A two year US$25 million investment programme at Shamwari was implemented in 2018 of which Indwe Environmental Consulting was appointed to be a part of the professional team as the independent environmental assessment practitioners to coordinate and deliver on the statutory approval processes.
The first phase of the investment programme saw upgrades to the existing Eagles Crag lodge and Riverdene Family Lodge. The Eagles Crag Lodge was constructed in 2002 without having obtained environmental authorisation in terms of the then Environment Conservation Act, Act 73 of 1989 and Indwe completed the application for environmental authorisation for Eagles Crag through a post facto authorisation process. Indwe was responsible for the general monitoring of the major internal renovation construction activities to ensure no change in the original footprint was undertaken at Eagles Crag and Riverdene Family Lodge.
The second phase includes renovating the historic manor house, Long Lee Manor and rebuilding the contiguous accommodation to provide luxury suites. In addition to this, a new luxury tented camp was introduced to this phase of which has been recently named as “Sindile”. Named for the matriarch of Shamwari’s leopards, the camp mimics a solitary leopard’s sanctuary. It’s set in deep bush, on a ridge, providing excellent vantages over the Bushman’s River and surrounding plains. The exclusive camp offers nine luxury tents and will open on 20 December this year.
Indwe facilitated the environmental approval process through a basic environmental impact assessment process with input from an ecological specialist to guide the placement of the tents within the sensitive and intact thicket. We achieved environmental authorisation and have been involved in monitoring construction with an emphasis on keeping the footprint as tight and low impact as possible given the sensitive nature of the site.
