Surf and safari - Dick Reid. Date of travel: Sep 2006
Stayed at Kariega Game Reserve last week on a 3-day excursion from Cape Town with children. Took a flight to Port Elizabeth and hired a car - Kariega is just over an hour from PE. Its an ideal family getaway. They have a couple of lodges but most people stay in their 2 or 4-room chalets which are fairly comfortable with great views. They are well kitted out but I dont know why they have televisions when there is no reception. We went all-inclusive but self catering options are a possibility. There is a buffet resturant which has good food and a bar. If you have children you can hire babysitters while you have dinner. Kariega Game reserve is around 7000 hectares which is spilt into two sections, one without lion and elephant (which you can take kids on)but still with giraffe, zebra, rhino, buffalo, leopard (which you're unlikely to see), hippo and many types of antelope. Game Drives every morning leaving at six. You'll see lion and elephant on the evening drive and its a little disconcerting being on an open top Land Cruiser so close to these animals. More experienced game watchers might find Kariega Game Reserve a bit tame but though the animals have been reintroduced they are wild and in a natural setting and hunt for themselves. The land is rich compared to the Kruger or Massai Mara and therefore holds many more animals per hectare and you therefore see lots of game on a short three-hour drive. Another advantage of Kariega is that it's malaria free and only 15 minutes from Kenton on Sea, a lovely, undeveloped beach resort.