We are incredibly excited to partner up with Areena again for our 2019 Sunset Trail Series. The Sunset Trail Series is a 3 part series, featuring three trail runs, at three fantastic venues along the East Coast. Each of these runs are 5km long, and will start at 18h15, to ensure the runners enjoy the…
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With much excitement, we ran our first of many Daily Holiday Clubs during the September 2019 school holidays at Areena. The children experienced the Adventure activities such as paint ball target shooting, pellet gun target shooting, low ropes course and hiking, lots of fun was had by all. Tarzan our adventure guide taught them…
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Remember that saying: ‘work hard, play hard?” Well, Areena Riverside Resort has you covered, with our corporate team build activity, is perfect ‘play hard’, after all the ‘work hard’. Our Team Build is a perfect way to reward employees for their hard work or the perfect way to get the team motivated and ready for…
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Some interesting facts about the inquisitive ostrich you may not know: Their diet consists mainly of roots, leaves, and seeds, and sometimes insects, snakes, lizards, and rodents. Sand and pebbles which they also eat, help them grind up their food in their gizzard, a specialized, muscular stomach. They are the largest and heaviest living bird,…
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A great way to spend some quality time with your friends or colleagues is to put yourselves to the test and do the low ropes course. Set in our game reserve, the low ropes course will test your balance, problem solving skills and team work, as this is the only way you will all get…
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We would like to extend a sad farewell to Candice, who will be venturing into the world of sales. Candice has spent the last 5 years with us, guiding adventure activities, as well running reservations in our office. Many of you will have been fortunate enough to at some point in your Areena adventure…
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Areena Riverside Resort Adventure Village Areena pellet gun target shooting is a fun activity for kids and adults alike. Test your hand eye coordination, how on target your aim is, while enjoying some competition with your friends and family. Taking place in our game reserve area, this is a family friendly activity. Just a phone…
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We welcome Colleen to our crew in the Adventure side of Areena, bringing with her youth, experience and enthusiasm, she is set to be an asset to the team. Colleen has been training in various activities and is now ready and proficient to ensure you have a great adventure experience with us. Tarzan is also…
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What beautiful rain we had, over the end of the Easter weekend 2019, so much so that our dams are all FULL! We are so excited that even the few trees that fell over from the excessive rain full did not damper our spirits. It is such a lovely sight to ride through the…
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The second biggest of the 7 species of Kingfishers that are commonly found in and around Areena Riverside Resort is the Pied Kingfisher. These are the least colourful of the Kingfisher species having only black and white pied markings on the back and white underparts. The male of the species has a smaller black collar…
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Areena Adventure Village Ever wondered how easy it is to ride a quad bike? And game view at the same time? Well book yourself on a guided game viewing quad bike experience with us and you find out how easy and exhilarating it is. We offer a 20 min, 60 min and even a 2…
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There are 7 species of Kingfishers that may be observed in and around Areena Riverside Resort. We will start our Birders Corner articles on Kingfishers with the largest, and loudest, of these very industrious birds by being able to identify male from female. The frontal plumage of the Giant Kingfisher is reversed between the male…
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A great way to relax is to enjoy a leisure cruise down the Kwelera River. Our river cruise is a slow chilled 60 min session of great scenery, good photo opportunities and fun on board the Karena. If you have never been on the river, this is a highly recommended way to view a river…
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What a beautiful silhouette the caravan park makes. Imagine sitting on the river’s edge, the water lapping the edge, fishing rod in the water waiting to entice the ‘big one’, the peace and tranquility provided by mother nature, not to mention the Fish Eagle calling overhead, as it circles the river. Well you don’t have…
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Be a tourist in your own Province or City, and discover what is right on your doorstep, the Explore Eastern Cape is your one stop app. So download it, and let your adventures begin… The Eastern Cape Province stretches from Tsitsikamma in the west to Port Edward in the east, and to the Lesotho border…
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Burchell’s Coucal is a bird that is either loved or hated by Birders. On the negative side it is a voracious predator with its dietary habits focusing heavily on nest robbing and eating the young birds alive and/or devouring the eggs. If these tasty morsels are not available, it will focus on eating small mammals,…
