Day trip to Aquila game preserve from Cape Town

[Wayfairers]

Has anyone done a day trip to Aquila game preserve while docked in Cape Town?  I’m looking at options for the 2 days we have there this fall on a cruise ship and thinking Aquila might be fun.  I’m wondering if it feels like a zoo…..do you see the fences?

[Omega1]

It’s probably 16 years since we were at Aquila, it hadn’t been established that long and felt a bit like Noah’s Ark - 2 elephants, 2 giraffe (get the idea) and the lions were in their own fenced enclosure like a zoo. It looks as though it has expanded now and become more ‘safari like’ and it’s one of the few opportunities to see game in the Western Cape. Obviously, the best game parks are much further afield in the Eastern Cape and Kruger. Having said that it’s certainly a fun activity but given you only have a couple of days in CT there is so much to see and do within an hour of the city, my advice would be stay local (Aquila is a 2 hour + drive away) and go back to South Africa to do a ‘quality’ safari experience.

We are flying to the Western Cape for three weeks in 10 days (our 7th visit) and if visiting for 48 hours on a cruise ship, on day 1 I would book a tour (or rent a car) to Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope to include the African Penguins at Boulders Beach and a stop at Hout Bay and take in the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive en route to Cape Point. For a long day you might add a call at a Constantia winery eg Groot Constantia.

Day 2 take your pick of several CT attractions- Table Mountain cableway, Robben Island, Kirstenbosch Gardens, afternoon tea at the Mount Nelson hotel to name a few. So much choice, you need to be selective.

[Wayfairers]

24 minutes ago, Omega1 said:

It’s probably 16 years since we were at Aquila, it hadn’t been established that long and felt a bit like Noah’s Ark - 2 elephants, 2 giraffe (get the idea) and the lions were in their own fenced enclosure like a zoo. It looks as though it has expanded now and become more ‘safari like’ and it’s one of the few opportunities to see game in the Western Cape. Obviously, the best game parks are much further afield in the Eastern Cape and Kruger. Having said that it’s certainly a fun activity but given you only have a couple of days in CT there is so much to see and do within an hour of the city, my advice would be stay local (Aquila is a 2 hour + drive away) and go back to South Africa to do a ‘quality’ safari experience.

We are flying to the Western Cape for three weeks in 10 days (our 7th visit) and if visiting for 48 hours on a cruise ship, on day 1 I would book a tour (or rent a car) to Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope to include the African Penguins at Boulders Beach and a stop at Hout Bay and take in the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive en route to Cape Point. For a long day you might add a call at a Constantia winery eg Groot Constantia.

Day 2 take your pick of several CT attractions- Table Mountain cableway, Robben Island, Kirstenbosch Gardens, afternoon tea at the Mount Nelson hotel to name a few. So much choice, you need to be selective.

Thanks for the info.   Definitely plan to return for a multi day safari one day including a balloon flight over migration.   The cruise is our intro to Africa….(well Morocco will be a repeat…spent a week and a half there a few years ago).  Anyway, we want to experience a short safari or two on this trip to see some animals and Aquila is one we are considering.  
 

 We will definitely see Table Mountain and Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope, Boulder Beach to see the penguins, Chapmans Peak Drive.   Thinking of possibly a hike between Cape Point and Cape of good Hope.  At this point I don’t know if we can do all that in one day.   We aren’t into seeing buildings and gardens unless they are something really special.   

[Omega1]

4 minutes ago, Wayfairers said:

Thanks for the info.   Definitely plan to return for a multi day safari one day including a balloon flight over migration.   The cruise is our intro to Africa….(well Morocco will be a repeat…spent a week and a half there a few years ago).  Anyway, we want to experience a short safari or two on this trip to see some animals and Aquila is one we are considering.  
 

 We will definitely see Table Mountain and Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope, Boulder Beach to see the penguins, Chapmans Peak Drive.   Thinking of possibly a hike between Cape Point and Cape of good Hope.  At this point I don’t know if we can do all that in one day.   We aren’t into seeing buildings and gardens unless they are something really special.   

It’s a pleasant and relatively easy walk between Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point (45-60 mins). Good luck with the planning.

[Wayfairers]

2 minutes ago, Omega1 said:

It’s a pleasant and relatively easy walk between Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point (45-60 mins). Good luck with the planning.

Oh that is good to know.  Thanks again for your input. 

[Izzywiz]

We spent a day at the Aquila safari Lodge in December 2022 as part of a post cruise land tour. We have done Safaris in Kruger and the Masai Mara previously so the Aquila didn’t quite match the scale of our other trips but it was a very good introduction to safaris. The members of the tour group for whom this was their first safari experience were extremely impressed.

The site is huge and there are very few fenced areas. The animals that roam wild are mostly rescue animals.

Below is an extract from my diary that might prove useful…

Aquila Safari Lodge

The journey to the Safari lodge from central Cape Town took 2.5 hours through very attractive countryside and we arrived just after 09.00.

Aquila Lodge.

·         The lodge buildings are spread across quite a large area and include a shop, swimming pool, bar, lawns and gardens and several accommodation lodges.

·         We were offered complementary alcoholic drinks before we went to the restaurant.

·         We had a buffet breakfast in the restaurant where there were plenty of food choices but it was very crowded and the queue was very long.

·         After breakfast, our group was taken to a large, open Safari vehicle where there was room for all 16 of us.

·         Our driver/guide took a set route through the huge reserve and we saw several different animals….zebras, ostriches, water buffaloes, giraffes, lions, rock jumpers, impalas…

·         Part way through the drive, we stopped at a small lodge where there were complementary drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, plus toilets.

·         The game drive lasted nearly 3 hours.

·         We had a buffet lunch and had the opportunity to use the swimming pool and sun loungers before returning to Cape town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Izzywiz]

Some of our Aquila animal photographs....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wayfairers]

2 hours ago, Izzywiz said:

We spent a day at the Aquila safari Lodge in December 2022 as part of a post cruise land tour. We have done Safaris in Kruger and the Masai Mara previously so the Aquila didn’t quite match the scale of our other trips but it was a very good introduction to safaris. The members of the tour group for whom this was their first safari experience were extremely impressed.

Thanks so much for the detailed info and the pics!   Would you mind sharing the tour company you used out of Cape Town?

[Izzywiz]

26 minutes ago, Wayfairers said:

Thanks so much for the detailed info and the pics!   Would you mind sharing the tour company you used out of Cape Town?

You are very welcome. We actually did a 3 day post cruise tour which was booked as part of a package provided by our UK travel agency. The Cape Town tour provider was Wendy Wu Tours but I don’t know if the company would do just a single day. I do know that you can book direct with Aquila through their website and they provide transport from Cape Town.

I hope you enjoy the area as much as we do and don’t hesitate to ask if I can be of further help.