There are plenty of game reserves within South Africa. The major reserve is of course, Kruger, and as amazing as that would be, we found Aquila game reserve to be just perfect.

Aquila Safari

Aquila is only two hours from Cape Town and holds more than 10,000 hectares of protected land.

Why visit Aquila Game Reserve?

You get to see the big five!!!! For those not playing at home, that would be the lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and the water buffalo (always bringing up the rear…).

Aquila offers four star quality in their lodging and dining, an authentic feel of safari, and some spa treatments if you’re in to that sort of thing.

What was our experience like?

We picked up and left our bed and breakfast back in Stellenbosch early in the morning, and began the drive through the arid climate of the southern Cape. Not a ton to see on the drive, but helps give you a sense of the terrain these wild animals live on to survive.

Pulling in to the game reserve, you can’t help but feel like a little kid again. Similar to that of puling in the Disneyland, or some other adventure park. You just can’t wait to get out of the car and see some animals!

We checked in with very pleasant and helpful staff. We were staying in one of the cabins a decent amount away from the lodge itself. There are maybe ten or fifteen of these cabins placed far enough away from the lodge to give you an “out in the bush” type feel.

We had a busboy help carry our suitcase (thank you!!) as the paved sidewalk turns into dirt after a while. This is when the scenery hits you.

Two giraffes are casually walking by, maybe within thirty meters. A herd of elephants are kicking up dust farther out. And our cabin up ahead looks amazing!!

The cabins are situated a good deal up a small ridge to allow for better viewing. We tipped accordingly ; ) and couldn’t wait to go out and explore. A switched over to the telephoto lens and looked out to see what I could find. Kid in a candy store.

The cabin was amazing. The hottub in the room had jets with a window you could look out on. The bed was king and an outdoor shower to really get you in the mood.

The feel was very rustic and perfect to get us in the mood for our experience.

Our first safari was scheduled for later in the day. So first we enjoyed a good hearty meal consisting of local favorites, as well as western mainstays as well. Nothing really to write home about, but tasty nonetheless.

You could really pick up on the different accents here. People from all over the world have a fascination with Africa’s wild game. We were certainly one of them.

Then came our time for the safari. Different trucks leave at different times to allow for a noncongested viewing of the park.

I don’t have a picture of the truck, but they’re set up to be able to get a 360 view of anything you want a picture of. The driver moves along slowly, up and down and over some rocks. We had a guide answering any questions and also pointing things out to make sure we didn’t miss anything.

One of the rare sightings we were able to see, was the baby rhinocerous with his mother. It was the cutest thing ever!! The baby acted tough and would stick his horn up at us if we got close, but would run behind his mother if we got too close. Ridiculous.

The animals were like paintings to watch as they glided around.

Aquila was an amazing experience.

If you want to get a feel for the city (Cape Town), skip over to wine country (Stellenbosch & Franschhoek), and get a legit game reserve knocked out in two days, you can do it. Don’t forget to explore everything else South Africa has to offer!