Sanbona Wildlife Reserve - Turning back time

White Lioness at Sanbona.
Picture Gallery

In the meantime, the white Lions, and their tawny counterparts, will pad across the wide, mystical landscape of Sanbona, protected and cherished as part of the mystical harmony between man and nature. Today's visitors to Sanbona are being taught to appreciate the inter-connectedness of all living things and the importance of restoring this harmony - for this, above all else, is the vision of the San.

Copyright © Gemma Pitcher 2004


Sanbona Game Reserve near Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
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Driving from Cape Town to Sanbona, a pioneering wildlife reserve buried deep in the Klein Karoo, our car emerged from the Huguenot road tunnel a few hours drive to the north-east just as sunrise arrived with a bang, gilding the spectac ...

Turtoise in Sanbona Game Reserve.
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Sanbona is the brainchild of Mantis Collection Co-chairmen Dr Gastón Savoi and Adrian Gardiner. As at their better-known Shamwari Reserve, the idea was to painstakingly turn back the ecological clock and reverse the damage done to the ...

Beautifull Karoo mountains view.
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The ecologists of Sanbona are experts on the plant map of their area, and can read a patch of ground like a book. The reserve's rangers are full of stories about the magical and medicinal properties of the reserve's vegetation, includi ...

Purple flowers and endless views.
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A white pickup truck approaches the compound, carrying the fresh carcass of a gemsbok, which will serve to entice the Lions from their enclosure and form their first meal as free citizens of Sanbona. Several student volunteers leap out ...

Explore the flora at Sanbona Game Reserve in South Africa.
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But before heading to the car for the drive back to Cape Town, we take a trip to visit another set of - very special - captive Lions.  As we approach their compound, a chill runs down my spine. From between the wires of the fence, a pair of ice-blue ey ...