Kwandwe Private Game Reserve

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

Philip is author of the Rough Guide to Game Parks of South Africa.

Kwandwe is home to most safari favorites, including the Big Five. Wildlife isn’t as prolific as in some other private reserves, but there is plenty of it about, and the drama of the setting makes up for this. Black rhino and cheetah are some of the flagship species you can expect to see. Interesting antelope often encountered are eland, red hartebeest and gemsbok.

ElephantOccasional

GiraffeCommon

HippoOccasional

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

WildebeestCommon

White RhinoCommon

Black RhinoOccasional

LionOccasional

LeopardVery Rare

CheetahOccasional

HyenaOccasional

Wild DogNone

Wildlife Highlights

The endemic black wildebeest, rare and localised cousin of the blue wildebeest, is one of the special animals common in Kwandwe. The white rhino is also very common, and Kwandwe is one of the best places in South Africa to see the relatively scarce black rhino. Night drives are excellent and offer a chance to see the nocturnal aardwolf, porcupine and aardvark as well as the elusive and much sought-after pangolin.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Wildlife watching tends to be good all year through. But the Dry season (June through September) has the slight edge, since it is when thirsty animals are most likely to be congegate at water sources.