Discover the Untouched Beauty of Nature in the Heart of Greater Addo

Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape
BELLEVUE FOREST

Escape from the everyday into a world of vast horizons, untamed wilderness, and heartfelt African hospitality on an unforgettable safari adventure at Bellevue Forest Reserve, a private game reserve in the Eastern Cape. Nestled in the mesmerising landscapes of the malaria-free Eastern Cape, South Africa, this location offers an idyllic setting for an extraordinary getaway.

At Bellevue Forest Reserve, you will have the opportunity to walk amidst the graceful giraffes, immersing yourself in the natural beauty of these majestic creatures. The reserve also provides an up-close and personal encounter with the renowned Big 5, allowing you to witness lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalos, and leopards in their natural habitat.

In this extraordinary destination, Bellevue Forest Reserve and the nearby Addo offer a captivating blend of untamed natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and thrilling encounters with wildlife — making it an unparalleled choice for an unforgettable African safari experience.

The Bellevue Forest Lodges

The Bellevue Forest lodges each offer something different. One gives you comfort and space, with views that stretch out across the reserve.
The other is more simple – canvas walls, open air, and the sound of the bush at night.
Both are set apart, but close enough to everything you need. It’s just a matter of how you like to travel.

Elephants Lodge

Spacious, quiet, and designed for comfort with wide windows and early light

Safari Tent

Canvas, stars, and the sounds of the bush at night. Simple, and just enough

Special Offers at Bellevue

A few quiet ways to make your stay go further

From time to time, we create something a little extra – for couples needing space to breathe, or guests who want more than a single safari drive. These are small offers, not big promotions. Just moments worth leaning into.

Bellevue forest Experiences

Enhance your safari with Bellevue

Bellevue Forest Game Reserve is more than a destination. We offer an immersive, connected experience – a discovery of the multi-faceted bounty of nature and a soul connection to the world around us. Here, 165 bird species, buffalo, leopard, giraffe, eland, kudu, and other wildlife find refuge among some of the most scenic and wholesome landscapes to be found anywhere. We know you will too.

GIRAFFE TRACKING SAFARIS

Possibly the most distinctive animal of all, the skyscrapers of Africa dominate the treetops of our bushveld. An exhilarating, authentic African experience is to join a giraffe tracking safari on foot in our 2500-hectare private game reserve.

WILDLIFE BIG 5 SAFARIS

Bellevue Forest Reserve offers exclusive, personalised wildlife tours to the Addo Elephant National Park, home of the free ranging ‘Big 5’ wildlife and so much more. On these tours you will experience breath-taking wildlife sightings that only our area can provide.

Scenic Flights

An incredible adventure that can be organised through Bellevue Forest Reserve for our guests is the opportunity to take a helicopter flight over the visually stunning Eastern Cape region, taking in the extraordinary combination of dense bushveld and terrestrial wildlife, together with the vast dunes and coastline.

Tooth and Claw Safaris

Guests are treated to close encounters with a large variety of game species, including lion, elephant, buffalo, zebra, rhino, crocodile and many more. Drives are guided by an experienced and knowledgeable game ranger in comfortable open-air safari vehicles.

Buffalo Encounters

Experience an African safari like no other by joining our buffalo encounters. A behind-the-scenes glimpse at the management of these iconic animals, this extraordinary excursion brings guests right up close to our Cape buffalo as they are fed and monitored daily.

Stargazing

Experience something truly magical – stargazing in the Eastern Cape, South Africa! Enjoy dark and clear skies full of stars, far away from light pollution and city life. Explore the night sky in one of the best places for star gazing, and discover a whole new universe.

Beauty Treatments

Wellness and relaxation are key attractions during a visit to Bellevue Forest Reserve. While we are working on developing our own inhouse Wellness Centre, guests at present can make use of the facilities of the Addo Indlovu Spa, situated in the nearby Addo Elephant National Park.

Forest Bathing

Ancient forests and champagne air. One of the purest pockets of virgin forest on the planet. Inhale the energy and soak up the life force. Know that you are home.

Experience the Majestic Wilderness

Escape from the everyday into a world of big skies, untamed bush, and a warm African welcome on a safari adventure at Bellevue Forest Reserve in the malaria-free Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Walk with giraffe, experience the Big 5 up close and personal, see the wild differently on a stargazing safari, explore colonial history and a forgotten railway village, ride the waves with whales and sharks in a conservation area stretching from mountains to ocean.

Bellevue Forest Reserve

Located in the Heart of Greater Addo

Bellevue Forest Reserve, in the Greater Addo area, is owned by the Buchner family, the realisation of a passion to be part of the ecological restoration of natural wildscapes and original wildlife corridors. This is where nature’s heartbeat is felt, and where healing and restoration happen. We place special interest in the preservation of endangered flora and fauna, including the flightless dung beetle. Our reserve is a haven for people and animals alike.

Community beneficiation is a key aspect of our responsible tourism model and for this reason we started the Foundation as the philanthropic arm of Bellevue Forest Reserve. The Foundation funds sustainable projects in educational, community and environmental projects in the Eastern Cape, seeking to help improve people’s lives and preserve our natural surroundings. Guests are welcome to participate in our community activities and be part of the upliftment of those less fortunate.

Part of a monumental conservation initiative, Bellevue Forest Reserve is on the brink of incredible partnerships and plans for expansion that have so far enabled the historic reintroduction of species such as elephant and lion, with rhino our final remaining species that will complete the ‘Big 5’ on Bellevue.