Opening in 2008, Gondwana Game Reserve will be one of the first and only authentic Big Five private game reserves in the Western Cape, located 15km west of Mossel Bay. Set on 7 200ha dramatic terrain consisting of open grass plains, indigenous Fynbos and undulating valleys surrounded by the Outeniqua Mountains, Gondwana Game Reserve will be uniquely different to any other safari destination in South Africa. A variety of flowers bloom throughout the year, creating a continuously changing and striking landscape. The setting is remote yet easily accessible to the Garden Route, and only 3.5 hours from Cape Town.

An extensive rehabilitation programme has been initiated, which will include the introduction of the Big Five onto the reserve by the time it opens to the public. Endangered Cape mountain zebra, grey rhebok, kudu, red hartebeest, springbok and eland have already been introduced.

The first lodge at Gondwana will be called Fynbos Camp and is expected to open in 2008. Accommodation will consist of 25 superior rooms (of which 15 are built in traditional Khoi San style) and 10 deluxe suites, all elegantly appointed in Afro-chic style. The rooms will look onto two waterholes and across the valley onto the Outeniqua mountain range.

Conservation efforts throughout the country to rehabilitate land to its original state and introduce animals that were indigenous to that land are evident throughout regions such as KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, but few successful attempts have been made in the Western Cape. In 2005, Red Carpet Leisure together with partners Mark and Wendy Rutherford embarked on a project to create the first and only truly authentic Big Five safari destination in the Western Cape. 7 500 hectares of land at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains previously used as sheep and ostrich farms is gradually being transformed into a private game reserve unlike any in the country, due to open in 2008.

Named after 'Gondwanaland' which is the original landmass from which Africa was formed, the setting of Gondwana Game Reserve conjures up images of what this original untouched land may have looked like. It is possible that the Outeniqua Mountains themselves were created during the break up of Gondwanaland and the resultant outpourings of molten lava. Many different plant and animal species existed on Gondwanaland, and although it is believed that none of those continue to exist today, looking at the rich abundance of fauna and flora species found at Gondwana Game Reserve, today's Gondwana returns the origins of Africa to the Western Cape.

The terrain is open grassland, undulating valleys and indigenous Fynbos which will be conserved to remain in its natural state. A section of the land resembles the Ngorogoro Crater and has been dubbed the 'Little Crater', which will no doubt offer excellent game viewing opportunities. A variety of flowers bloom throughout the year creating a continuously varying and striking landscape, attracting many endemic species such as the Cape sugar bird and the orange breasted sunbird. Most of the butterfly species found in the Western Cape are highly specific to the Fynbos vegetation and the insects associated with it (the myrmecophilous relationship "love of ants"). They are under severe threat due to habitat loss, however will indirectly benefit from Gondwana's holistic veld management. The Big Five will be introduced before the opening of the first lodge in 2008, and the initial release of approximately 1 000 head of game has commenced.

Climate

The balmy year-round temperature is attested to by the fact that Mossel Bay and the surrounding areas have been proclaimed by the Guinness Book of Records to have the second most moderate climate in the world, next to Hawaii.


 Fact Sheet