TIn 1990 Adrian Gardiner, a successful businessman from Port Elizabeth, decided to buy a small farm to use as a weekend getaway for his family. The piece of land he bought consisted of only 1 200 hectares, but boasted a number of antelope including bushbuck, kudu and duiker. By this time drought had ravaged the countryside and farmers were experiencing financial difficulties, which resulted in land coming onto the market at very reasonable prices. Soon his small piece of land had grown to 7 000 hectares.

Adrian started reading C J Skead’s authoritatively researched historical accounts of the Eastern Cape, as well as journals and historical diaries of the 1820 Settlers. He was amazed to see this part of the Eastern Cape being described as one of the richest wildlife zones in Africa. Early hunters and pioneers such as Sparrman and Cornwallis Harris first documented the legendary “Big Five” in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Well-documented reports dating back to the 18th century indicate a time when vast herds of Cape buffalo and zebra, black wildebeest, black rhino, leopard and prides of Cape lion freely roamed the hills and valleys.

However, by 1853 the Settlers had wiped out most of the game and cleared vast areas of forest and thicket to create pastures for cattle, goats and sheep. By the turn of the century the land had been degraded and the soil depleted of its nutrition, through overgrazing and overstocking.

By 1991 all that remained of the once green and verdant paradise was a dry, eroded dust bowl. The land Adrian had bought consisted largely of overgrazed farms with, along the folds of the valleys and the hills, small pockets of indigenous forest and shrub as the only reminder of what had once been home to thousands of animals.

What started out as a family retreat now became Adrian’s passion: - to return to the land the flora which had since been exterminated, to return to the plains abundant herds of game, and to ensure that the roar of the lion would again be heard in the heat of the early evening. Adrian Gardiner’s very own African dream of conserving a vanishing way of life, was born. Soon the dream started taking on a life of its own and expanded beyond the conservation of nature to include the preservation of history and tradition.

Adrian realised that the dream had grown to such proportions that he had no choice but to consider the commercial viability of keeping it alive. The dream would have to show a return on investment and a way had to be found to make the venture a financial success. It was Adrian’s heart-felt belief that conservation could be profitable. In 1992 Shamwari Game Reserve was founded. This constituted the first steps towards restoring the land to its former glory through the reintroduction of all the species that had once roamed there. Shamwari Game Reserve, by 2002 the jewel in the crown of Adrian Gardiner’s businesses, started with a staff of seven, great courage and nothing short of sheer determination in the face of the mammoth task which lay ahead.

After research had been done into the history of the wildlife in the region, a scientific study was conducted and a programme developed to re-introduce animals. The convergence of five ecosystems in this area of South Africa, which is malaria free, ensured that an unequalled diversity of animals could be introduced.

The gradual recovery and rehabilitation of the soil was the first step in the process. Animals cannot flourish without sufficient food and shelter. Indigenous pioneering grasses were planted on ploughed fields and pastures while sheep and cattle were removed. The outlines that scarred the natural contours of the landscape were re-seeded with shrubs and trees. Today, this process is maintained through harvesting, redistribution and the scattering of seed-rich elephant dung.

The scientific re-introduction programme was aimed at systematically restocking the reserve with game such as the Cape buffalo, elephant and lion. Breeding herds once indigenous to the area had to be introduced while ensuring the correct utilisation of carrying-capacity formulas.

By now, Adrian Gardiner had realised the important impact tourism could have on the area. His increasing interest in conservation was further inspired by his friendship with renowned conservationists such as Dr Ian Player and John Aspinall. The combination of profit-motive rewards with nature conservation, job creation, regional rejuvenation and an increase in the inflow of foreign currency lies at the heart of this success story.

On 15 October 1992 Shamwari was officially opened, receiving its first guests at Long Lee Manor.

During this time Highfield and Carn Ingly, two 1860 Victorian Settler cottages which had been uninhabited for several years, were lovingly restored and opened as lodges.

The management of Shamwari recognised the important role local people play, and as a result an Arts and Cultural village was developed and an educational programme launched, in partnership with the Born Free Foundation. Shamwari established itself in the international market and the team’s hard work started to show dividends.

Several other farms were acquired and more and more animals re-introduced until, by the turn of the century, Shamwari was ready to accommodate large predators. In the year 2000 cheetah and brown hyena were resettled on the reserve. But it was the return of the Ingonyama (lion) that brought the dream to its fulfilment with the return of the eco-system to the state it had been in 150 years ago. The first lion on free range since 1870 was released at Shamwari during October 2000.

Since 1991, 14 separate farms have been integrated, fences have been removed and roads closed. Over-grazed land has been rehabilitated, the plains re-seeded with indigenous grasses and more than 5 000 head of game have been bred and re-introduced.

Today Shamwari employs 250 people, stretches across 20 000 hectares and has been returned to its rightful owners, the fauna and flora.

(From the book “Shamwari – History in the Making” by Susan Goosen & available through Shamwari Game Reserve)