Leadwood Big Game Estate

Join us as we experience the thrill of viewing Africa’s Big Game on this amazing conservancy. Game drives are available in the morning as well as the afternoons. Morning drives are crisp with a coffee stop midway as we watch animals get their day started. Afternoon drives have a mid drink stop, a must experience for any Safari traveller. We normally travel back after dark with a spotlight for you to experience the nocturnal activity of the African bushveld. Circumstances permitting we are able to follow animals on foot to experience them up close and personal, your professional guides will ensure your safety.

A closer encounter with an African elephant is not possible. Riding high on the back of an African elephant is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will never be forgotten. A video of your unique outing can be recorded as a keepsake, for an additional fee. Instead of going on the early morning game drive, you will be driven to meet with the Kapama elephant herd. Before your ride, trained elephant handlers will show you exactly how to get onto the saddle on the elephant’s back and how to follow its rhythmic strides as you move silently through the bush. Each elephant has a handler who will guide his charge on the walk. Since elephants are the largest land animals in Africa, other animals quickly give way to them in the wild and, at the same time, provide excellent game sightings and natural interaction. Kapama’s elephants are all so relaxed that they will likely stop to graze as they walk. After an hour’s ride through the reserve, the herd will return to their elephant boma so you can alight safely. No-one under the age of 12 may participate in this activity.

Hot air ballooning is conducted throughout the year, with mid-summer sunrise at 05h00 and mid-winter sunrise at 06:30. Meeting 20 minutes before sunrise at the respective launch sites. Experience the magic of lighter-than-air flight near the foot of the Drakensberg Escarpment. There are one-hour long flights over the scenic, Lowveld section of the Blyde River, 15 km West of Hoedspruit. The terrain is a mixture of farmland, private nature reserves and wildlife estates. The mountains to the South and West provide shelter from the prevailing winds, thereby affording us good flying weather on most days. As the sun rises, the landscape, the vegetation and, if you're lucky, some wildlife will provide photo opportunities. Game spotting cannot be guaranteed but on most flights we see plains game like giraffe and wildebeest. Pilots and crew will ensure a safe, enjoyable and informative adventure that will be one of the highlights of your visit to the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere. After the flight, guests making use of transfers will be returned to their respective lodges. The flight duration is about an hour and towards the end of the flight the pilot will select a suitable landing site. The landing is an exciting event because the basket meets the earth at whatever speed the surface wind is at the time. Light airs allow the softest of landings while fresh breezes necessitate a "positive" landing so that the basket can serve as an anchor to slow the envelope down. If not already at the landing site, the ground crew will soon arrive to deflate and pack the balloon while passengers enjoy fruit juice and sparkling wine.