There is something to be said about sleeping in a bed that is so large you can’t reach both sides at once no matter how far you stretch. And when you plop back into a soft couch, surrounded by tastefully classy furnishings and breath-taking artworks, wearing a puffy white dressing gown while watching wild animals drink from a water hole outside your huge patio.

Add to that world class game viewing with a friendly, knowledgeable safari guide, sundowners with a spectacular African sunset as a backdrop and a spread of the finest cuisine served by friendly and attentive staff hell bent on making sure you have the time of your life.

This is what attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe to visit our malaria-free Eastern Cape game reserves and we were delighted to visit Founders Lodge to discover for ourselves where and how it all began.

Chasing the Rainbow on safari at Founders Lodge

Founders Lodge is the original private residence of Shamwari founder, Adrian Gardiner. I have to mention that I am a massive fan of Gardiner. To think that he had the incredible vision to create a massive species-saving conservation haven that is also a top notch international tourist attraction that draws thousands of wealthy tourists and celebrities from across the globe, and actually made it happen is mind-boggling.

From a humble 1200 Hectare farm in 1990, Shamwari today comprises 25000 Hectares consisting of five of South Africa’s seven biomes and inhabited by a rich diversity of free roaming wildlife. It is a huge player in the conservation of threatened species and inspired the development of many surrounding “Big 5” luxury wildlife conservation reserves, collectively making the Eastern Cape one of South Africa’s top safari destinations.

The secluded Founders Lodge, with only six suites, aspires to offer private tailored experiences, drawing inspiration from all the fond memories Gardiner had of hosting friends, family and celebrities at his little piece of conservation paradise.

Beautiful Founders Lodge

As proud Eastern Cape residents, it is our duty to see what draws so many people from every corner of the world to our neck of the woods and although the price tag is not affordable for the average South African, most lodges offer SA resident specials over the winter months, making it more possible to see what all the fuss is about.

Founders Lodge is located less than an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth and is on its own 400 Hectare reserve bordering the world famous Shamwari Game Reserve. We arrived late afternoon and were greeted by a smiling welcoming committee of lodge management and staff, offering freshly squeezed berry mocktails and warm hand towels. Manageress Leoni Mare took us on a tour of the homestead, showing us our luxury contemporary suites, the full size billiard table and sunken bar, the gym and steam room, the heritage suites, dining room and lounge as well as the library and museum, swimming pool and outdoor boma, all surrounded by pristine bush peppered with giraffe, impala and sable grazing in the soft afternoon light.

A warm welcome to Founders Lodge

Loving the lap of luxury

The view from our suite

The winter schedule at Founders is sublimely slow. No 5am wake-up calls – breakfast is at 7am and the morning game drive starts at a leisurely 8am. Being conditioned to an alarm blaring every day at 6am, we still woke up early, giving us time to lounge in luxury and watch the incredible sunrise in every shade of red, pink and yellow before heading out for the day.

A spectacular sunrise

The game drives guarantee the experience of a lifetime. Besides seeing incredible lion and cheetah, we enjoyed unusual sightings of a puff adder swimming across a pond while being pecked by African shell ducks and a pack of opportunistic black backed jakkals trying to feast on a newborn springbok they had killed while avoiding being attacked by angry hartebees who were furious with their presence.

A puff adder swimming across a waterhole

We sipped hot chocolate and ate homemade crunchies on top of a hill with views of river and savannah while sharing tall tales of dangerous wildlife encounters with the other guests and our ranger, Freddie. We watched skittish giraffe in the wind, learned that the white patches near antelope’s eyes are actually built in sunglasses and heard the loud clicks that elands’ legs make when they walk and run. Each game drive was National Geographic-worthy spectacular and our family enjoyed every minute.

Sharing wild animal tales

Built in sunglasses and a heart nose

Learning interesting facts from Freddie

We loved the museum at Founders Lodge with its fascinating collection of Xhosa beads and photographic history. I felt quite literally overwhelmed by the giant presence of visionary entrepreneur Adrian Gardiner, renowned South African conservationist Dr Ian Player and multi award-winning international wildlife photographer, David Yarrow. Our highlight of the museum was the biggest book we have ever seen – a limited edition photographic collection of iconic wild encounters by Yarrow. His incredible larger-than-life images also grace the walls of the lodge bedrooms and living areas.

We wined and dined, explored and adventured, laughed and relaxed and had the time of our lives at Founders Lodge.

The food at Founders Lodge is exceptional

We loved every minute of our stay and were delighted to discover for ourselves the feeling of completeness, comfort, serenity and oneness with nature that attracts affluent travellers to this little piece of heaven.

Fact Sheet

Founders Lodge is located in Sidbury, a 45 minute drive East of Port Elizabeth.
Winter special (Valid until 31 August 2018) SA resident rates are R3550 per person per night, including all meals and game drives.
Website: https://founderslodgebymantis.com/
Telephone: +27 41 404 9300