Sanbona Wildlife Reserve — Attraction in Swellendam Local Municipality

Going on a safari was my #1 bucket list item and Sanbona made the experience unforgettable. This November, my husband and I stayed 3-nights at the Gondwana lodge and it was incredible!!

Due to tight travel, we had to stay near Cape Town and couldn't make it over to Kruger during our South Africa vacation. After a ton of research, we landed on Sanbona and I couldn't have been more confident & happy in my choice. Tip: Sanbona offers a car service to pick you up & drop you back off from Cape Town which we took advantage of! (& less stress!)

During your stay, your day are regimented which is nice! There is a 5:30 a.m. game drive, breakfast, down time, lunch, down time, and then a 4:30 p.m. drive followed by dinner. (After dinner you're usually so tired you pass out immediately!!) All drives lasted 3-4 hours for us. The meals are quality & free - there is a menu each day for each meal with several choices - including vegetarian, local dishes, and fish options. Alcohol is an up-charge but extremely affordable! ($1-2 USD for a beer or $10-15USD for a bottle of wine with dinner.) At lunch they also get your 'cocktail' order for a sunset cocktail on your 4:30 p.m. game drive! The rooms are extremely large, private, serene, and they offer morning cleaning and evening turn down services. The staff is fantastic - going out of their way to get to know you & make sure your stay is comfortable and enjoyable.

Now to the real details - the game drives!!! Where do I begin? Sanbona tries to keep you with the same driver and the same 'group' of other people your entire stay so you develop that relationship and see different animals each time! It's also important to note they don't cram you in a safari vehicle. My husband & I were with 4 other people max so there was six of us - plenty of space & plenty of views. The land/terrain is VAST and diverse. I learned so much about the care they put into the land, preservation, etc. This isn't the type of private game drive where you see fences in the background of all your photos. Our driver for our 3-nights (6 drives) was PJ and we absolutely lucked out having him. His passion came out every second! He is so knowledgeable about the land & animals it was incredible. He was very in-tune on where to find the animals and made sure to ask if we had any preferences - our group always trusted him. (& we were rewarded!!!) We saw the white lions at night on the prowl, hippos out of water, 2-feet from Rhinos, a Cheetah with her kill, baboons, elephants, giraffes, & more!!

It really was 3 of the most unforgettable days of my life!! I couldn't recommend Sanbona enough for a private reserve game...

If I could give Sam Bona Wildlife Reserve at Dwyka more than 5 stars, I would!||An African safari has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, and bringing my family here was the best decision we could have made. From the moment we arrived, every single detail felt magical, seamless, and unforgettable.||Let’s start with the most important part: the wildlife. Words can’t do justice to the scenes we witnessed—moments that I had only ever imagined from National Geographic documentaries were unfolding right before our eyes. We saw a family of elephants guarding a one-month-old baby, gently pulling branches for food while keeping a watchful eye on us. We watched lions feasting on their lunch—an incredible, raw, and rare sight we were lucky enough to catch. Giraffes strolling by in the golden light, rhinos grazing, elephants splashing in a watering hole… the sheer variety of wildlife was astounding.||A huge shout-out to our phenomenal guide, Ethan Borcherds, whose knowledge and passion elevated this trip beyond just sightseeing. He knows everything—from the habits of the big game to the tiniest bird calls, the uses of different plants, and even the stories behind the rocks beneath our feet. His enthusiasm made every drive an adventure in itself.||Sam Bona is not just a safari—it’s luxury in the heart of the wild. This is next-level “glamping” with five-star service at every turn. After each drive, we were greeted with warm, fresh towels. Every meal—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—was beautifully set and absolutely delicious. The chef tailored dishes to our family’s needs with such care that dining here felt like an experience all its own.||The accommodations were perfection: heated rooms, heated towel racks, heated floors, and even heated mattresses—pure bliss after a cool evening drive. And the on-site spa? World-class. We indulged in massages, body scrubs, and facials that rival the best we’ve had anywhere in the world.||For many, a safari is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. If that’s the case for you, this is the place to make those dreams come true.||Sam Bona Wildlife Reserve didn’t just meet our expectations—it blew them out...

Positives first: beautiful, vast landscape; exceptional accommodations; professional & welcoming staff; good restaurant.

Negatives: disappointing game drive, only due to our ranger's work ethic. This alone explains the 2 star review, and will be explained below.

Having been on a few safaris (including the Kruger), our review is based upon a relevant frame of reference. Nature can be capricious, and not seeing many animals is part of the "risk" when visiting such a large area. Our disappointment is not related to lack of predators spotted during our stay: the elephants, giraffes, hippos and other mamals were more than enough to keep us happy. However, we couldn't shake the impression that our guide was adhering to the bare, bare minimum in terms of service. Having been told our game drives would last between 3.5 to 4 hours, we were surprised to be back at the lodge EXACTLY 3 hours following our departure, on both occasions. We were the first group to return to camp, again, on both occasions. Moreover, the amount of information shared was minimal. Animal facts were, for the most part, provided as an answer to our few questions. To the point that on day #2, our guide made a joke about us "being quiet back there". In our guide's defense, he appeared exhausted and overworked (long days & very little time off). Unfortunately, the pill was still hard to swallow for a young couple on their honeymoon, having traveled halfway around the world, driving for 4 hours, and spending nearly half of their budget on a one-night stay at such a luxurious facility. In fairness to Sanbona, other clients seemed much happier with their game drives, as we heard multiple groups talk about the cheetahs and lions they saw, following their return to the lodge (45 minutes after we did). We will leave this place wishing that management would hold its guides to the same standard as their other employees, who again, were...