors a rare and meaningful encounter with one of Africa's most endangered cats.
Those with a weekend to spare will find even richer wilderness waiting further afield. Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, about 3 hours from Cape Town along the R62, is one of the largest private reserves in the country, where animals roam freely across tens of thousands of hectares. The sense of space and solitude here is alluring.
In the other direction, Gondwana Game Reserve sits near Mossel Bay along the Garden Route, around 4 hours from Cape Town, and pairs a classic Big Five safari with the fynbos-covered hills that make the Western Cape so visually distinct from anywhere else on the continent.
Inverdoorn is a Big Five Western Cape Game Reserve offering a safari near Cape Town experience only 2.5 hours from the city....
Gondwana Game Reserve is a Garden Route Game Reserve offering a Big 5 wildlife safari and family-friendly accommodation....
Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in the Little Karoo is famous for its breathtaking beauty, Big 5 wildlife and indigenous fauna & flora - and the be...