Shamwari Game Reserve - Port Elizabeth, South Africa 

We had the pleasure of staying at Bayethe at the Shamwari Game Reserve for 5 days from lMay 6 - 11, 2008. Our experience was fabulous and although we had high expectations, these were all exceeded. Our tent was much larger than we had expected. It had beautiful hardwood floors, air conditioning, heat, an indoor bathtub, two sinks, lovely towels and toiletries, a minibar fridge that was kept stocked with "free" pop, beer, juice, and water, cookies, a comfie bed, hairdryer etc. We also had a TV but we didn't have much occasion to use it as we were busy most of the time with reserve activities or eating!!! The canvas walls had huge windows with adjustable canvas covers. We had a large wooden deck looking out into the forest and on the deck there was an outside shower with plenty of pressurized hot water. The small outside whirlpool tub was nice, but too cold for us to use - it is not kept warm during the winter months. We spent a lot of time eating. As we were there during the winter months, our wake up call was at 6:15 for breakfast at 6:45 and a game drive thereafter at 7:30 am. We actually got up earlier each day, at 6 am so we could have a relaxing shower (my husband outside) or bath (me inside where it was warmer!!). There are no alarm clocks so bring your own if you'd like to get up on a different schedule than everyone else!! Breakfast was a buffet, with a number of options including cheese, sliced meats, pastries, toast, etc. There was also a brunch a bit later in the morning where you could order whatever you wanted off a menu - there were lots of choices including things like french toast, eggs with bacon, etc. Lunch was ala carte with quite a wide variety of options - almost always there was an option of having soup, salad, and a variety of main courses including fish, meat, pasta, etc. There was an afternoon tea which we never tried because we were too full!! Dinner was at 7:30 pm and was quite good, too. We had two buffet nights where we got to try dishes like warthog, ostrich, antelope, etc etc although for the less adventurous there were many "normal" food options, as well. We had been under the misconception that we wouldn't be able to eat the fruits, salads, etc because of the danger of contracting an illness or parasite, but we had no problems whatsoever. The food was delicious and safe and what we would normally eat at a fancy restaurant. We had no need to use our peptobismol or cipro while we were there!!! We were not able to do laundry ourselves but a laundry service was available. The cost wasn't that inexpensive ie $5.75 ish for a pair of jeans, but it was very convenient. We had been told to bring both summer and winter clothes and that was good advice. Being hearty Canadians, we thought the reports of cold weather were probably exaggerated. However, we brought mitts, hats, etc and in fact, needed them. In the afternoon, temperatures were about 30 degrees Celsius. On the game drive in the afternoon, we started off with shorts, but by 4 pm we were adding legs to our zip off pants, and wearing sweatshirts. By 5 pm, we were adding jackets (goretex type rain coat with fleecy liner), and by 6 pm adding mitts and hats. The temperatures plummeted down to just above freezing as soon as the sun started to go down. There were blankets and hot water bottles available on the Land Cruiser which we did use gratefully, as well. The game drives were fabulous. We drove everywhere with a very experienced ranger who provided us with good information about what we were seeing. We never once felt unsafe, even though at one point, elephants were about 3 m away from the truck!! We saw quite a variety of animals, including elephants, giraffes, zebras, warthogs, antelope, lions, water buffalo, hippos, rhinos, birds, monkeys, turtle, etc etc. It was a wonderful experience to see these animals in their natural habitat. We did stay on tracks/roads but they were quite rough which was OK for us, but if you have arthritis etc the rough ride would probably be difficult to tolerate. At the end of each drive, we were greeted by staff presenting us with hot toddies or hot chocolate, and warm towels. Very luxurious. Communication with staff at the game reserve prior to arrival was good - emails and many questions were answered promptly. We had arranged with the reserve for a car pickup at the Port Elizabeth airport - the driver and car were there as promised and we had a nice drive with commentary for the 75 - 90 minutes or so it took to get to Shamwari. Each and every staff member went out of his/her way to attend to our every need. We felt that the service was above our expectations. People were friendly always. When we left we felt as if we were leaving family behind!! We were paired up with newlyweds for our game drives and meals, and it was good fun getting to know them during our adventure away. Most people seemed to spend 2 or 3 days at Shamwari. We stayed for 5 and felt that this was a good time frame - we got to see a lot of variety of things on our drives and never felt rushed. All in all, this was a fabulous experience and we would highly recommend Bayethe Lodge at the Shamwari Game Reserve. Rob and Debbie Timpson Ontario, Canada