Samara Karoo Reserve, South Africa | Exclusive Villa Collection

Great Karoo · Eastern Cape, South Africa · Three lodges on a 67,000 acre private reserve

Samara Karoo Reserve

Sixty seven thousand acres of mountain, thicket and open plain in South Africa’s Great Karoo, returned to the wild since 1997 and shared by no more than forty guests in three lodges. The Big Five and cheetah roam again, the reserve is malaria free, and no other lodge traverses it. Arranged privately by Exclusive Villa Collection on inquiry.

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The house

In stills

A first reading of the stay: rooms, light, and the quiet between them. Each still is a note, not a catalogue.

The wide verandah of Karoo Lodge laid for breakfast, the sun setting behind the mountain — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Four white rhinos grazing on the Karoo plains below a ridge of flat topped mountains — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Tables set around a fire outside the Plains Camp mess tent at dusk, mountains on the horizon — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

The shadow of a game drive vehicle on golden grassland, two flat topped hills on the horizon — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A family by the fire in the Karoo Lodge living room — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

The 21 metre pool at The Manor leading to the villa, the sun breaking over the roof — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

The Plains of Camdeboo seen from Eagle Rock, ridges of the Karoo fading into the distance — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A cheetah walking towards the camera through pale grassland — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A young cheetah lying in the grass, lit by low sun — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A cheetah cub climbing the pale trunk of a dead tree — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A giraffe walking across the plains in golden morning haze — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

An elephant cow and her calf feeding at the edge of the thicket — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

An aardvark caught in the spotlight on a night drive — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Three meerkats standing watch at their burrow — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A guide and tracker leading guests on foot through the bush — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Two guests watching a cheetah in the grass ahead of them on a walk from Plains Camp — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A table laid in a shallow river for a wilderness picnic, guests seated with their feet in the water — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A host pouring water for a guest to wash before a wilderness picnic — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

The star bed, a canopied four poster on a raised deck, lit by lanterns at dusk — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

The star bed platform glowing under a full moon and a sky of stars — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

A fly camp beside a waterhole beneath the Milky Way — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

The Manor among its trees from the air, the sun rising over the mountains — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Elephants drinking at the waterhole in front of The Manor deck while guests watch — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Lantern lit drinks at Plains Camp, giraffe on the plains below the mountains — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

The Experience

How the days feel

In 1997 Sarah and Mark Tompkins bought Apieskloof, a worn out sheep farm in the Great Karoo, and set out to give it back to the wild. Eleven farms followed, chosen with ecologists to take in five of South Africa’s nine vegetation biomes. Fences came down, invasive plants were cleared, and the land was rested for almost a decade before the animals came home. Today Samara covers some 67,000 acres (27,000 hectares) of mountain, thicket and grassland in the Eastern Cape, and it is one of the most varied safari landscapes in the country.

The return has been remarkable. Cheetah, lion, elephant and black rhinoceros have all walked back onto ground they had been gone from for more than a century, and herds of springbok, black wildebeest, zebra and eland graze the Plains of Camdeboo once more. More than sixty mammal species and 225 kinds of bird are recorded here, from the Big Five to the aardvark, which in winter can sometimes be seen foraging in broad daylight.

Only three lodges share the reserve, for no more than forty guests at a time, and no other lodge traverses it, so a sighting is rarely shared. Karoo Lodge is a restored farmstead in a ring of mountains. The Manor is a contemporary villa taken on an exclusive basis, with its own vehicle, guide, tracker, chef and host. Plains Camp is four tents with no electricity, made for walking. The days are slow by design: game drives and night drives, bush walks, cheetah tracked on foot, picnics laid in a riverbed, and from October to May a night on the star bed under one of the darkest skies on earth.

Samara is a member of The Long Run, and staying here helps fund a larger ambition: a protected corridor of some three million acres in one of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots, linking the Camdeboo, Mountain Zebra and Addo Elephant National Parks. We arrange every Samara stay privately, choosing the lodge, the season and the experiences around the people traveling.

