Picture elegant farmhouse living in 1905. Manicured lawns surrounded by raw wilderness and set in a valley with fiery aloes on its slopes. Fast forward over a century, add a cool swimming pool and pagoda at the bottom of the lawn for hot summer days, maybe followed by a refreshing G&T enjoyed poolside or on the terrace at sunset. Now imagine living it at graceful Uplands Homestead in Kwandwe Private Game Reserve.
Set in the remote west of the 22 000 hectare reserve in the Eastern Cape, Uplands Homestead is an intimate Out of Africa experience embracing vintage-style, elegant living. And just as the house was designed for family and close friends over one hundred years ago, it’s purpose is just the same today. Three double suites with private verandahs and en-suite bathrooms offer the best of modern comfort and yesteryear nostalgia. There’s air conditioning and underfloor heating, alongside antique mirrors and yellowwood chests. Quite exquisite, really.
All the enticing experiences of the reserve are on offer too – with your own private vehicle and guide to savour it all. Nature walks, game drives, big game walks, fishing and specialist safaris too – like birding or photography. Because Uplands Homestead welcomes families with warm hospitality, there are tailored activities for children too – and plenty for the whole family to all enjoy together.
The relaxed atmosphere of the homestead encourages you to kick off your shoes and put your feet up, maybe even enjoy an in-room spa treatment between activities. It really feels like you have all the space in the world to do as you please, and the sense of privacy and seclusion is sublime. Everything, but everything happens according to your choice, there is no schedule but the one you set. So time can stand still if you wish, while you soak up the beauty and bounty of the natural world, cocooned in the splendour of yesteryear.
What we love!
- the stately feeling of living antiquity in the homestead
- wooden floors and antique accent pieces
- cosy mohair blankets on beds
- gym in a bag, if you are feeling energetic
- that the reserve is home to the Big Five, and so many important conservation projects
- interactive cooking, and then dining open air under the African stars in the stone-walled boma *
- that Kwandwe is a breeding refuge for blue cranes
What you need to know…
- Please note Kwandwe Uplands Homestead can only be booked for sole-use by you and your loved ones, and not on a room-by-room basis.
- Kwandwe is malaria free
- Uplands Homestead sleeps 6
- not wheelchair friendly
- there is wifi but limited cell phone reception
- complimentary child minding service
- there are daily, scheduled flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth airport, 160km from Kwandwe. Charter flights can also be arranged on request to Kwandwe’s private air strip.
Reviewed by Keri Harvey