South Africa holiday, Cape Town, winelands and the garden route

Community
This trip uses some luxury boutique accommodations where the focus is on organically produced food, sustainable tourism initiatives and genuine hospitality. For instance, the wine estate in Franschhoek retains the comfort and warmth associated with a homestead, rather than the impersonal clinical nature of most commercial hotels and catering accommodations. Here, fresh produce is grown for the restaurant and chickens roam the estate – vital for the fresh morning eggs.

There are currently two Born Free Centres on the game reserve. Environmental education is a major facet of these centres and the emphasis is on the school children of previously disadvantaged communities with in excess of 700 children been educated monthly. Guests at the reserve can visit the centres and learn about their work.

Environment
The game reserve is recognised as the pioneer in Eastern Cape eco tourism and has a dedicated wildlife department consisting of two wildlife vets, two ecologists, an environmentalist and a variety of qualified nature conservationists. They aim to ensure a sustainable environment for all the fauna and flora on the long term, the ecological integrity of the biodiversity as well as the maintenance of a quality wildlife experience. The reserve is also home to the Born Free Foundation Animal Rescue and Education Centre, which aims to provide long term humane care for rescued African cats that have been subjected to inhumane conditions internationally as well as to provide an education resource for visitors, school children and students.

The Knysna Elephant Park is another reserve on the Garden Route, set up to bring elephants back to the Knysna area after their numbers dwindled from 400 to just 3. The elephants of the Southern Cape were once an important part of the ecology of the area. They roamed and fed on the grasslands and fynbos when water was plentiful and delved deep into the forests when the dry seasons came. But with the great fire of 1869, heavy poaching and uncontrolled logging, these herds had all but died away. Many elephants now found here have escaped a culling programme and visitors have an opportunity to learn about the conservation work and behaviours of these impressive giants. The park’s vision is to create environmental awareness amongst visitors and to unlock employment opportunities for local people. Entrance fees to the park help promote awareness of the plight of the elephants, and by highlighting their plight, to show the world why conservation of natural resources is vitally important to their survival.