Since 1978 Sabi Sabi has hosted visitors from all over the world, drawn to this unique area by the promise of the safari experience of a lifetime. Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, situated in the world-renowned 65000 hectare Sabi Sand Wildtuin in the South-Western section of the Kruger National Park, is a wildlife oasis, where you can observe at close quarters the age-old natural relationship between predator and prey.

Big game abounds and roams freely throughout this pristine part of the ancient African continent.  The diverse habitat is home to spectacular wildlife including the Big 5 - lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant - as well as cheetah, wild dog and some 200 other animal species indigenous to the area.

There is nothing quite as stirring as the sight of a lion, elephant or rhino roaming free in the bush;  as haunting as the sound of a hyaena laughing in the dead of night;  as electrifying as the tension one feels when following spoor along a dry riverbed.  This is what makes the Sabi Sabi experience so memorable. Day and night safaris in open Land Rovers, led by highly trained Game Rangers and qualified Trackers, follow the animals on and off-road, deep into the heart of the wild African Bushveld. Walking safaris allow guests to feel the pulse of untamed Africa through the soles of their feet.

Sabi Sabi is also home to a remarkable 350 species of birds. On a single summer's day, a visitor from the Northern Hemisphere will probably see more bird species than he is likely to see in a lifetime in his home country.  In fact, almost 5% of the world's bird species have been recorded in this region of South Africa.

Sabi Sabi offers four completely separate luxurious, all-suite, award-winning lodges with very distinct characters and atmospheres - those of "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" which is encapsulated in the "Yesterday" experience at the romantic Selati Camp;  "Today" at the more contemporary lodges of Bush Lodge and Little Bush Camp and "Tomorrow" at the ground-breaking Earth Lodge.

Sabi Sabi daily rates range from R3,600 to R13,000 per person per night sharing, fully inclusive of open Land Rover safaris by day and at night, environmental awareness walking safaris as well as delectable meals, selected beverages and South African house wines. 

Sabi Sabi is a one hour flight from O.R. Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg) directly to the Sabi Sabi private airfield. Alternatively one can fly via Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (Nelspruit) or opt for a scenic 5-hour chauffeured or self-drive from Johannesburg.

Come spoil yourself at unspoilt Sabi Sabi. It is an experience that will awaken something deep in your soul.

The History of Sabi Sabi

The name Sabi Sabi is derived from the word 'tsave', meaning 'fear' or 'danger' in the Tsonga dialect. This stems from the large numbers of dangerous crocodile and hippo in the Sabie River. European hunters first established a camp on the south bank of the Sabie River in 1830. Hunting for game ivory and rhino-horn continued until the end of the century. The discovery of gold in the Lowveld brought a temporary boom to the area.

A Railway Link for Gold

Also in the late 19th Century, construction began on the Selati Railway Line to link the goldfields in the west with the coast. Remnants of this railway line can still be seen throughout parts of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin.

Recreational rail travel into the area became popular in the early 1920's. Game viewing from the comfort of a railway coach was possible, and public awareness was raised as to the beauty of the Reserve.

One of the train stops was Newington Siding, a stone's throw from where the luxurious Selati Camp is situated today. The story goes that one night almost a century ago, the train driver peered into the darkness trying to make out the shapes of potential passengers. There was nobody to be seen at the stop so the train carried on towards Komatipoort.

Meanwhile, alongside the track dismayed travellers having been forced into the surrounding trees by a pride of hungry-looking lion, watched helplessly as their train steamed away into the night. The sympathetic railway management eventually placed permanent ladders against the trees for the convenience of passengers threatened by prowling predators! Today Selati Camp is furnished with memorabilia relating to the pioneer magic of the railway era.

In 1979, the present Sabi Sabi company was formed. During the 1980's and 1990's, the owners purchased three portions of the farm 'Shaws', on which Selati Camp and Bush Lodge were built. This was done with great foresight as the land was bought during the turbulent apartheid era, when the country's future direction was uncertain.

Subsequently, after purchase of the beautiful farm, 'Lisbon', Earth Lodge was constructed. Over the years, assisted by a dedicated staff of approximately 200, Sabi Sabi has preserved a wonderful piece of Africa.

Sabi Sabi's Conservation Philosophy

Sabi Sabi's conservation philosophy is based on two principles:

The first is the need to conserve rapidly dwindling wilderness areas and to provide a sanctuary for fauna and flora as part of South Africa's heritage.

The second is the belief that the business must be a true example of eco-tourism effectively linking tourism with conservation and the community. Sabi Sabi's environmental management system is a holistic one, where the ecological needs are balanced with the needs of people and their communities, i.e. focusing on the interdependence of tourism, conservation and local communities.

