Last month the Rhino Africans were spoilt with two educational trips to two very special Eco-friendly destinations in the Western cape. We spent a weekend at the superb Sanbona Wildlife Reserve on Route 62 and the following weekend at Grootbos Nature Reserve. These properties are entirely unique and entirely different from one another. But one thing they have in common (besides style!) is their approach to conservation and the eco-friendliness of their lodges.

Realising that conservation and educational initiatives are imperitive to forging a way forward for responsible tourism in South Africa, Grootbos has placed itself at the forefront of this type of tourism in South Africa. The lodges, of which there are two; Garden and Forest Lodge, are built in an eco-friendly fashion. The vision behind ecotourism is to save and conserve threatened ecosystems and the organisms which live therein through the use of funding from tourists and visitors.

Check out Grootbos on our website.
Read our blog about our recent visit to Grootbos.

Sanbona has its own approach to the wildlife experience, the word Sanbona comes from the San people and the word 'bona' means vision, the San people believe in living in harmony with nature and their vision has come to life at Sanbona. In such a unique setting the challenges faced by conservationists are also unique. In this environment even tried and tested practices from long established reserves like the Kruger National Park, donnot apply. So at Sanbona every step taken is towards learning what works and what doesn't. For example discovering how much game the reserve can support without negatively impacting on the fragile and unique vegetation. At Sanbona special emphasis is placed on balance in the environment!

Sanbona also has numerous conservation projects, such as their efforts to ensure the survival of the rare Riverine Rabbit, to track and document the Cape Mountain Leopard population of the reserve, to ensure the survival of the various endemic plants and animals of the area, the Greenleaf environmentally friendly status of the Sanbona lodges and the status of their ongoing and completely unique white lion project.

Visit our Sanbona section on the Rhino Africa website.
Read our blog about visiting Sanbona here.