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Fancy yourself a modern day Robin Hood? Archery is an age old skill, an Olympic sport, a hunting technique and a lot of fun, when you have some amazing 3D animals to target. At Areena Adventure Village we have an array of 3D animals, or a conventional target to shoot at. It is a skill…
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Areena wins Haute Grandeur Awards Areena is very pleased and proud to announce that we recently won 4 International Haute Grandeur Awards, namely Best Eco Friendly, Best Serviced Apartments, Best Family Resort and Best Hideaway Resort. We are very proud of our achievement, it is the culmination of hard work, teamwork and passion, and it…
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Are they White with Black or Black with White Ever wondered about the Zebra and his stripes? Have you ever wondered if the Zebra is black with white stripes or White with black stripes? Well we would like to share a bit of information on this stripy little guy. Zebra’s black and white strips are…
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Areena Birders Corner focus on the Green Wood Hoopoe Previously known as the ‘Red-billed Wood-hoopoe’ the Green Wood-Hoopoe is one of the birds that underwent a name change when it was decided by the worlds ‘avian authorities’ to eliminate any confusion between similar species found in different parts of the world. These birds with iridescent blue/green feathers,…
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Camping peacefully on the riverside The weather is amazing at this time of year, perfect for that family camping trip, you have been thinking about all winter and autumn. Dust off that tent, gather all your gear, the family and even the dog, if it’s well behaved! And book yourself a riverside campsite with us…
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Abby the Giraffe is the star Everybody’s favourite giraffe Abby is now the star of his own interaction sessions. For those of you who do not know who or what Abby is, let me enlighten you. Abby is our mature male giraffe, (Abby standing for Abnormally Big Baby) who was bottle fed by Areena Staff…
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Outsmarting a hungry giraffe Acacias are thorny trees with foliage that is bright green or bluish-green and has small blooms that may be creamy white, pale yellow or bright yellow. You will have seen many in the Areena Game Reserve and in the Eastern Cape as a whole. These trees only live for 20 – 30…
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Electric Scooter Tours Have some fun on our electric scooter tours through Areena Riverside Resort. A fairly new activity to our amazing adventure activity menu, at only R180pp for the 20 min tour. Children from 12yrs and up can take part in this adventure and ride their own scooter in the guided tour. Groups of…
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Areena Birders Corner November 2018 The African Green Pigeon This month’s article of Birders Corner focuses on one of the amazing ‘paint jobs’ of our indigenous birds, the African Green Pigeon. Because of its colour and habits, it’s one of the more difficult birds to observe let alone to capture on film as they occur…
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Our very own Candice Stanton, who you all know from the Areena office, took part in the recent Horse Jumping Competition held in Komga as part of the Komga Agricultural show 2018 and did us proud. Specky her 12 year old thoroughbred chestnut mare did a great job in tackling and clearing all her jumps…
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Our Areena residents and keen tunnel supervisor Nathan have been hard at work tending to the numerous seedlings in our Areena Tunnel. From salad leaves to veggies and herbs, all are growing beautifully side by side and almost ready to harvest. A great project which was taken to heart of many residents is producing its…
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Areena is home to a few Nyala, and you may have seen them grazing grasses, leaves, twigs, fruits and flowers in our game reserve. The male Nyala has a dark grey head and body with white stripes along its torso. The lower legs are tan in colour, the Nyala has a fringe of hair along…
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Please remember to recycle your plastic and waste into bins and not in our rivers! Plastic does not biodegrade, it clogs our water ways and affects our wildlife in a negative way. It is all our responsibilities to make sure waste is kept out of our rivers. Teach your children to throw away rubbish in…
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Did you know the Emu lays a blue egg? Well it does, a beautiful blue egg that hatches about 8 weeks after it was laid. And we are lucky enough to have a few Emu chicks successfully hatch this season and are being nurtured by their fathers. Although not native to South Africa, the Emu…
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The Lets Hike Club chose Areena as their hiking destination of choice on the 30 September 2018 and we were very happy to welcome them for the first time to Areena. With a great amount of interest shown from their members, we saw 120 hikers joining the group on the Sunday morning. A 10 km…
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Greater Honeyguide Our bird this month is the Greater Honeyguide. This bird is shrouded in myth and folklore and is reputed to guide humans and certain animals to wild beehives. The locality of beehives is known to these birds that wait for a potential ‘hive robber’ to pass by. The bird then starts calling ‘whit-purr,…
