The Bhejane Game Reserve: a jewel in the crown of SA tourism

By Destine Nde

Tourism is one of seven key drivers of the South African economy. It was set back by the COVID-19 pandemic, but has been growing steadily since. SA Tourism — the government agency promoting tourism – now has offices in 13 countries in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe, including the UK.

From January to September this year, South Africa received more than 7,6 million international tourists, an increase of more than 1,1 million over the same period last year. According to the minister of tourism, Patricia de Lille, ‘these figures confirm that tourism has not only recovered but is once again driving economic growth’.

According to the Tourism Sector Masterplan, adopted by the Cabinet in 2023, tourism has been identified as a priority sector of the South African economy because of its ability to employ significant numbers of people, including women and youths; its multiplier effect; its labour intensity;  and the fact that it works as a supply chain which generates significant employment opportunities for small, micro to medium enterprises (SMMEs), among others.

The plan is aimed at galvanising government, industry and labour into ‘sharing a common vision that will position the tourism industry on an inclusive and sustainable competitive path for the benefit of all South Africans’.

At the same time, it says South Africa can do more to develop the region as an international tourist destination by emphasising the broader biodiversity, cultural diversity, scenic beauty, range of tourism products, and making it easier for tourists to travel between countries in the region.

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Since then, a big step has been taken towards improving the last-named factor. The minister of home affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, recently announced the introduction of new Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs), or e-visas. These will boost the sector by simplifying the hitherto cumbersome process of physically applying for a visa.

According to Schreiber, it will leverage ‘cutting-edge machine learning technology to digitalise and automate visa processes, replacing out-dated paper-based systems with a secure, efficient, and traveller friendly digital platform’.

This system has already begun to operate, and has brought in more than 35 000 additional tourists from China and India in just seven months. According to Schreiber, the ETA has the ‘power to turbocharge this number in 2026’, and it ‘set to eliminate visa barriers that have suppressed South Africa’s tourism potential for many years’.

This would also have a positive impact on tourists’ first impression of South Africa. As Schreiber has explained, instead of long queues and filling in paper forms, they now apply online for an ETA, and will receive a response within just two hours.

According to De Lille, the ETA may increase international arrivals by up to 1 million a year, and create between 80 000 and 100 000 new jobs in the tourism sector.

On a practical, day-to-day level, the job of the tourism industry is to promote the country domestically and internationally, to increase the number of tourists visiting the country, increasing the geographic scope, length of stay and expenditure of all visitors, and to capitalise or improve on seasonal arrival patterns.

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One person who not only understands this but is also putting it into practice is Mark Cobb, a South African who has worked as a petroleum engineer in many countries across Africa and is now based in Texas in the US.

Mark is the co-owner and administrative and public relations head of Bhejane Game Reserve, a 3 000 hectare game reserve in the Groot River Valley between the towns of Willowmore and Steytlerville. It harbours more than 20 different wildlife species, including Cape buffalo, giraffes, kudu, eland, Nyala, bush pigs and warthogs.

I met Mark at the Annual Karoo Music Festival, an event hosted by Bhejane every year, held over the weekend of 24–26 October and organised by Jahkals Events.

He explained that the reserve had been in business for about 24 years. ‘Three years ago, we decided to convert this facility into an Event Centre. It’s designed for concerts, weddings, farmer’s union meetings, cooperative meetings, and so on.

‘Three years ago, we held our first Country in the Karoo Concert. Our headliner was a Country and Western singer we brought in from the US, assisted by a local band. It was so successful that we decided to do it again, bring in the same artist from the US, along with three additional local bands.

‘This year, we decided to add more of a South African flavour, so we brought in the Afrikaner artist Apple from Johannesburg. Now we’re going to do it every year. Its our own way of giving back to the community and the region.’

According to Mark, Bhejane encompasses four business streams – hunting, selling meat, special events, and tourism. Of these, hunting is the most important. ‘I do a lot of marketing myself in the US, and regularly bring groups here to hunt.

‘We needed to diversify, so we’re also a licensed rural abattoir, selling meat under the name Karoo Special Meats. Then we have special events, and then other forms of tourism.’

Bhejane is  also a licensed tour agency, which enables it to take the families of hunters on sightseeing trips. As a result, hunters come for longer, and spend time touring the country as well. Bhejane is renowned for its hospitality. Its motto is, ‘Come as guest, leave as friends’.

‘Tourists want special attention,’ says Mark, ‘which is provided by Adriana and Phillip (the other two shareholders and day-to-day managers). They offer a ‘Walk with the giraffes’ package, and even let visitors braai on top of the mountain while viewing the incredible beauty of nature.’

Mark says he truly loves South Africa, and has returned to it for  three months a year for the past 23 years. According to him, the country urgently needs to grow its economy, and one of the key areas is tourism.

‘Almost 90 per cent of tourists are from Europe. My mission is to grow the number of tourists from the US. It’s good for everyone – we employ people on the farm, we shop at Willowmore, our guests stay in various guest houses, and so on.’

According to Mark, the festival has grown steadily since it started. ‘Last night we had about 500 people. Today I expect to see the same number, or more. This has been a threefold increase since we started. We also want to bring back the rhino – this is originally rhino country.’

On the Saturday, there were three trail runs, over five, seven and 17 kilometres. I ran in the last-named, and won. There was a raffle draw, and many prizes were won. There were also food trucks and stands, with gifts for sale displayed on tables.

The bands played during the day, and Apple, the guest star from Johannesburg, began his performance at eight in the evening. The crowd sang and danced, ate and drank, and enjoyed themselves. On the Sunday morning, people enjoyed a delicious breakfast, and started to leave.

The minister of tourism is presently seeking ‘suitably qualified individuals to serve on the Board of South African Tourism’. Nominations and applications are open until 5 December 2025. I firmly believe Mark should be nominated: https://tinyurl.com/38judmy2.

FEATURED IMAGE: Two majestic gemsbok, one of 20 species of game on the Bhejane Game Reserve. Image: Bhejane website. All other images taken by the author.