Weenen

The reserve has a small two bedroomed cottage with braai facilities and its own trail and waterhole. There are 12 caravan and camping sites and a picnic site.

There is a guided walk of 8kms and three self-guided trails which pass dams.

The excellent museum (also from 1838) houses a collection of Voortrekker artefacts and was constructed by Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius whose waterwheel is one of the exhibits.

It has previously done service as a magistrates office, post office and a prison. Between 1907 and 1983 a narrow gauge railway connected Weenen with Estcourt and provided an outlet for its produce and was thus called the "Cabbage Express'.

Thirty one private landowners have combined to establish this single unique biosphere reserve which integrates both conservation and farming.

It encompasses the Tugela, Bushmans and Bloukrans River valleys and incorporates the Weenen Nature Reserve. There are horse trails through the biosphere, game viewing and bird watching - especially the thousands of white storks that inhabit the reserve.

White water rafting and fishing are popular in the rivers and for the hunter, there is a variety of both buck and birds. The area of the reserve covers grasslands, steep forested valleys and riverine vegetation.

   Buffalo, kudu, leopard, giraffe, hyaena, elephant, rhino, zebra, wildebeest and many others. There are also crocodiles, pythons and monitor lizards.

    The Isambane Camp - the place of the aardvark - gets you away from it all to spend evenings under the stars around a crackling camp fire. There are 5 self catered tents under a canopy of thorn trees or 4 thatched stone cottages offering catered accommodation .

. . . offers peace and tranquility in the midst of the African bushveld. There are wilderness walks, night drives and wholesome meals. Kusa Kusa Game Lodge has 5 en suite cottages each sleeping up to 4 people. There is a conference center, swimming pool, Zulu dancing, night drives and hunting packages.

. . . offers a two bed thatched cottage and a six bed stone thatched cottage amongst two thousand acres of African bushveld.

The cottages can be catered or self catering. There is fishing, birding, game drives and visits to a Zulu village. Umsuluzi Game Park stands on 3200 hectares of prime bushveld. There are wilderness walks and conducted day and night drives. Accommodation is in the form of luxury safari tents and cottages.

. . . offers a variety of outdoor activities including four wheel drive training, abseiling, mountain biking and fishing (031 7640600: 031 764 4660 Fax). Visitors can experience the bush at Thornton Bush Lodge, accessible only by offroad vehicles.

. . will take you for a three day river rapids trip down the Tugela. There are also a variety of adventure activities and 4x4 trails.

Accommodation is in either a tented camp or cottages overlooking the Bloukrans River. A wide selection of outdoor/adventure activities are offered at the camp.

The bush lodge is remote and adjacent to the Weenen Game Reserve. There is an open camp fire and lanterns in a traditional bush style.

The accommodation is in bamboo/thatch cottages with conference facilities and a bar. Zulu dancing can be arranged on request. There are wilderness trails, night drives and hunting packages.

On the banks of the Bushmans River the 3200 ha camp offers 20 species of game, a stocked dam and guided day and night drives. Accommodation is either luxury safari tents or thatched stone cottages.