The Kindness of Kwandwe

Regaling us with colorful tales of local, tribal circumcisions, performed with a spear on young men of 18, and sharing her obvious love of the Addo Mountains, the Alexandria coastal dunes, and Grahamstown, all places along the route to Kwandwe, our driver was the perfect host to usher us to our first safari experience. By the time we entered the vast reserve, we felt more familiar with the customs, the people, and the land, all equally important in South Africa. So it was with appreciation that we said goodbye to our knowledgeable guide as the staff at Kwandwe warmly welcomed us with kindness, serving delicious lemonade and sugary biscuits before escorting us to Ecca Lodge, once more a place I immediately professed never to leave.

Kwandwe is a place where warm towels and a hot fire always awaited us after a chilly game drive and where the sun came up mid-morning, daring anything to darken our day. A place where an evening walk on a gravel path spiraling through the private suites (which is a feat in itself if you’ve recently run the Comrades!) required an escort and reminded us we had replaced roaming cells with roaming animals.

A place where Reid found a sharp, black and white porcupine quill, but no porcupine, proof that what we can’t see is still very real and very present.

Kwandwe is a land of contrasts – refined, elegant human surroundings in wild, restored animal country. A place where freshly squeezed orange juice is served each morning on a hanging, silver platter outside the door where animals had prowled the night before, obvious from the paw prints on the path we then padded each morning.

A place where individual lap pools and outdoor showers graced the teak decks of each suite, yet wild animals freely laze under those decks and drink from those lap pools.

We saw neither, but we were careful, and on the day we departed, one huge angry-looking elephant seen earlier on the road charged his way to the lodge lap pool and drank his fill to the entertainment of the respectful guests inside who did not have to be told to stay put, but who now have a fabulous story to tell.

And the fabulous stories we heard. The tale of the wild dogs that once herded antelope against the electric fence just because it was fun and because they could, dogs who have since roamed elsewhere. The tale of a white rhinoceros that ambled to a ranger’s vehicle and stared him down, nose to horn, before he eventually roamed away, leaving the guide with a story he considers his most frightening.

And the fabulous stories we now have to share. The amazing lion entertaining us for hours on the road, but who had lost his territory to a younger male so was somewhat lost himself. The white rhinoceros calmly standing in the thicket to our right while we’re staring off in the distance with binoculars trying to find others. The hippopotamus ambling in and out of the water before finally disappearing, leaving us grateful for having seen such a creature. And then there was our first encounter with the cheetahs when our ranger quickly backed up the open-top vehicle and hid behind the thicket so the tracker, who rode in a seat out front, could hop back in and not alarm the animal. And then the excitement as we stalked that mama and her two cubs for 30 minutes as she moseyed on down the road with hardly a backward glance.

Attentive to the animals on the reserve, Kwandwe is also a place of personal attention to its guests. After a morning of pecking notes on my phone because my laptop was not working, I was frustrated and concerned that I was going to forget too many unique experiences, so I asked Bongi for some paper of any kind. Two notebooks immediately appeared in my room. Then, after four days of using a comb and not a hairbrush (pack lighter, I had been told), I asked Bongi if there was a way to get a larger hairbrush. One large brush appeared shortly in my room; the manager had sent for one in the closest town at least an hour away. And then, after celebrating Ian’s birthday on our last night, we returned to our room to find champagne and chocolate waiting for us. And always, personal notes from the staff. Kwandwe’s kindness and personal attention to the details won’t be forgotten.

In the heart of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Kwandwe is a land to learn from, to listen to, and to love. And it’s also a land where there’s much to see and to appreciate. A land where the life of the animals is not interfered with by man unless it’s a problem caused by man. So we listened, we learned, we loved, and we quickly grew to appreciate the land, the customs, and the people. The emotional look on Ian’s face as he held back tears while Bongi and the other Kwandwe staff sang and danced for his 59^th birthday proved we had learned that lesson. Singing us goodbye was yet another symbol of a land that doesn’t ask, but freely gives.

And as we, yes tearfully, said goodbye, we didn’t need souvenirs at a gift shop to remind us of Kwandwe for we left with the gift of our unique experience at this incredible place on God’s earth.

For more information on Kwandwe: www.kwandwe.com

Comments

[SaskiaB]

Wow - what a beautiful article and so beautifully written!

[Becky Bader]

Thanks! Kwandwe is so beautiful that it's hard to do it justice!