Sanbona Wildlife Reserve

About Sanbona Wildlife Reserve

The 54, 000 hectare Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in the Little Karoo is one of the hottest weekend break destinations in the Western Cape. Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is home to the only free-range white lions in South Africa.

Did you know? Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is the closest free-roaming Big 5 reserve to Cape Town and is home to the only free, self sustaining white lions in the world.

The historic predator release means that for the first time in over 200 years, lion and cheetah can once again be seen in the Klein Karoo, making Sanbona the first private game reserve in the Western Cape to play host to free-roaming big cats.

At the foot of the Warmwaterberg, in the heart of the Little Karoo, between Montagu and Barrydale on the famous Route 62, the vision of the San has become a reality. Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, 54 000 hectares of undulating mountains and plains, indigenous fauna and flora, rock formations and rock art make this a destination not to be missed.

Specialist guiding is a key element in providing a memorable and varied experience. The name Sanbona is a combination of the "San" people who roamed this area for thousands of years and "bona" which represents their vision in order to position this portion of the Little Karoo.

Sanbona has initiated a unique conservation programme that aims to breed the White Lion for release into the wild. Our dream is to reintroduce this rare animal into areas where it has been wiped out - for example, in the Timbavati region, where records indicate that the White Lion was spotted in the wild as far back as 1925.

The White Lion has always been rare, but its unusual beauty has captured the imaginations of people across the globe. Its whiteness is not due to albinism, but due to a recessive gene - similar to that found in the rare white tigers of Asia. However, it is not a separate species of lion from the typical tawny African lion.

The cubs are born almost pure white, but darken to a rich cream colour over the course of their first two years.