Molweni Private Game Reserve is situated in a wilderness area of the Eastern Cape, South Africa and offers an abundance of activities including game viewing and horse trail safaris, hiking, mountain biking, photographic and birding excursions, creative holidays involving painting and writing courses and the “Original Nguni Cattle Roundup”.
This area of the Eastern Cape, about 240 km from Port Elizabeth and 5km from Adelaide, lies in the foothills of the Great Winterberg mountains.
A central feature of Molweni is the thatched stone cottage, Thandanani, an old sheep-shearing shed, which has been creatively restored and converted into a gathering place and activity centre of considerable character.
The comfortable and tastefully thatched building with a fireplace and bar is the perfect place to welcome our guests.
Thandanani makes a warm and convivial venue for the Molweni Art Escape activities - Bridge breaks, Plant Ecology programmes, Photographic workshops.
In the wider setting of the reserve Thandanani with its intimate ambience offers a truly unique venue for any other special celebratory occasions, small conferences, seminars or team building activities.
Molweni Private Game Reserve offers 3 accommodation venues. All accommodation is serviced on a daily basis. Bedding, linen & towels are provided and laundry services are available on request.
Imbabala
Imbabala (bushbuck), has 3 en suite double bedrooms in the main house and two double bedrooms sharing a bathroom in an separate outside cottage. The main house has comfortable beds with space for extra single beds. It can sleep up to eight. The cottage with twin beds in each room can sleep four.
A swimming pool with magnificent views is sited next to the reed boma shaded by Acacia trees. The soft light of hurricane lamps provides the perfect ambiance for relaxed and convivial evenings around a glowing fire.
Amahlati Tented Camp
Amahlati Tented Camp has two up-market en suite tents, Isi khova (owl) and Impunzi (duiker). Each tent has 2 beds, additional beds may be brought in to accommodate more people.
This remote bush camp is situated next to the Amahlati dam, which is teeming with birdlife. A must for the guest seeking the wilderness and outdoor experiences. Serviced by a rustic kitchen and outdoor boma area the experience leaves a lasting memory of wildlife and solitude. Molweni offers a variety of activities that will suite all interests and age groups. There are many challenging pursuits for the more energetic.
Inyati Bush camp
Inyati Bush camp has been designed around existing forest trees and acacias. We offer 5 day bush camps for young adults and school groups. Group sizes range from 8 to 24. Schools wanting to sports camps are also welcome as we have a wonderful open area to use as a sports field.
The weeks activities consist of a guided nature walks, safari drives in the reserve area to find Buffalo, Giraffe, Zebra etc, night drives in the reserve, archery demonstrations and airgun target shooting, 4 hour horse ride to a spectacular waterfall in a breathtaking forest, fishing, stargazing.
Accommodation is in two man pitched tents each with two single bed mattresses and sleeping bags. We offer flushing toilets and hot water in open air showers. The mess area is in a converted aircraft hanger which consists of open fire/gas cooking areas, the Baboon Bar (for adult groups) and general communal area. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided all of which are cooked on an open fire.
Game viewing
Molweni, which covers 8500 hectares of pristine Eastern Cape bush, is home to a wide variety of birds and animals. Antelope include an unbelievable variety – springbok, steenbok, mountain reedbuck, red hartebeest, gemsbok, lechwe, grey rhebuck, duiker, impala, Livingstone eland, kudu, bushbuck, blesbuck, fallow deer, blue and black wildebeest.
There is a wide variety of smaller animals indigenous to the area - such as warthogs, bat-eared foxes, porcupine.
Molweni has chosen not to have the larger more dangerous animals and predators. This gives visitors the freedom to walk safely wherever they like in the reserve. Game viewing can be done independently on foot, cycling cycle or on horseback. There are buffalo to be seen but they are confined to a large forested section of the reserve.
The numerous waterholes and dams are ideal places to sit quietly and watch for game. Alternatively, game drives in comfortable four-wheel drive game viewing vehicles can be arranged. Especially popular are night drives where nocturnal animals can be seen.
Horse trails and Mountain biking
Saddle up and enjoy a tailor-made horse safari in the Molweni Game Reserve. The horses are docile and familiar with the mountainous terrain, so you don’t need to be an experienced rider to enjoy a trail. Riding is a superb way of seeing and observing game and enjoying the environment. The trails can be arranged to suit you - from an hour’s ride to an overnight adventure.
