Sibuya History

Sibuya Game Reserve comprises a number of different farms that for 150 years have been host to cattle, ostriches, goats and a number of different crops including chickory.

The last lions and elephants were shot in the area in the mid 1800's. The Kariega River was also host to a large number of hippo and to this day hippo teeth are still found regularly on the river banks.

Fortunately previous generations removed little of the magnificent indigenous forest that is such a feature of the Kariega valley. This endangered forest (Albany Thicket) is one of the reasons Sibuya is host to the huge variety of animals and birds that the Reserve is now renowned for.

Fencing began in 2003, with the first animals arriving on the 25th August of that year. The conversion of River Camp from a "Drifters camp" to a 3 star destination followed soon after. Forest Camp was built in 2006 and opened on 18th December 2006.