Kirkwood Wildlife Festival 2003

The annual Kirkwood Wildlife Festival has established itself as one of the premier events in the Eastern Cape. The three-day festival attracted over 50% more people to the Sundays River Valley than the previous year. More than 14 000 tickets were sold at the gates between Friday and Sunday, June 27 to 29.

The main event of the festival, the game auction was well attended.
The turnover at the auction was R2 235 300,00, which is higher than the 2002 auction.
The top price for a breeding white rhino bull was R150 000,00

Big events of the 2003 festival include the Exotan Breakfast and Fashion Show with celebrities Michael Mol, Vanessa Carreiria and Bernelee Daniell-Losch.; the venison cooking demonstrations held by Inge Weich and Michelle Horne; top national artists, Kurt Darren, Blackie Swart and The Campbells; the interdenominational church service with Roland Gaspar from Radio Kingfisher and a number of wildlife experts giving talks on various topics. They include Dr Mike Knight, Dr Johan Joubert, Dr Francois van Niekerk, Dr Dave Zimmerman, Arnold Slabber and Marie de Jager.

The Departement of Art and Culture helped to organise various traditional artists and crafters.

Kirkwood Wildlife Festival 2004

The festival organisers are keen to talk to local tour operators and tourism organisations to put together packages for next year's festival. The festival is a non-profit event, which is designed to put the spotlight on the Sundays River Valley.

The Nelson Mandela Bay is the perfect base from which tourists can explore places like Kirkwood, the Addo National Elephant Park and the Sundays River Valley. It is therefore important to draw tourists to this region. The better we can sell the attractions in this area, the longer we will keep tourists here.

The festival will again be held the first weekend of the Eastern Cape July school holiday. Any comments or suggestions can be sent by e-mail, or contact any of the persons mentioned below. Bookings for stalls can also be done at the festival office.

Contact persons

Chairman/Auction: Johan Swart, 042 2300440, karoo@kirkwood.co.za
Sponsorships and Marketing: Karen Basson, 072 2454 393, fees@sundaysrivervalley.com
Craft and Food stalls: Festival Office Tel 042 2300064 Fax 042 2320273, wildsfees@kirkwood.co.za