Bring your own bikes and explore all that Molweni has to offer. There are many options - forest tracks, mountain roads, or paths on the grassy uplands where beautiful vistas await you. It is a wonderful way to fully experience the wilderness of this reserve.
Hiking
Probably the best way to fully experience the wilderness is on foot. Hiking allows one the leisure and time to contemplate and absorb the beauty of nature at a leisurely pace. Apart from observing the large game, one has the chance of coming across the unexpected - activities of the small animals.
With no large predators on Molweni, the buffalo are in a special camp, and you are free to walk whereever you want. Molweni offers easy rambles or challenging full day mountain hikes. Our qualified trackers are available to go along with you should you want them. A favourite outing is to a beautiful waterfall in the Waterkloof Valley. On the way you walk alongside a mountain stream under a canopy of yellowwood, assegai and ironwood trees. This intriguing wilderness has its stillness broken only by birdcalls and the occasional crash through the undergrowth of bushbuck or kudu.
Bird watching
There are so many different birds in our area that space allows us to mention only a few of the more exotic types. These include the Ground Woodpecker - the only woodpecker with a pink belly and rump, and the Knysna Loerie - a beautiful green bird with magnificent red wings that show to the best advantage while in flight.
The beautiful pinky grey and green Narina Trogon, named by Francois le Vaillant (the first ornithologist to visit South Africa) in honor of a Hottentot girl whose beauty he greatly admired.
Look out for the Crowned Eagle or the Crowned Hornbill, whose female Seal herself into a hole in a tree for about 70 days during the breeding season. Maybe you’ll be fortunate enough to hear the Red-billed Hoopoe, also known in Xhosa as the ‘Intleki Bafaz , meaning the ‘laughter of women’ as it chatters in the treetop.
Add to this list birds such as the common White-throated Swallow, the Giant Kingfisher and the distinctive Paradise Flycatcher with their extra-long, wattle-colored, tail feathers, and the Giant Eagle Owls, with its wingspan of 155cm. Chats abound, but, with luck, you’ll spot the beautiful Black Eagle, a magnificent bird found in mountainous or hilly country, one able to perform ‘loops’.
The Fish Eagle, which is fairly common, can be found wherever fish can be caught. This bird is a magnificent sight as it swoops down and catches fish in the water.
Photography and Abseiling
Whatever your particular photographic interests, opportunities abound at Molweni – wildlife, natural forms, landscapes, textures, atmospheric scenes and old buildings. The freedom of movement on Molweni will allow you to photograph when and wherever you want. For those with the equipment and knowledge there are exciting opportunities for this exhilarating sport.
Other excursions
In the immediate area there are interesting options. In the Cowie Valley you can visit beautiful gardens and the well known Old Mill Cricket Club. While for those with an interest in history, visits could be included to Post Retief, Fort Fordyce, to the museums in Adelaide and to Fort Beaufort with its Martello tower could be included. For the golfers there is a golf course in Adelaide. Further afield, but still a days outing, there is the Baviaans Valley with its Pringle connections. Molweni can give more details and suggestions for these excursions.
Nguni Cattle Roundup
Molweni currently offers an unforgettable experience - a four night three day Nguni cattle roundup. If you want to experience the thrill of bellowing Nguni, close-up game, wonderful horses (boerperde by the way), magnificent meals, tales of the day, and a horse safari that will go down as one of your lifetime highlights, read on and prepare yourself for goose bumps and adrenalin.
While on the roundup, all the excitement of game viewing on a normal horseback safari will be experienced as you team up with our trackers to collect and work the cattle. Many species of game roam the reserve and, as you go about the collection, you will be trotting and cantering close to zebra, kudu, blue and black wildebeest, buffalo, springbok, blesbuck, giraffe, impala, red hartebeest, gemsbok, mountain reedbuck as well as many other species. After the collection, should you wish to assist and learn about nose rings, tagging, branding, dipping etc. at the crush, there will be many opportunities to do so. Or, if tagging a moody cow seems a bit daunting, just leave it to the trackers and take photographs!
Our roundup takes three days and four nights. You will traverse the whole reserve by day and spend your evenings around the fire or dinner table as the dancing lights of the hurricane lamps lull your tired body to sleep. However, seasons do dictate the type of work to be done: during summer the cattle will generally be on top of the mountains, but during the winters they will remain in the numerous valleys as it can become bitterly cold on the higher parts of Molweni.