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Red-capped Robin-Chat at Areena Riverside Resort The past few articles of the Areena Birders Corner have focused on a few of the large species of birds to be found in the Resort. This month we will turn our attention and focus on one of the smaller species, the Red-capped Robin-Chat. Just a note to avoid…
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Focus on the African Scops Owl Last month we took a look at the largest of the owls that may be observed in the Areena Riverside Resort, this month we go to the other extreme and discuss the smallest – the African Scops Owl. To draw a comparison and put things in perspective, this owl…
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Areena Kids Adventure Birthday Parties Adventure parties are becoming ever popular and here at Areena we are able to provide just that. Areena is adventure, and we can offer just that to the youngsters wanting to bring their friends to celebrate their very exciting birthday party. From scavenger hunts, pool pole fights, canoeing, fun games,…
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Kwelera River Rats will be fighting to preserve the Kwelera Estuary for future generations Compiled by John L M Brown ESTUARIES are the meeting places of the rivers and the sea, and are characterised by the interaction between the two. Conditions in an estuary are always changing, and this instability or variability is one of…
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Verreaux’s Eagle Owl Areena has been most fortunate of late with the visit by a pair of Verreaux’s Eagle Owls (previously known as the Giant Eagle Owl). They usually prefer a drier climate, nevertheless, nature is not contained by man made boundaries and they may venture into this region between the months of November and…
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Focus on : African Fish Eagle This month we take a closer look at one of the more common birds found visiting Areena – the African Fish Eagle. Its presence is usually made known by its very distinctive loud ringing call ‘weee-ah, hyo-hyo-hyo’, which is recognised as one of Africa’s classical bird sounds. If flying,…
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Kwelera River Rats will be fighting to preserve the Kwelera Estuary for future generations TIPS ON ESTURINE ANGLING EAST COAST – the follow up article no.2 Compiled by John L M Brown ESTUARIES are the meeting places of the rivers and the sea, and are characterised by the interaction between the two. Conditions in…
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This month we focus on two of the larger birds that are common to Areena Riverside Resort. The first is the Trumpeter Hornbill, easily recognized by the contrasting black and white plumage and very large ‘horn’ on top of its large bill. It also has a very loud, and sometimes disturbing call – described in…
View Article MARCH 2018 – KWELERA RIVER RATS NEWSLETTER TIPS ON ESTUARINE ANGLING – EAST COAST Compiled by John L M Brown ESTUARIES are the meeting places of the rivers and the sea, and are characterised by the interaction between the two. Conditions in an estuary are always changing, and this instability or variability is one of…
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Featuring our brand NEW adventure activity January 2018 – Seated Electric Scooters. Easy to ride fun electric scooters are now available for 20 min tours through the resort. Suitable for children from 12yrs of age. The wide tyres ensure a smooth and stable ride. Affectionately called the “Bumble Bees” by the Areena staff due to…
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Click here for Areena Riverside Resort Bird List A wide variety of birds await you at Areena Riverside Resort, print this birdlist and bring it with you and see how many birds you can find. Share your photos with us on our facebook page.
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Birders Corner February 2018 This article focuses on some of the yellow birds that may be observed while peering through binoculars in the Areena Riverside Resort during the summer months. Why the summer months? It is one of the quirks of nature that many species of birds change clothes during the summer breeding months and…
View Article KWELERA RIVER RATS – AQUA RODENT CLUB Areena Resort, Kwelera River, Kwelera, East London, South Africa EMAIL: foodfreak@telkomsa.net. Ph 0732727851 Based on the banks of the Kwelera River the Kwelera River Rats aim is to promote conservation of the estuary and surrounding area, safe water sport .To abide by local authority requirements and local land…
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Save the date and your date, and join us on 14 February 2018, Wednesday evening for a night of romance and starry skies. Once again we will be hosting our open air cinema evening for Valentines Day, keep your your eyes posted for more information. Tickets go on sale from the beginning of February…. see…
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Friday 26 till Sunday 28 February saw us offering an “Intermediate course to off road riding” at Areena riverside resort near East London and was that a jol and great experience! The resort had gone out of its way to accommodate the various requirements and built the necessary obstacles to ensure our weekend was a success! Staying in luxury,…
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HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Areena Riverside Resort will be hosting an evening for the whole family to enjoy on the 13th February, Saturday. The evening will start at 6.30pm. Tickets Adults Early bird tickets are R60 pp & R100 pp at the gate Kids Early bird tickets are R40 pp & R50 pp at the gate…
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