About Us

Mkambati Nature Reserve

The Wild Coast, Eastern Cape, South Africa

The 7,400 hectare Mkambati Nature Reserve is situated along South Africa’s “Wild Coast” and must rank as one of the most beautiful coastal reserves anywhere. Pristine rivers, tumbling waterfalls, deep gorges, rolling grasslands, pockets of dense swamp forest and beautiful secluded beaches are a few of the ingredients to this superlative coastal destination. Mkambati’s rolling grasslands give visitors the sense of being in the Serengeti – but with the Indian Ocean as the backdrop. There are few places on earth where one can watch a big herd of eland, blesbok or zebra with dolphins and whales providing the backdrop - or stroll along a beach where the only other footprints are from an eland or an otter.

Mkambati lies at the centre of the Pondo Centre of Endemism, a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot home to more than 2,200 plant species, 200 of which occur nowhere else on Earth. The reserve is designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and its coastline forms part of a formally declared Pondoland Marine Protected Area, safeguarding interconnected terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems along South Africa’s Wild Coast.

Mkambati Conservation & Community NPC

Mkambati’s story is as much about people as it is about biodiversity. In 2004, after nearly a century of dispossession following forced removals by government, seven impoverished local communities regained ownership of the reserve through South Africa’s restitution process which allows descendants of people who were forcefully evicted off their lands during the Apartheid and Colonial eras to reclaim their lands. Faced with a pivotal decision — resettle on the land with their traditional homes and agriculture or conserve it for future generations? The descendants of the evicted communities chose conservation. Today, they are the only community out of all of South Africa’s 54 provincial nature parks and reserves who own the land outright under freehold title.

GweGwe Beach Lodge is the commercial engine that makes that decision sustainable.

Operating entirely off-grid and powered by renewable energy, GweGwe has been carefully designed to minimise ecological impact across sensitive grassland, wetland and coastal systems. Infrastructure and accommodation at GweGwe is appropriately luxurious, but low-impact, ensuring the ecological integrity of this rare landscape is maintained.

Employment is local and transformative. Nearly 100% of staff are drawn from surrounding rural communities, one of the most economically marginalised regions in South Africa. The HDI (Human development index) here is one of the lowest in the world, poverty is extreme. The majority of GweGwe’s employees are women, many entering formal employment for the first time when they joined GweGwe. Skills training and career pathways are embedded into the lodge’s operations, enabling long-term economic empowerment rather than seasonal dependency. The warmth and authenticity of Pondo hospitality is not scripted; it is cultural heritage translated into world-class hosting. Tourism directly funds conservation and community development.

In addition to a fixed monthly rental, 9% of gross revenue is paid to the community via their Mkambati Land Trust and the conservation authorities, supporting biodiversity management and protected area governance.

Our Mission

There is a great purpose riding on Mkambati's shoulders. Today, 95% of South Africa’s provincial parks are severely underfunded, some have become little more than ‘paper parks’. GweGwe and Mkambati must, and will, avoid that fate. Together, they and their broad based community partners are shaping a “gold standard” model that connects rural communities, government, and the private sector through nature-based tourism to drive both large-scale community upliftment and sustainable biodiversity conservation. Mkambati and GweGwe are already proving this type of inclusive partnership model is viable and able sustain South Africa’s provincial parks and reserves for the future.

Our partnership with the Mkambati Land Trust goes far beyond the lodge’s inclusive ownership and revenue share model. Together, we are committed to improving lives in meaningful, lasting ways — ensuring that conservation and tourism deliver tangible benefits to the people who call this region home.

Our BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is the reintroduction of white rhino to the vast grasslands of Mkambati which will restore a keystone species to its historical home range and revitalising the overall health of the ecosystem.

To prepare for this event, so many milestones need to be reached, two of the most important before rhinos can be reintroduced are the full buy-in by the local community and effective security. Mkambati has launched the Green Griffons — an all-women anti-poaching and ecological monitoring team. Inspired, mentored & trained by the award-winning Black Mambas of the Kruger region, the Green Griffons have been selected by their Trust and community leaders and are being trained to be deployed to safeguard Mkambati’s wildlife, monitor its biodiversity and engage local communities in protecting Mkambati’s extraordinary environment and natural heritage.

Their work represents more than conservation — it’s empowerment in action. By creating opportunities for impoverished rural women to take leading roles in environmental protection, the Green Griffons are helping shape a new generation of custodians for the Wild Coast.

One of the many other dominoes that must fall into place for rhinos to be reintroduced is the expansion of Mkambati Nature Reserve. The plan is to more than double its current size to create ample land for rhinos to roam and thrive. This vision can only be achieved by creating jobs and generating real commercial opportunities for the communities that surround the reserve.

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