Our Environmental Management Policy

"We need to conserve our rapidly dwindling wilderness areas and to provide a sanctuary for fauna and flora of our heritage. The only way a wildlife sanctuary can survive the onslaught of socio-economic pressures is by:

Each member of the Sabi Sabi team receives ongoing training in all areas of our business, empowering them and improving their skills; and each has a thorough understanding that an individual's performance reflects and is dependant on the performance of other members of the team.

In the rural subsistence areas surrounding Sabi Sabi, the ratio of breadwinner to dependant is over 1 to 7. Therefore our 170 local employees at Sabi Sabi, support over 1200 dependants. These people are directly or indirectly dependant for their livelihood on the success of our enterprise.

Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve defines eco-tourism as the interdependence of tourism, conservation and local community thereby ensuring the optimum tangible benefit to each of the above.

Local community includes all of the staff employed at Sabi Sabi and the neighbouring communities where they reside. The empowerment of all staff through training and development is a key policy at Sabi Sabi.

Sabi Sabi's Dedication to Conservation

Unusual dedication and understanding is needed to manage our vast tracts of pristine bushveld in an ecologically sound manner. It is also important to maintain economically viable tourist lodges, as well as meet the needs of a widely differing range of staff and neighbours. Sabi Sabi Management believes that it is meeting the challenge, and achieving this fine balance.

Environmental control forms an integral part of the conservation process. Sabi Sabi has an extensive Habitat Management Plan in place that is continually reviewed. This encompasses concepts such as pumping water into pans, clearing encroached seeplines and grasslands, and correctly placing and maintaining roads. Other issues that constantly demand attention are the eradication of alien species, a sustainable fire management programme and waste-water disposal.

Sabi Sabi's Dedication to Community Empowerment

It is one of Sabi Sabi's core philosophies that in order for conservation to be successful in Africa, there needs to be an integral and participatory relationship between tourism operations and the neighbouring local communities. The reserve strives to promote 'People and Parks' issues by integrating conservation and community development as much as possible. As southern Africa and Africa as a whole tackles human population growth and the pressure of impoverished communities on the boundaries of its reserves, Community Based Natural Resource Management is increasingly becoming a priority in the Sabi Sabi management policies.

To the west Sabi Sabi borders the rural Shangaan villages of Huntington, Lillydale and Justicia in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Many of Sabi Sabi's 200 staff live in these communities. With an average dependency ratio of 1:7 these people represent tangible 'benefits beyond boundaries' to over 1200 people. It should be noted that the relationship is reciprocal; the employees themselves provide a loyal service to the company in all aspects of the operation from the workshop and safari department to hospitality and marketing. The company in turn invests in its human resources, recognises talent and believes in promoting its employees on merit and accomplishment. An ongoing internal training programme is in place that promotes and encourages skills development.

Financial benefits through employment are but one aspect of benefits. Over the past several years, Sabi Sabi has been a major contributor to the Teach the Teachers and Reach and Teach Education Programmes.

This entailed workshops held on the reserve exposing rural teachers to the relationship between ecotourism, conservation and communities.

Another example of other aspects of the current involvement in community development is the 'Lillydale Environmental Education Centre'. This is a community-run project that is supported by Sabi Sabi. The centre serves as a multifunctional environmental education centre, promotes Shangaan knowledge and rural development tourism to the area and encourages local environmental conservation practices through training workshops.

In 2003, Sabi Sabi agreed with the Huntington community (adjacent to the Sabi Sabi reserve) to provide a three-year investment budget that would be owned by all members of the community and controlled through trustees voted for by the community on a democratic basis. The trustees exclude any representatives from Sabi Sabi.

In 2004 the community registered a trust, the 'Swi Ta Lunga Trust', for the purpose of investing in and managing the community's labour resources and to provide services locally. Translated from Shangaan, Swi Ta Lunga means 'Things Will Get Better'. This model has been noticed by government and is being used in the reformulation of local economic development.

Some of the priorities identified by the Trust include: improving access to water for daily consumption and gardening; creating jobs and work in the village; improving education and educational facilities (including subsidising transport costs for teachers) and facilitating easier access to education for school children through an innovative subsidised bicycle programme.

This wonderful project means that all high school children in the local community will receive a new bicycle, giving them more freedom and reducing the enormous amount of time spent walking the 7 to 11 kilometres to and from school each day. The project establishes a proper finance, ownership, insurance and maintenance cooperative through which the children learn so much about organisation, joint responsibility and management and finance.