Recently, our General Manager, Janice Page had the opportunity to visit Simbonga Game Reserve and Big Cat Sanctuary located in the Eastern Cape, of South Africa.
Janice and her family had a private tour of the lion sanctuary and met these lucky guys, many have been rescued from Ukraine and can now live out their life in peace. We could hear their roars in the middle of the night and get up and close with giraffe and a variety of buck on hikes around the reserve.
Headed up by Founder & Director of Warriors of Wildlife (WOW), Lionel de Lange has committed his life to rescuing, caring for and relocating abused wildlife from around the world to safe and ethical sanctuaries. WOW have already rescued and relocated 37 Lions and a Tiger from Ukraine to South Africa and 2 White Lions from a park that also closed down in the Eastern Cape. Thirteen of the Lions and a female Tiger may be viewed by appointment at Simbonga.
Simbonga caters to the needs of tourists who want a break but also wish to learn about the plight of abused wild animals and the work that goes into rescuing and relocating them. Simbonga also cater for volunteers who wish to get the complete all round experience of caring for rescued wildlife and learning about the indigenous fauna and flora.
Managed by Lauren Kylie and Keegan Smith, Simbonga is a truly incredible experience - besides the big cats some of the wildlife you may encounter include Kudu, Giraffe, Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Zebra, and abundant bird life with over 100 (and counting) different bird species documented at the reserve. Lauren regularly takes visitors on guided walks and also offers day visitors the opportunity to experience sundowners accompanied by lion roars.
Lionel is currently in Ukraine to rescue a black Leopard and a Jaguar, two highly endangered species, along with three Italian mastiff dogs.
Simbonga receive no government funding and run exclusively on donations by the public. Caxton was glad to assist recently with the sponsorship of Simbonga’s information leaflets.
If you ever find yourself in the incredibly beautiful eastern cape of South Africa, make sure to pay them a visit: www.simbonga.co.za
