Kwandwe

A mother rhinoceros walks alongside her calf in a lush, green landscape.

Conservation at Kwandwe

A refuge for endangered species

Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is a conservation victory. Just 26 rooms across five properties sit within 74,000 acres (30,000 hectares) of wilderness. The successful development of this high-yield/low-impact conservation model is key to furthering our numerous conservation initiatives.

The reserve is home to the famous Big 5 as well as a diverse number of smaller and more unusual species. Thousands of animals, including lion, black and white rhino, buffalo, elephant and cheetah roam these expansive plains. The Reserve is also a sanctuary to numerous other threatened and endangered species.

Kwandwe offers 3 unique rhino conservation experiences that guests can participate in. Explore here.

Our conservation victories

Reclaiming 74,000 acres (30,000 hectares) of farmland and placing it under wildlife conservation

The reintroduction of the endangered black rhinoceros

Returning cheetah to the Great Fish River Valley for the first time since 1888

Providing a refuge for the sensitive sub-tropical thicket vegetation

The reintroduction of more than 7000 wild animals, including elephant, both species of rhino, hippo, lion, leopard, brown hyena etc.

Eleven post graduate research studies conducted on wildlife and vegetation on Kwandwe

Providing a breeding refuge for the Blue Crane.

Reclaiming areas of intense and often damaging agriculture

The reintroduction of small and mostly rare felid species eradicated from the area, such as the Serval, African wildcat and Small Spotted Cat

On average sub-tropical thicket stores 40 tons of carbon per ha. Kwandwe has in excess of 13,000 hectares of sub-tropical thicket, amounting to 520,000 tons of carbon being stored on the property.

The reestablishment of populations of disease-free Cape Buffalo, Cheetah, Lion, White Rhino and Black Rhino on many game reserves in South Africa from Kwandwe’s founding stock

Community at Kwandwe

Empowering people

Kwandwe is committed to making a positive and lasting difference in the rural Eastern Cape. Working through our social development partner, the Ubunye Foundation, we invest in projects that improve lives and create livelihood opportunities in rural communities.

Ubunye Foundation

A group of children and young women are smiling and clapping together.

Our community initiatives

The creation of The Ubunye Foundation to support and empower local communities through a holistic community development model.

Over 200 people from rural communities are directly employed, at least half of whom are women. On average every employee supports 5 additional family members.

Housing and services provided for over 400 people.

Allocation of land on the reserve and facilitation of construction of the Mgcamabele Community Centre.

On-site Pre-school and Aftercare services provided for the children of our staff, with meals served daily.

Dedicated Wellness Programme providing primary healthcare support and counselling for staff and families.

Construction and maintenance of a formal primary school and teacher’s accommodation within 2 km of our Eastern boundary.

Leadership and professional development training for staff with an on-site computer training centre.

Donation of land for the development of an agri-village.

Co-funded Rhodes University in the construction of a Development Centre.

For every night you stay at Kwandwe, a Community, Conservation & Reserve (CC&R) Levy of
R 1 500 per adult and R 750 per child under 19 applies to every guest, whatever their age. It is split 25% to the Kwandwe Rhino Conservation Trust, 25% to the Ubunye Foundation and 50% to reserve management.

If you would like to do more, join us in a variety of activities to get to know our people, participate in some of our vital conservation work, and give back to the community which makes the Kwandwe experience possible.

Giving back

A large group of children and adults are smiling and waving at the camera outdoors.

The Ubunye Foundation

The soul of Kwandwe

In 2002, women on the Kwandwe team came to the reserve with an idea: better opportunities for their children through early learning and community support. Kwandwe helped them set up the Angus Gillis Foundation. It has since grown into the Ubunye Foundation, an independent, community-led non-profit, and 25% of every guest’s CC&R levy goes directly to its work.

Ubunye (meaning ‘togetherness’ in isiXhosa) is committed to the idea that our wellbeing as human beings is interconnected and their programmes focus on community leadership; savings and financial education; livelihoods; early childhood development and health. They initially worked with people living within Kwandwe’s boundaries and as word spread they were invited to expand their work into other communities. The relationship with Kwandwe remains strong, and Ubunye now works with rural communities across the Makana and Ngqushwa municipalities. As of August 2026, that work includes 57 early childhood development centres, 1 741 children enrolled in early learning and 10 247 people directly impacted.

Our Purpose