Local Attractions …

From Bucklands Private Game Reserve you can explore the area, with so much to do and to see. Please do let us know if you would like us to package a special Bucklands Tour for you including some of the local attractions listed below. If you have any other special interests and would like to learn more about what is offered in the surrounding areas, please do contact us for assistance. Below we have highlighted some of the Local Attractions surrounding Bucklands Private Game Reserve.

Grahamstown
Grahamstown has more than 70 declared National Heritage sites. One of these is the highest church spire in the country, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of many famous buildings of the Victorian era. Grahamstown remains an important educational and cultural centre today, hosting the famous Grahamstown Festival every year, with easy access to game reserves and the unspoilt beaches of the Sunshine Coast.

Grahamstown's Historical Attractions
1820 Settlers National Monument; 44 Air School & Grahamstown Military Base; Artificer's Square: the old artisan's quarter; Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George; City Hall, settlers Memorial Tower; Commemoration Church; High Street; High Street Façade; Rhodes University; St Patrick's Church; The Drostdy Gate; The Oldest Official Letterbox in South Africa; The Provost Prison; The Winged Figure of Peace.

The Grahamstown Golf Club
The Grahamstown Golf Club was founded in 1891. Membership had reached 35 by 1902 and was up to 101 by 1906. It reached an all time high of 609 in 1990. The 1909 South Africa Ladies Open was held in Grahamstown at the Grahamstown Golf Course which is situated off Cradock Road on the outskirts of Grahamstown, only a short drive from Bucklands Private Game Reserve.

Makana Botanical Gardens
The botanical gardens adjoining Rhodes University are worth a visit, particularly on week-day mornings when few people are about. A one-hour walk can produce a list of 30 different species of birds. From Somerset Street, turn up the road between the Natural History and Cultural History sections of the Albany Museum; the main gates to the gardens are on the left, soon after you pass the Eden Grove section of Rhodes University.

Egazini Arts & Crafts
To get the best of locally produced arts and crafts, visit Egazini Outreach Project at Ext. 6 in Joza Township. Here Local Artists and Crafters show their own individual creativity; the result has been a production of a unique form of arts and crafts with strong Provincial identity. There is a wide range of craft products to choose from like printed fabrics, printed T-shirts, bags, cushion covers, wishing cards and there are more formal works like linocuts, woodcuts, etchings and paintings. When you visit the project you will have a chance to meet the Artists themselves. Talk to them about their work. See how they interpret their own history through their work and also see how their work is produced and packaged for marketing purposes. The Egazini Outreach Project opens Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 16:00.

Beach Picnics Near Port Alfred
Arranged by Bucklands Private Game Reserve, we offer our guests a day's outing to a beautiful beach near Port Alfred. A scenic drive through the Makana District, combines the "bush" with the "beach" … with a Bucklands Picnic packed for a relaxing day at the beach and tranquil sundowners back at Bucklands Private Game Reserve in the late afternoon. Should you wish to add this activity to your stay at Bucklands, kindly confirm arrangements with our Central Reservations Office prior to your arrival.

The Frontier Country Route
Explore the towns of Grahamstown; Fort Beaufort; Sidbury; Salem; Riebeeck East; Bedford; Adelaide; Alice and Hogsback!

Great Fish River Reserve
The reserve is rich in history, with several forts bearing witness to the frontier conflicts between Xhosa and settler. The Double Drift Reserve is 23 000ha in size and on the Great Fish River; it forms a combined conservation area of 44 000ha with the Sam Knott Nature Reserve and the Andries Vosloo Kudu Reserve. It conserves one of the best examples of the succulent Valley Bushveld, and its rough terrain provides diverse habitats and spectacular views.

Thomas Baines Nature Reserve
The Reserve is named after the famous 19th Century artist who left a valuable record of the rich diversity of fauna and flora in the region, including the now-extinct quagga. There are also numerous signs of the hunter-gatherer- and later Nguni communities that once inhabited the region. The reserve boasts an impressive herd of 45 Cape Buffalo as well as "Tom", one of the oldest white rhino's in Southern Africa. A total of 25 reptiles and 53 mammals have been recorded. Besides the buffalo and white rhino, numerous antelope - including eland, red hartebeest, bushbuck and kudu - as well as small mammals such as vervet monkeys and genets, can be seen in the reserve. 175 species of birds have been recorded. Picnic sites with braai facilities and toilets are provided at Settlers Dam where one can also go boating and fish for black bass.