Sundowners - Ethan Minuk. Date of travel: Jun 2006
My work group of 8 was guided twice daily for 2.5-3 hour game drives, by a very knowledgable and photography inclined ranger named Dave. His personality may have clashed slightly with some of my colleagues, all of whom are city slickers and some of whom had never been in the bush at all before, but I found him quite informative and friendly. The close proximity and frequency with which we saw all sorts of crazy animals was mind blowing. I'd already been on some very succesful trips to a private farm in the Timbavati and to the Kruger, as well as to the Kalahari, but I was unaccustomed to this close and abundant contact with the animals. This is largely due to the farm only being around about 20,000 hectares, as well as the total ban on hunting and culling within Shamwari. The rangers were also very co-ordinated in communicating by radio to track the animals in the goal of guaranteeing the clients a successful game drive each and every time. And they sure were successful! In total, we saw: lions (with cubs), leopard, cheetah, elephants (with babies), giraffe (with babies), vervet monkeys,mongoose, white rhino's, hippos, brown hyena, zebras, brown and blue wildebeast, eland, kudu, springbok, impala, blesbok, daika, bushbok, (and other boks), fish eagles, eagle owls, goshawks (and many other birds), and more! Tour Operator: My employer(BondMan)

Malaria free - Don Ferguson. Date of travel: May 2004
Shamwari Game Reserve, the 20 000 hectare malaria free, private game reserve situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, has received numerous international awards, including the World's Leading Conservation Company and Game Reserve for five consecutive years. It is situated in verdant bush along the Bushmans River, halfway between Port Elizabeth (45 minutes drive outside the city) and Grahamstown, a pleasant drive from Cape Town, forming a natural extension to the famous Garden Route. Shamwari is about conserving a vanishing way of life and is the realisation of one man's dream, and the success of many people's passion. Steeped in Settler history, and dating back to the time when a multitude of game roamed wild and free, the reserve boasts five eco-systems, thus enabling the support of many forms of plant, animal and bird life. This is the ultimate African adventure and conservation effort coupled with responsible tourism.