Giants Cup Wilderness Reserve - Underberg Accommodation

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Description:
Giants 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.

With four en-suite double bedrooms in 3 thatched units, Giants Cup Wilderness Reserve offers exceptional comfort and privacy in an unspoiled mountain wilderness.

Fishermans Cottage:
Sleeps 2. 1x en-suite bedroom with jacuzzi bath. Well appointed dinette. Lounge with fireplace. All linens, crockery & cutlery provided. Serviced daily. Patio & braai. Spacious and private. Set in pines back from the lake edge.

Lakeside Lodge.
Sleeps 4 in 2 en-suit bedrooms - main b/r with jacuzzi bath, 2nd with shower. Lounge with fireplace. Fully appointed kitchen. All linens, crockery & cutlery provided. Serviced daily. Patio & braai. Spacious and luxurious. Set in pines close to the lake edge.

Duck -Bay Lodge:
Sleeps 4 in 2 en-suit bedrooms - main b/r with jacuzzi bath, 2nd with shower. Lounge with fireplace. Fully appointed kitchen. All linens, crockery & cutlery provided. Serviced daily. Patio & braai. Spacious, luxurious and very private. The unit is set on its own in a pine glen close to the waters edge at the top end of the lake, with private jetty & boathouse. The last half kilometer of access is primitive and a 4x4 is required to reach this lodge, It is the closest unit to the Umzimkulwana river, the estuary and the wetlands. Birders delight!

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. Catering is available by appointment.

The lodging is 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.
If you are self-catering, bring your food and fishing tackle. Everything else is already here.

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.

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.

There are more than 106 identified rock-art sites in the cavestone layer in the surrounding Drakensberg wilderness.

Price Info:

Rates: Per person per night. Fisherman?s Cottage: R251.37 Lakeside Lodge R210.90 (sleeps 4) Duck Bay Lodge R251.37 (sleeps 4) Rondavel: R259.92 (sleeps 2) Angling: Day Rod Ticket R66.00 plus vat =R75.24 Day Boat Hire R40.00 plus vat =R45.60 (a refundable deposit of R100)