The Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve is named after the two principal rivers which flow through it, the Sabi and Sand Rivers. The reserve covers just over 62 000 ha including 19 privately owned farms. Most of the farms were originally acquired for ranching and hunting. In 1926 two friends, Fran Unger and Charles Varty acquired Sparta, both engineers and nature lovers. They built a camp on a fine site overlooking the Sand River and laid the foundation for one of the largest privately conservancies in Southern Africa.
Through the years more property owners followed the lead of Unger and Varty and in 1965 the Sabi Sand Wildtuin was proclaimed. With time the different property owners built lodges and opened it to the public offering a unique experience.
The Sabi Sand is well populated with wild animals in considerable variety. The flora is equally varied with many magnificent trees. The reserve is well-known for its excellent sightings of the famous Big Five with sightings as close as a few feet from the open 4x4 vehicles.
The reserve is an extremely interesting example of private nature conservation. All fences within the reserve have been removed and wildlife is completely free to roam throughout the area. Imaginative management by the various owners has seen this wild garden become one of the tourist show-pieces of Southern Africa. A few years ago the fence between the famous Kruger National Park and the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve was taken down to create are larger area for the animals, especially for the elephants whose large numbers became a concern in the Kruger National Park.
From accommodation in almost dreamlike lodges, guests are taken on game-viewing drives by experienced rangers. Sitting in open four-wheel-drive vehicles guests are taken along tracks which borrow through the bush. Birds, mammals, trees, aromas, atmosphere and experiences are of a nature which few of the visitors have ever known before. The afternoon game drive extends into the evening offering guests the opportunity to see the nocturnal animals, including the illusive Leopard. The day will be completed with a dinner under the African stars lit by a camp fire enjoying some of the finest cuisine. Guests rarely return home without having seen all of the Big Five, Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo.
The problem of conserving wilderness is part of the fascination of visiting the Sabi Sand. The reserve is always under pressure from amorphous, mindless spread of human population and development outside its boundaries and such wilderness areas have to be cared for. Human presence, droughts, floods, the invasion of exotic plants all needs observation and subtle control. Knowledge of these problems and discussion of them in the relaxation of the lodges is an education to many visitors. |
