To celebrate Tourism Month, the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency is offering day visitors free access to a selection of Eastern Cape Nature Reserves from 9 to 15 September.
Hluleka Nature Reserve
Hluleka Nature Reserve. Image: supplied
Day visitors will get to enter this nature reserve, set along the Wild Coast between Coffee Bay and Port St Johns, for free between 9 to 15 September.
For those who do want to spend the night, you’ll find perhaps the most underrated accommodation on the Wild Coast. The chalets at Hluleka Nature Reserve are tranquil coastal cottages at their best. The seven serviced units each sleep four, but the price for two is exceptionally reasonable and it’s really all about the upstairs double bed and with its awesome sea views. Downstairs the kitchen is fully equipped, and there’s even a full DStv package if you somehow prefer that to the parade of dolphins and whales cruising through the bay outside. The white, sandy beach is a just hefty stone’s throw away and there’s a choice of sea or lagoon to swim in. It may be a bit of a drive to get there, but once you’re there, you won’t want to leave.
Cost: Day visitors, R24 (free from 9-15 September). Overnight accommodation: R497 for up to two people sharing during off-peak season; R643 for up to two people sharing during peak season.
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Tel: 0794933566 or 0820562637
Great Fish River
Great Fish River Nature Reserve. Image Matthew Sterne
The Great Fish River was once a place of conflict, the river forming a boundary between settler and Xhosa territories. However, memories of turmoil have been replaced by tranquility in this spectacular reserve, situated between Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) and Fort Beaufort.
Cost: Day visitors, R24 (free from 9 – 15 September). Overnight accommodation: There are 68 self-catering beds altogether – at Mbalala Lodge (built by early settlers), Nottingham Lodge (a farm-style adobe for a bigger group), Mvubu Lodge (stone cottages) and Mbvubu Chalets (each with a balcony with braai area, and there’s a pool). From R220 per person sharing.
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Tel: 0872866545 or Conservation manager: 0664848364
Also read: Seven days on horseback through the Baviaanskloof
Baviaanskloof
Baviaanskloof by horseback. Image: Teagan Cunniffe
A UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as a Cape Floristic Region protected area, Baviaanskloof (Valley of the Baboons) boasts seven of South Africa’s nine biomes – fynbos, forest, grassland, succulent Karoo, Nama-Karoo, subtropical thicket and savannah. At the eastern entrance to the reserve is the World Heritage Site Interpretive Centre with dedicated displays that showcase the reserve. Guides are on hand to show visitors around and explain the area’s rich biodiversity and cultural heritage.
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Tel: 0422837912/3/4, 0872866495 or Senior reserve manager: 0794967978
Other nature reserves where day visitor fees will be waived between 9-15 September include:
Dwesa
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Tel: 0872866537 or Reserve manager: 0794967923
Fort Fordyce
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Tel: 0872866503 or Manager: 0716091409
Mkambathi
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Tel: 0393069000, 0872857752 or Reserve manager: 0636981558
Ongeluksnek
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Reserve manager: 0794967954 or 0820561500
Silaka
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Tel: 0872866523/4 or Reserve Manager 0716076690
Thomas Baines
Contact: visiteasterncape.co.za Tel: 0872857399 or Reserve Manager 0794967978
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