Best Getaways 
Sanbona Wildlife Reserve
The malaria-free Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is around a three-hour scenic drive from Cape Town in the heart of the Little Karoo, along Route 62 – the world’s longest wine route. At the foot of the towering Warmwaterberg Mountains, Sanbona boasts 62 000 hectares of sculpted Cape Fold Mountains, wide-open Karoo plains, indigenous flora and fauna and rare examples of San rock art, some dating back more than 3 500 years. Sanbona is also an ongoing conservation project that aims to restore the ecological balance in a landscape formed during cataclysmic times 350 million years ago. Travel through 3 different biomes, and many habitats, including the quartz fields of the succulent Karoo, a very special habitat characterized by beds of angular quartz debris and home to a flora of stunning minute succulent shrubs.
Area Info
There are over 600 types of flora within Sanbona Wildlife Reserve. Various species bloom at different times throughout the year, but, in this region, flowering occurs more prolifically between August and September.
Sanbona is at the forefront of an on-going conservation project that aims to restore the ecological balance in the area. Approximately half of the surrounding landscape used to be livestock and agricultural farms, which have since been removed which has allowed the various floral kingdoms that make up the reserve to flourish. Plant life that inhabits this region of the Western Cape includes Acacia Thickets, Renosterveld, Succulent Karoo and Central Mountain Fynbos. Species of succulents are especially varied and fascinating with names like Baby’s Bottoms, Ostrich Toes, and Pig’s Ears.
As part of our conservation efforts, we have reintroduced animals that once roamed the area freely but were eradicated due to farming. The Big 5 and various other species such as gemsbok, springbok, hartebeest, eland, kudu, and zebra can now all be seen on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve.
Other animal species that continue to thrive thanks to the efforts of Sanbona include natural small game such as the jackal, caracal, duiker, aardwolf, aarvark, brown hyena, grey rhebok, steenbok, klipspringer, and grysbok.
A Riverine Rabbit population was discovered on Sanbona in 2006, and as these animals are only known to exist in the central Karoo, they are incredibly rare. Moreover, this species of rabbit is the 13th most endangered mammal in the world. Sanbona is currently only one of two protected areas that provide Riverine Rabbit populations with sufficient space and diversity for their ecological processes to function naturally.
Units and Rooms
Tilney Manor
Guests: 2
Breath-taking views of the undulating mountains and landscape embrace the historical Tilney Manor in a refuge of peace and tranquillity. The Manor offers six spacious open-plan suites leading on to private verandas.
Gondwana Family Lodge
Guests: 3
Max Adults: 2
This spacious thatched Lodge offers guests a sense of modern comfort with a touch of bush authenticity. Interconnecting rooms, indoor and outdoor play areas and a child-friendly pool cater for guests of all ages.
