Giants Cup - Southern Drakensberg
Giants Cup wilderness reserve - Fly fishing destination in the Southern
Drakensberg
Giants Cup Wilderness Reserve (Southern
Drakensberg), the premier wild-trout flyfishing destination in Southern
Africa, is a registered site of Conservation Significance (site no 49).
Home to prolific wildlife and waterfowl, Giants
Cup has been called “one of the most beautiful fly-fishing destinations
on the planet” (R. Kirby). With the Umzimkulwana river and a lake
full of wild-spawning rainbow and brown trout, Giants Cup Wilderness sets
the standard for authentic wilderness angling in spectacular mountain scener
With four en-suite double bedrooms in 3 thatched units, Giants Cup Wilderness
Reserve offers exceptional comfort and privacy in an unspoiled mountain wilderness.
The Lakeside Lodge and Fisherman's Cottage are set in pines - a short cast
away from the water's edge - with en-suite jacuzzis, fully-equipped kitchens,
lounge and fireplace, patio and braai, offering accommodation in well-appointed
comfort. All linens, crockery and cutlery are provided. Catering is available
by appointment.
The lodging is well-appointed, but without television, radio and telephone.
Cellphone reception at the units varies from good to poor, with 082 reception
better than 083. Fax, telephone and email facilities are available at the
main farmhouse. If you are self-catering, bring your food and fishing tackle.
Everything else supplied by Giants Cup.
Giants
Cup Wilderness Reserve has been called “one of the world’s most
beautiful trout angling resorts” (Fly-Fishing in Southern Africa, Robert
Brandon-Kirby). It offers self-sustaining populations of Brown and Rainbow
Trout in the midst of an unspoiled wilderness. The lake varies in depth from
about 1 - 2 meters over the shallows, down to 14 meters in the channel and
the main basin.
The Umzimkulwana River runs for 18 kilometers through the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg
Mountain Park, A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE site, and is accessible by hikers
off the farm. No vehicular access is permitted, but the first few kilometres
above the farm are not hard to get to.
Where else can you fly-fish for wild spawning fish of up to 10.5 pounds,
while surrounded by herds of grazing eland and mountain reedbuck, and with
lammergeyer (bearded vulture) or black eagle circling overhead?
The lake & Umzimkulwana river, which flows through it, comprise an open,
naturally self-sustaining fishery. Although our hatchery produces 95% of
the trout used throughout the Southern Drakensberg, we do not stock the system.
Thus the fishery is a unique wild system, replenished from the wild spawning
of Brown and Rainbow Trout in the headwaters of the Umzimkulwana, a major
tributary of the Umzimkulu.
Giants Cup Hatchery specialises in the production of live angling trout. With
a breeding programme based on the wild gene pool that has existed in the Umzimkulu
headwaters since 1922, the farm hatches out up to a million fish per year,
and supplies angling fish throughout Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Southern
Drakensberg. The farm supplies more than 90% of the live fish for angling in
its area of operation.
As a by-product, the Giants Cup hatchery also produces a couple of tons
per month of table products. All fish, except for cold-smoked products, are
supplied fresh and vacuum packed for added shelf life. Table products include
whole rounds, deboned rounds, fillets, hot oak-smokedand cold oak-smoked.
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