Why EVC loves it

Why we would send you here

A reserve given back to the wild Eleven former farms across five vegetation biomes, rewilded since 1997, where cheetah, lion, elephant and black rhino have returned after more than a century.
Cheetah on foot Samara is one of the finest places in Africa to see wild cheetah, and guests can track them on foot with an expert guide and tracker.
Forty guests, 67,000 acres Three lodges, no outside vehicles and no traversing by other lodges, so the reserve feels like your own.
A villa of your own The Manor is booked on an exclusive basis for up to eight adults and two children, with a private vehicle, field guide, tracker, chef and host.
Nights under the Karoo sky A canopied star bed above a riverbed and fly camping in Big Five country, from October to May, in one of the darkest places on earth.

Accommodations

Three lodges, three ways to stay

A restored farmstead, an exclusive use villa and an off grid tented camp share 67,000 acres, with no more than forty guests across all three.

Room 01

Karoo Lodge

Ten standalone suites · Up to 24 guests · Children of all ages

A lovingly restored farmstead encircled by mountains, where the wide verandah suits summer and the fire suits winter. The eight Karoo Suites, each 142 to 180 square metres, have a four poster bed, a fireplace, air conditioning, a bath, an outdoor shower and a covered patio facing the mountains. Two Family Suites of 260 square metres join two en suite bedrooms around a shared living room for up to four guests. The homestead holds a dining room, a library, a wine cellar, a bar and a Story Room telling Samara’s past and future, with a pool and gazebo in the garden.
Room 02

The Manor

Exclusive use · Four suites · Up to eight adults and two children

A contemporary Karoo villa taken as a whole. Glass doors open from the entrance to a 21 metre infinity pool and a waterhole, with the mountains beyond. Four suites of 58 square metres each have a free standing bath, a separate shower and a private patio, around two living rooms, reading alcoves, a dining room, a small bar, a breakfast room and a gym. A private vehicle with field guide and tracker, a chef and a host come with the house, and the days are planned around you.
Room 03

Plains Camp

Four tents · Up to eight guests · Ages sixteen and over

An off grid tented camp against a low hill, looking over plains where zebra, black wildebeest, springbok and gemsbok graze alongside giraffe, ostrich and cheetah, below dolerite capped mountains. Each 26 square metre tent has twin beds, a small fireplace for winter and a fan for summer, a flushing loo, an open air bucket shower filled with hot water on request, and a private deck. The camp is lit by candle and lantern, with a plunge pool and a mess tent of antique and locally made furniture. Mornings are for walking, afternoons for game drives. The camp can be taken for exclusive use.

Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Inside the stay

The house, in notes

Where you sleep, what you eat, and how you arrive: the essentials, in brief.

The lodges

Three lodges, forty guests

Karoo Lodge. A lovingly restored farmstead in a natural amphitheatre of mountains, with ten standalone suites for up to twenty four guests. Each Karoo Suite has a four poster bed, a fireplace, a bath and an outdoor shower; the two Family Suites join two en suite bedrooms around a shared living room.

The Manor. An exclusive use villa in contemporary Karoo style for up to eight adults and two children under twelve, with four suites, two living rooms, a gym and a 21 metre infinity pool looking out over a waterhole to the mountains.

Plains Camp. Four tents on a low hill above the plains, lit by candle and oil lantern, for walking safaris and guests aged sixteen and over.

The table

From the farmhouse kitchen to the fire

At Karoo Lodge and The Manor. Crystal dinners in the dining room or on the verandah, evenings in the traditional boma, or a table on the lawn under the stars. Karoo Lodge also has a farm style kitchen, a wine cellar and a bar.

At Plains Camp. Simple, wholesome food cooked by the chef over the campfire, served in the mess tent or outdoors beneath a Jacketplum tree.

Out on the reserve. Wilderness picnics in remote corners, and after good spring rains, lunch set in a riverbed with the water running past your feet.

A guest receiving a hand massage outdoors in the Karoo at Samara — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Wellbeing

Time, space and quiet

Samara calls its safari slow on purpose, and much of the restoration here comes from the landscape itself.

Treatments. Spa treatments can be arranged for guests at Karoo Lodge and The Manor.

