Location: South Africa » Kwazulu Natal » Drakensberg » Southern Drakensberg » Sani Suanter » UnderbergGiants Cup Wilderness ReserveGiants cup wilderness reserve
DescriptionGiants Cup Wilderness Reserve™, the premier wild-trout flyfishing destination in Southern Africa, is a registered site of Conservation Significance (site no 49). Home to prolific wildlife and waterfowl, it has been called “one of the most beautiful fly-fishing destinations on the planet” (R. Kirby). With the Umzimkulwana river and a lake full of wild-spawning rainbow and brown trout, Giants Cup Wilderness sets the standard for authentic wilderness angling in spectacular mountain scenery. Accommodation The Lakeside Lodge and Fisherman's Cottage are set in pines - a short cast away from the water's edge - with en-suite jacuzzis, fully-equipped kitchens, lounge and fireplace, patio and braai, offering accommodation in well-appointed comfort.
All linens, crockery and cutlery are provided.
Duckbay Lodge occupies the premium position on the farm. It is set on the edge of a pine glade, up near the estuary and the reed-beds that surround it. Very private and a birder's paradise. With en-suite jacuzzi, fully-equipped kitchen, lounge and fireplace, patio and braai.
The lodgings are well-appointed, but without television, radio and telephone. Cellphone reception at the units varies from good to poor, with 082 reception better than 083. Fax, telephone and email facilities are available at the main farmhouse.
All you need to bring is your food and fishing tackle. Everything else is already here.
  
AttractionsBirding Giants Cup Wilderness Reserve offers superb bird watching. It is home to scarce and rare waterfowl, including rails, crakes, bitterns, reed and marsh birds. It is also very rich in raptor species.
NEST SITE FOR; fish eagle, RC sparrowhawk, purple heron, little bittern, paradise fly-catcher, grass owl, various kingfishers sp.
Rock Art There are more than 106 identified rock-art sites in the sandstone layer in the surrounding Drakensberg wilderness. Hiking Superb hiking Trout Fishing Giants Cup Wilderness Reserve has been called “one of the world’s most beautiful trout angling resorts” (Fly-Fishing in Southern Africa, Robert Brandon-Kirby). It offers self-sustaining populations of Brown and Rainbow Trout in the midst of an unspoiled wilderness. The lake varies in depth from about 1 - 2 metres over the shallows, down to 14 metres in the channel and the main basin.
| | | | | | | | | | | The Umzimkulwana River runs for 18 kilometres through the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Mountain Park, A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE site, and is accessible by hikers off the farm. No vehicular access is permitted, but the first few kilometres above the farm are not hard to get to.
Where else can you fly-fish for wild spawning fish of up to 10.5 pounds, while surrounded by herds of grazing eland and mountain reedbuck, and with lammergeyer (bearded vulture) or black eagle circling overhead?
The lake & Umzimkulwana river, which flows through it, comprise an open, naturally self-sustaining fishery. Although our hatchery produces 95% of the trout used throughout the Southern Drakensberg, we do not stock the system. Thus the fishery is a unique wild system, replenished from the wild spawning of Brown and Rainbow Trout in the headwaters of the Umzimkulwana, a major tributary of the Umzimkulu.
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