Aquila Nature Reserve

About Aquila Nature Reserve

Aquila is a private Game Reserve lying outside the town of Touwsriver; just less than two hours drive from Cape Town along a particularly scenic route on the N1.

Did you know? "Aquila Game Reserve is a private game reserve that offers day-trips, horseback safaris, quad bike safaris, a variation of accommodation options, wildlife education and much more. Best of all it's less than two hours away from the city".

The reserve is named after the Black Eagle found in the area that is today rarely encountered and regarded as an endangered species. Aquila, whilst a prestigious 4 star luxury getaway for those seeking such, is also very big on conservation and uplifting local communities in the area.

Declared a nature reserve in 1985, Aquila is 4 500 hectares of southern Karoo highlands that make up a landscape rich in rivers, mountains, dramatic gorges and kloofs strewn with mountain fynbos and succulents, across three valleys. The wide open spaces that characterise the Karoo are evident in the Aquila Nature Reserve and contain a wide array of game, including the Big 5, and a natural wetland.

Aquila also happens to lie on the national flower route, boasts a number of hectares of mountain protea, and during spring is one of the places privy to an impressive display of Karoo flowers that lie, reminiscent of a carpet, across the plains.

The reserve has re-introduced wildlife into the Cape region in an effort to educate all who visit Aquila, and they are particularly proud of the lions and lion cubs they managed to save from a ‘canned lion' destiny, to which so much of our wildlife in South Africa is subjected on game farms offering hunting.

Aquila's efforts to uplift the nearby Touwsriver community include winter soup kitchens and a recycling ‘food for litter' campaign that has contributed towards their position as a finalist in the FEDHASA responsible tourism Imvelo awards for three years running.