Amakhala Leeuwenbosch Country House

Built in 1908 by William Fowlds, Leeuwenbosch Country House stands within Amakhala Game Reserve, a private eight-thousand-hectare conservancy on former sheep and dairy land near Paterson in the Eastern Cape. The three-star colonial manor house holds four en-suite bedrooms furnished with antiques and historical paintings. A double room and a luxury suite each feature an en-suite bathroom, heater, underfloor heating, fan, safe, and tea and coffee facilities. The luxury suite includes a lounge with a sleeper couch for children under 12. A family room converts from twin to double and opens into a children's room with two single beds. A twin room with screened bath and toilet sleeps two children or one adult. Rates include breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus two game drives daily in open Land Rovers led by professional rangers. Morning and afternoon drives depart into the reserve to track elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, giraffe, zebra, black wildebeest, cheetah, and antelope. Night drives reveal nocturnal species. Walking safaris follow game on foot. A stone chapel built in the nineteenth century stands in the garden. The cellar bar occupies a stone-walled room below the house. High tea is served on the veranda each afternoon before the evening drive. A swimming pool sits in indigenous gardens. You can hear birdsong from the terrace. The shearing shed, built in 1930 and converted in 2001, now operates as Shearers Lodge with four en-suite rooms, dinner, and breakfast. The reserve lies 60 kilometres from Port Elizabeth on the N2 towards Grahamstown. Addo Elephant National Park is 30 kilometres away. Laundry service and wireless internet are complimentary.