Dear wildlife enthusiasts,

Welcome to the official Aquila Private Game Reserve website.

Since the 4-star Aquila Private Game Reserve was founded, its ethos and that of our team of dedicated staff, has always been to educate guests on the importance of wildlife conservation, how it affects us all and what we as individuals can do to protect it and indeed the environment.

Aquila is not yet another luxury game reserve and lodge, its primary purpose is to offer an educational experience to all who visit in the hope that knowledge will enrich our understanding of the importance of living in harmony with Mother Nature.

Over the years, Aquila Private Game Reserve has gone to massive efforts and expense to source and re-introduce wildlife into the Cape region so that local residents and visitors alike can benefit from the same and therefore we are proud to offer an authentic African Big 5 safari for the first time in 250 years.

We are especially proud of our efforts of reintroducing our lions and lion cubs that we saved from a doomed ‘canned lion’ fate. The support from industry, local and international media has been outstanding and reiterates our ongoing efforts and stance against animal cruelty – such as the despicable canned lion hunting industry. Aquila’s lions thrive in their massive sanctuary while enjoying the breathtaking terrain of mountains, valleys, rivers and kloofs.

In another of our conservation efforts, we currently offer our visitors a complimentary educational introduction to our cheetahs, highlighting the plight of the free ranging cheetah and their critically diminishing numbers. It’s important to note that our cheetahs were captive bred and not ‘born free’ nor do they form part of Aquila’s game drive and the experience is strictly controlled and in the interest of cheetah survival worldwide. Guests however are not allowed to directly interact with the cheetahs but are given a comprehensive talk on the plight of these beautiful cats.

Central to conservation is education and to this end we regularly invite, free of charge, various under privileged schools to the reserve to experience this first hand.

Inform - educate – empower!

Respecting that we are part of a community, our annual efforts to uplift the nearby town of Touwsriver is ongoing. Winter soup kitchens, feeding approximately 12000 children per month, a sustainable recycling ‘food for litter’ campaign, fundraising events for blankets, pet food and veterinary service rallies and indeed employment are some of the ways we strengthen our ties with the town.

Our responsible tourism, social upliftment and job creation efforts have not only been hailed in The Argus as “Champion of the Poor” but has also received us unparallel national and international publicity. We are also very proud to have been in the top 3 finalists of the prestigious FEDHASA responsible tourism Imvelo awards for the past 3 years.

We look forward to welcoming you to our prestigious reserve either as a day visitor or overnight guest where you can immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the various types of luxury accommodation and fine South African cuisine.

Searl Derman
Owner - Aquila Private Game Reserve