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Gondwana Private Game Reserve near Herbertsdale in the Western Cape offers a Big Five safari in the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom. Game drives, fynbos walking or cycling safaris can be enjoyed in a 11000-hectare malaria-free reserve.
Lion at the Reserve
Activities
Guests are treated to African boma breakfasts, scenic veranda lunches, elegant three-course set menu evening meals, romantic picnics, and scenic sundowner spots as the sun dips behind the mountains. Children’s menus are provided for lunch and dinner. Read about another great safari destination here.
Elephant at the reserve
The Food
The adventure does not end once guests arrive back from the veld after seeing lion, hippo, cheetah or elephant. The restaurant offers the best of African cooking and the best South African wines, with an extensive wine list, comprising seventy four wines. Food and wine pairings are suggested nightly by an experienced team as part of the menu.
Breakfast with a side of wildlife
The Wine List
The wine list is hand selected by the reserve’s owners Mark and Wendy Rutherford in close consultation with the reserve’s wine suppliers. They travel the Cape Winelands very regularly and love to visit wine farms and taste new wines.
The last couple of years smaller boutique wineries have also been included on the list. Says Mark: “When we originally developed the wine list, our main priority was to present a great cross section of Cape wines that showcase the wonderful winemaking culture in South Africa as well as the incredible value that South African wines offer. We love it when our guests enjoy a beautiful safari style meal with fun local touches accompanied by a great value well balanced wine.”
Says Executive chef William van Dyk: “We go through the extensive process of changing the wine list about once a year. We keep the amount of wine offered on the menu manageable, so as not to overwhelm our guests – this relates to about five wines per varietal. It can be challenging to decide what wines to take off if we want to bring on a new estate.”
Kwena Lodge dining room
Food & Wine Pairings
Executive Chef William van Dyk says he takes a lot of care to ensure good food and wine pairings in the restaurants. “Certain wines pair well with certain foods such as venison meats we typically pair with a Shiraz as the bolder zesty flavor is perfect for game meat often with a berry sauce of some sort. It is hard to get it wrong with the diversity and quality of South African wines. We keep our pairings simple and try to emphasize the fresh local ingredients.”
The temperature-controlled wine cellar is part of the stylish restaurant décor and offers guests a glimpse through glass doors.
It’s all in the details
The Wines
Some of the rare finds guests can enjoy with their meals include the Anthonij Rupert Jean Roi Rose, Tokara Directors Reserve White, L’Avenir Single Vineyard Pinotage, Cirrus Pinot Noir and Delaire Graff Banghoek Reserve Merlot.
L’Avenir Single Block Pinotage
Other lovely wines to enjoy out on the deck overlooking the veld and mountains are the Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut, Paul Cluver Sauvignon blanc or Paul Cluver Riesling.
Simonsig Labyrinth
Sit in front of the fire with a glass of the Simonsig Labyrinth, La Motte Syrah or Warwick The First Lady Cabernet Sauvignon.
La Motte Syrah
Accommodation
Accommodation at Gondwana also includes the 17 Bush Villas and Fynbos Villas, which offer total privacy and spaciousness to groups, particularly families with children. The deluxe three- and four-bedroom villas feature an open plan lounge with kitchen and dining room all opening onto a wraparound deck with magnificent valley and mountain views.
The original Kwena Lodge offers guests 14 private spacious, double-volume bedroom suites. They offer skylights for star gazing, fireplaces and deep baths to keep you warm upon return from an evening game drive. The spacious lodge facilities include a large infinity pool, chic open-plan lounge, and bar, with dining offered in beautiful indoor and outdoor settings including an elegant dining room set around 2 open fireplaces, an outdoor thatched modern dining space overlooking two waterholes, or in the outdoor African boma. Guests are treated to boma brunches, fun family picnics, evening barbecues and scenic sundowner spots.
Kwena Lodge bar and fireplace
Kwena room bathroom
Ulubisi House is a luxuriously spacious and stylish African villa with your own field guide, chef, and butler. The villa is privately situated in the reserve’s 1200 hectare walking area surrounded by grasslands teaming with game. Three luxurious guest suites, with endless mountain views, provide extravagant accommodation for 6 adults or 4 adults and 4 children. The ultimate bush getaway to restore and revive with friends or family in a Big 5 game reserve ideally and accessibly located on the Garden Route.
Suite
More Activities
Gondwana’s Pioneer Trail is the ultimate slack packing adventure where your belongings are moved daily between the three camps, allowing you to experience the dramatic fynbos landscape with only a light day pack.
The latest addition to the Gondwana offering is the Eco camp. This eco-friendly, stylish tented camp is set in a protected fynbos valley in the heart of the game reserve. The entire camp runs on solar power, sources its water sustainably from a nearby perennial spring and is a plastic free zone. The camp facilities include seven large, comfortable twin or king share tents set on raised platforms each with a private bathroom and covered deck area. A wooden walkway over the riverbed links the accommodation to two thatched recreational tents which house the lounge, dining, and bar areas with a nearby pool and hammock relaxation area where guests can relax with a glass of wine.
Spotted
Executive chef William van Dyk shares his recipe for Wagyu Flat Iron steak
Flame grilled flat iron steak served with broccoli mash topped with a mushroom compote and finished with truffle dust. Flat iron has way less fat content than the normal wagyu cuts, but the flavour is what makes it a particularly good choice, this dish will be preferred by someone who would normally eat a New York strip or a leaner cut of meat.
This cut of meat needs to be sliced before serving as this will really add to the dining experience. The portion size really should not be less than 10 oz portions.
This steak should be seasoned only with salt and white pepper – no basting.
Executive chef William van Dyk shares his recipe for wagyu flat iron steak
Broccoli Mash
Ingredients
2 heads of broccoli cut up with the stems.
50g baby spinach
50g butter
1 ½ cups cream
Salt and white pepper
Method
Cut the broccoli up into even pieces with the stems, the stems will save cost. Boil them in water until soft (do not overcook), they should not lose color. Remove broccoli once soft and strain the water.
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth. Check the seasoning and adjust if needed and blend again. The spinach’s purpose is to give the mash a nice green color.
Lion at the reserve
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BY Maryke Roberts | July 7, 2023
Maryke is an award-winning, Cape Winelands based journalist who has been writing about local and international wine and travel for over three decades. When she's home, her days are almost exclusively concluded with a walk on the beach and a glass of South African fine wine or spirits.
Maryke is an award-winning, Cape Winelands based journalist who has been writing about local and international wine and travel for over three decades. When she's home, her days are almost exclusively concluded with a walk on the beach and a glass of South African fine wine or spirits.