Movement. The Manor has its own gym, and guided bush walks, hikes and the Cheetah Trail keep the days active for those who want them.

Stillness. Spekboom planting, medicinal plant walks, stargazing, and evenings by the fire with very few other people for many miles.

On the reserve

Cheetah, the Big Five and the Karoo at night

Days are shaped around your interests, guided by people who know this land and love it.

Cheetah tracking. Samara is widely regarded as one of the best places in Africa to see wild cheetah, and guests can follow them on foot with a guide and tracker.

Game drives. Morning and afternoon drives across mountain, thicket and the open grassland of the Samara Mara, with night drives in search of the reserve’s nocturnal species.

On foot. Guided bush walks for the small things the vehicle misses, and the Cheetah Trail, three nights on foot from Plains Camp with a night in a mobile camp, from October to May for guests aged sixteen and over.

Nights out. The star bed, a canopied four poster on a raised platform above a riverbed, begins with a picnic dinner and sundowners. Fly camping follows an armed ranger and tracker on foot to a private camp, a braai beneath the stars and a night in Big Five country.

Story and conservation. San rock art, conservation and community storytelling, and planting Spekboom, the succulent that helps heal the thicket.

A guide leading children through the veld on a bush walk, mountains in the distance — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Who it suits

Families, couples and those who walk

Family
Two travelers

Travelers who want the Big Five without the crowds, and a safari with a story behind it.

Families. The reserve is malaria free and children of all ages are welcome at Karoo Lodge and The Manor. The Samara Cubs Programme fills the days with tracking, spoor and stargazing, and experienced child minders are on hand.

A family or friends together. The Manor gives up to ten guests the whole villa, with its own vehicle, guide, tracker, chef and host.

Couples. A Karoo Suite with its own fireplace and outdoor shower, and a night alone on the star bed.

Walkers and the curious. Plains Camp and the Cheetah Trail, for guests aged sixteen and over who want to know the Karoo on foot.

Good to know. Children under eight do not join scheduled game drives with other guests at Karoo Lodge; shorter drives are offered for families with young children.

A dirt road running across the Karoo plains towards a line of mountains under evening cloud — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

Getting there

By road or air from Gqeberha

Samara lies in the Great Karoo near the historic town of Graaff-Reinet, about 250 kilometres from Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha).

By scheduled flight. Port Elizabeth has daily flights from Cape Town (about an hour), Johannesburg (about an hour and three quarters) and Durban (about an hour and a half).

By road. From Port Elizabeth the drive to Samara’s gate takes about two and a half hours on tarred roads, then around thirty minutes more on a scenic dirt road through the reserve.

By private air. Samara’s own gravel airstrip takes light aircraft such as the Pilatus PC-12, King Air B200 and Cessna Caravan, about thirty minutes by game drive from the lodges. Charters take roughly an hour and a half from Cape Town and under two hours from Johannesburg. Jets can land at Graaff-Reinet’s tarred runway, about 45 minutes away.

We arrange the flights, the transfer and the connection to the rest of your journey as one plan.

Clear water running over stones between green banks and acacia trees on the reserve — Photo courtesy of Samara Karoo Reserve

When to go

Every season in the Great Karoo

The Great Karoo has a distinct beauty in every season, and we suggest at least four nights to see it properly.

Summer. December to February is hot, often above 35°C, with afternoon storms, dramatic sunsets and migrant birds. It is the best season for the star bed and fly camping.

Autumn and spring. March to May and September to November are the most underrated months. In spring the veld turns green, antelope calves and bat eared fox pups appear, and the vygies flower.

Winter. Late May to August brings mild days around 20°C, cold nights and sometimes snow on the high peaks. Game viewing is at its peak, the rooigrass on the Samara Mara turns pink, the aloes flower, and aardvark may be seen by day.

Good to know. Plains Camp closes for part of each southern winter, and the star bed, fly camping and Cheetah Trail run from October to May. We confirm lodges and dates when you inquire.

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Samara Karoo Reserve, Great Karoo, Eastern Cape, South Africa